Japanese word

そこらへん

Pronunciation

Romajisokorahen

Meaning

  • nounaround there

Example

駅はそこらへんにあります。eki wa so ko ra he n ni a ri ma su

The station is around there.

Illustration for そこらへん (around there)

More examples

そこらへんに新しい図書館ができました。so ko ra he n ni atara shi i to sho kan ga de ki ma shi ta

A new library was built around there.

Core concept

Marks a nearby or previously mentioned area without drawing a precise boundary around it.

Common phrases

  • そこらへんにあるso ko ra he n ni a ru

    be around there

  • そこらへんを歩くso ko ra he n o aru ku

    walk around there

  • そこらへんの人so ko ra he n no hito

    people around there

Similar words

その辺sonohen: An area around a mentioned place is referred to in a relaxed conversational style.
あたりatari: An approximate area around a place or point is indicated.
付近fukin: The vicinity of a particular place is indicated in relatively formal language.

Definition in Japanese

基準となる場所の近くやその周辺を、はっきり限定せずに指す語。ki jun to na ru ba sho no chika ku ya so no shū hen o ha kki ri gen tei se zu ni sa su go

Word origin

The colloquial form そこらへん (sokorahen) is built from そこ (soko, "there"), ら (ra, a suffix suggesting a range), and 辺 (hen, "vicinity").

Usage tips

  • The ending らへん (rahen) gives そこらへん (sokorahen) a distinctly conversational tone that appears often in relaxed spoken Japanese.

Other meanings

  • hereaboutsadverb
  • that areanoun

Word lists with this word