Japanese

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) あしこ [àshíkó] (Heiban - [0])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ɕiko̞]

Pronoun

彼処 ‎(hiragana あしこ, romaji ashiko)

1. (obsolete) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there
   • c. 1001–1014, Genji Monogatari

     彼処 (あしこ)に籠 (こも)りなむのち

     ashiko ni komorinamu nochi

     ...after hiding there...

Etymology 2

Shift in pronunciation from ashiko above,^[1] probably influenced by そこ ‎(soko).

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) あそこ [àsókó] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [a̠so̞ko̞]

Pronoun

彼処 ‎(hiragana あそこ, romaji asoko)

1. yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there

See also

Usage notes

The reading asoko is the most commonly used in modern Japanese.

The hiragana spelling あそこ is almost always used. The kanji use is rare.

Etymology 3

Appears to be a compound of 彼 ‎(a, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ 処 ‎(ko, “place”).^[1][2] First appears in the late 1500s, early 1600s,^[2] and used mostly in the Kansai region.^[2][3] Given the historical tendency for innovation in the Kansai region, the term may instead derive as an abbreviation of asoko above, by analogy with the -ko suffix in ここ ‎(koko, “here”) and そこ ‎(soko, “there”, closer to the listener than to the speaker).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) あ​こ [áꜜkò] (Atamadaka - [1])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ko̞]

Pronoun

彼処 ‎(hiragana あこ, romaji ako)

1. yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there

Usage notes

Generally only used in the Kansai region.

Etymology 4

Shift in pronunciation from asoko above.^[2]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) あすこ [àsúkó] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [a̠sɯᵝko̞]

Pronoun

彼処 ‎(hiragana あすこ, romaji asuko)

1. (rare) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there

Etymology 5

Compound of 彼 ‎(ka, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ 処 ‎(ko, “place”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ko̞]

Pronoun

彼処 ‎(hiragana かこ, romaji kako)

1. (rare, obsolete) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there
   • 1483, 地蔵菩薩霊験絵詞 (Jizō Bosatsu Reiken Eshi, “Jizō Bodhisattva Miracle Picture-scroll”)

     彼処 (かこ)を退 (そ)き去 (さ)る也 (なり)

     kako o sokisaru nari

     ...[he] left that place...

Etymology 6

Appears to be a compound of 彼 ‎(ka, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ し ‎(shi, unknown, possibly a possessive) +‎ 処 ‎(ko, “place”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) か​しこ [káꜜshìkò] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ɕiko̞]

Pronoun

彼処 ‎(hiragana かしこ, romaji kashiko)

1. (rare) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there
2. (rare) that aforementioned place

References

1. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. ↑ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0