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I've noticed the following sets of words that seem to have a very obvious
pattern, and, of course, their meanings are very closely related:

  * これ、 それ、 あれ、 どれ
  * この、 その、 あの、 どの
  * ここ、 そこ、 あそこ、 どこ

What are the origins of these sets of words? I'm asking them all together
because I'm thinking that their origin is interrelated.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-06-12T03:21:29.687
978
2011-06-24T00:45:14.370
2011-06-13T00:49:14.727
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question
etymology demonstratives
What are the origins of the 「こそあど」 demonstratives?
Well, if you use the kanjis, you see the pattern even better!

此れ、 其れ、 彼、 何れ

此の、 其の、 彼の、 何の

此処、 其処、 彼処、 何処

From there, the suffixes "れ"、 "の"、 and "こ" indicate whether you're talking
about a thing, a "possessive", or a location.  
The prefixes are, as you had guessed, the "distance": close, somehow far, far,
and the question "which".

So, "これ" is the close thing, そのX is "the X of mildly far away" and "どこ" is
"which location?".  
Understanding the others is then straightforward.
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2011-06-20T09:34:30.360
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2011-06-24T00:45:14.370
2011-06-24T00:45:14.370
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answer