牧場でいっしょに動物を見てみよう

What’s the difference between “kore” and “are” in Japanese?

Japanese “this / that” is built on distance. これ (kore) is “this,” something right by the speaker; あれ (are) is “that over there,” far from everyone. At the ranch, the animals up close are これ — これは馬です (“this is a horse”) — while the far-off scenery is あれ — あれは山です (“that’s a mountain”), あれは海です (“that’s the sea”).

There’s a middle term, too: それ (sore), “that near you (the listener).” So it’s a three-way set — これ・それ・あれ (ko-so-a) — plus the question word どれ (“which?”). The same ko-so-a pattern runs through ここ・そこ・あそこ (here / there / over there) and この・その・あの (this~ / that~ before a noun).