What is the difference between "これ", "今年", "今朝", "今回"?

"これ" means "this (thing near speaker)", "今年" means "this year", "今朝" means "this morning", "今回" means "this time".

Quadruple VS

Synonym Boundary: "これ", "今年", "今朝", "今回"

All represent the core concept "this", but require precise selection.

Japanese Option A

これ (kore)

N5 / CEFR

Japanese Option B

ことし (kotoshi)

N5 / CEFR

Japanese Option C

けさ (kesa)

N4 / CEFR

Japanese Option D

こんかい (konkai)

N3 / CEFR

When expressing "this" in Japanese, you must carefully distinguish between "これ", "今年", "今朝", "今回" based on context.

これ (これ (kore) - Level: N5): Maps to "this (thing near speaker)" and is used when Demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing near the speaker. Forms the 'ko' series of demonstratives..
今年 (ことし (kotoshi) - Level: N5): Maps to "this year" and is used when Common term for the current year. Used frequently in conversations and writing..
今朝 (けさ (kesa) - Level: N4): Maps to "this morning" and is used when Refers specifically to the current morning. It is almost always used with past tense verbs to describe events that happened earlier in the day..
今回 (こんかい (konkai) - Level: N3): Maps to "this time" and is used when Refers to the current occasion or instance, distinguishing it from previous or future occasions. Often used to set the context for a specific event or action..

Mixing these up can easily lead to unnatural translations. Refer to the bilingual context cards below to master the boundaries!

Context for "これ"

これは私のペンです。

This is my pen.

Context for "今年"

今年は日本に行きます。

I will go to Japan this year.

Context for "今朝"

今朝、早く起きました。

I woke up early this morning.

Context for "今回"

今回の試験は前回より難しかった。

This exam was more difficult than the last one.

Which Japanese word perfectly fits this blank space?

Fill in the blank: " ＿＿＿は私のペンです。" (Meaning: "This is my pen.")

🎉 Correct Answer!

Remember: "これ" is correct here because it represents "this (thing near speaker)" in the context: "This is my pen.".