こんな・そんな・あんな・どんな

About

こんあ, そんな, あんな, and どんな form a こそあど set that attaches directly to nouns (sometimes descriptors will come in between the こそあど word and the noun it modifies).

This set translates to "this much.../like this" (こんな), "that much.../like that" (そんな・あんな), and "how much" (どんな), and can be used to emphasize how one feels about something, either negatively or positively.

こんな, 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), or to things that are conceptually or temporarily close.

そんな, and other こそあど words that start with そ, refer to things that are somewhat far from the speaker's POV, whether physically, conceptually, or temporally.

あんな, and other こそあど words that start with あ, refer to things that are quite far from the speaker's POV, whether physically, conceptually, or temporally. Because あんな feels more distanced than そんな, it often adds the nuance of talking about things in retrospect.

どんな, and other こそあど words that start with ど, indicate question words.

Summary

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  こんな, そんな, あんな, and どんな mean "this/that much...; like this/that; how much"

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  こんな, そんな, あんな, and どんな attach directly to nouns