これ

About

Often translated as "this", これ is a so-called 「こそあど」 word. これ's set of こそあど words includes これ, それ, あれ, and どれ.

これ, and other こそあど words that start with こ, refer to things near the speaker (within arm's reach is a good rule of thumb).

Grammatically, これ is a pronoun, which means that it directly substitutes for the noun it refers to. This distinguishes it from other こそあど words, such as この, that attach to nouns, rather than substitute for them.

Summary

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  これ is a こそあど word.

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  これ means "this".

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  これ refers to things near the speaker.

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  これ substitutes for nouns.