どちら

• 読み: どちら
• ローマ字: dochira
• 発音: /do.tɕi.ɾa/

意味

Which way; which direction; where; which (of two). A polite interrogative pronoun.

The polite equivalent of どこ (where) and どっち (which of two). Used in formal situations: どちらへ (where are you going?), どちらさま (who are you?), どちらが (which one?). When offering a choice between two options, どちら is standard polite form. Also used as a polite 'where are you from?' (どちらからですか).

例文

1. どちらがお好きですか。
2. お国はどちらですか。
3. どちらへお出かけですか。

使い方ガイド

場面: polite questions, choices, directions

トーン: polite

起源と歴史

From the interrogative 'do' prefix combined with ちら (direction/side). Related to こちら (this way), そちら (that way), あちら (that way, far). The kanji form 何方 literally reads 'what direction.'

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal