What's it?

In Japanese, if you want to ask what something is, you say ‘Sore wa nan desu ka?’ [それ　は　なんです か？]

The answer will be ‘Kore wa [name of thing] desu.’ [これ　は　_＿＿＿＿ です。]

When you use ‘sore’ you are pointing to something away from you. When it is in front of you, you use ‘kore’

Let use make some sentences using ‘sore wa’.

1 これ　は えんぴつ　です。 [Kore wa enpitsu. (It’s a pencil.)]

2 これ　は　かさ　です。[Kore wa kasa. (It’s an umbrella.)]　

3 これ　は　しんぶんです。[Kore wa shibun. (It’s a newspaper.)]

4 これ　は　めがね　です。[Kore wa megane. (It’s a pair of spectacles.)]