Here’s an explanation of Kore/Sore/Are/Dore
Japanese has a number of pronouns - these are words that stand in for nouns, such as ‘book’.
KORE - suggests closeness to the speaker. KORE corresponds to the English words “this” or “these” - referring to an item or items close at hand. For example, you are holding a book that’s heavy - so you’ll say *“Kore wa omoi!”* This is heavy!,
SORE - suggests distance from the speaker and closeness to the listener. SORE corresponds to the English words “that” or “those”. For example, a shop keeper could point to something over the counter, close to the customer, saying *“Sore o kaimasu ka?”* Are you going to by that?
ARE - suggests distance from both the speaker and listener. ARE will often translate to “that” or “those” but it’s full meanings is “that over there / those over there - away from BOTH of us.”
DORE - is a question word and corresponds to “Which?” or “Which one(s)?”. DORE is usually used when there are 3 or more options from which to choose from. For example, you’re in a bar, and the bar attendant has 5 drinks on the counter. Referring to them, he says *“Dore o nomimasu ka?”* Which one will you drink?
The Kore/Sore/Are/Dore words are stand-alone pronouns, that is, they can be used on it’s one.
Here’s an explanation of Kono/Sono/Ano/Dono
The Kono/Sono/Ano/Dono cannot be used on its own, this group can only occur together with a noun.
So, here are the meanings: KONO - “this ~; these ~” (i.e. Kono ie wa chiisai desu - _This house is small._)
SONO - “that ~; those ~” (i.e. Sono hana wa kirei desu - _That flower is beautiful._)
ANO - “that ~ over there; those ~ over there” (i.e. Ano inu wa kawaii desu - _That dog over there is cute._)
DONO - “which ~” (i.e. Dono hito ga suki desu ka? - _Which person do you like?_)