それ

それ means "that" or "that one": a thing near the person you are talking to, and not near you. It is a noun, so は and the other particles follow it directly.

It is one of a set of four:

• これ – this, near the speaker
• それ – that, near the listener
• あれ – that over there, away from both
• どれ – which one

それ or これ

The word changes with who is speaking: you ask about the thing in the other person's hand with それ, and they answer with これ.

それ or あれ

English "that" covers both. Japanese splits it by where the listener is: それ is near the listener, あれ is far from the listener too. For the bag beside the person you are talking to, say それ. For a mountain you are both looking at, それ is wrong and the word is あれ.

それ or その

それ stands alone. In front of a noun the word is その: ×それ本 is wrong.

With particles

を, も and が follow それ the same way は does.

Leaving out "it"

English puts "it" in sentences where Japanese leaves the subject out, and putting それ wherever English has "it" sounds stiff. After きのうえいが映画をみました見ました, "it was interesting" is おもしろかったです面白かったです, not それは面白かったです.

Usage notes

These go beyond pointing at a thing you can see.

Something just said

それ also points back at what the other person has just told you, like "that" in "that's good".