kono ko, sono so, ano ko この子, その子, あの子

In Japanese, the phrases kono ko, sono ko, ano ko この子, その子, あの子 are used to refer to children, or to people the same age or younger than the speaker, or even to animals.

Manga: Rozen Maiden, ローゼンメイデン (Chapter 10)

• Usage
• Examples

Usage

Literally, the words mean:

• kono ko この子
  This child.
• sono ko その子
  That child. (near you.)
• ano ko あの子
  That child. (not near you.)

However, they aren't used only toward children.

Most of the time, sono ko その子 is almost synonymous with sono hito その人, "that person," except for nuance:

• It's only used toward people younger than you, not older.
• Women use kono ko, sono ko, ano ko more often than men.
• The ko is usually female, too.
  • Guy don't call other guys ko, but they may call girls ko, and girls may call guys ko.
  • In romantic songs, ano ko is probably "that girl/boy" the speaker is in love with.

Also, the words may be spelled kono ko, sono ko, ano ko この娘, その娘, あの娘, with the kanji for "daughter," musume 娘, in which case it's always female, a girl, never male.

You may want to see how Ko 子 works and Kono, Sono, Ano この, その, あの for details.

Examples

For reference, some examples of ko 子 being used with kono, sono, ano.

• sono ko wa doushita no?
  その子はどうしたの？
  What happened to that kid next to you?
  What happened to [him]?
  What happened to [her]?

Manga: Rozen Maiden, ローゼンメイデン (Chapter 10)

• Jun
  ジュン
  (Character name.)
• kono ko wa shimai-tachi
  no naka demo toku ni okubyou de
  hito mi-shiri nano
  この子は姉妹たちの中でも特に臆病で人見知りなの
  Even among the sisters, this [girl] is particularly timid and afraid of strangers.
• anmari bikkuri
  sasenaide agete
  choudai
  あんまり吃驚させないであげてちょうだい
  Please refrain from surprising her too much.
  
  • bikkuri 吃驚 is a jukujikun 熟字訓.
    
• Despite looking practically the same age, Shinku 真紅 (right) refers her sister Suiseiseki 翠星石 (left) as kono ko.

Manga: Black Lagoon (Chapter 9)

• Context: an old woman gives advice to an adult woman.
• jouchan!
  嬢ちゃん！
  [Hey]!
  • jouchan 嬢ちゃん
    ojouchan お嬢ちゃん
    Refers to a young girl. (younger than the speaker, at least.)
• anta mo
  chotto wa
  ano ko wo
  minarai na.
  あんたもちょっとはあの子を見習いな。
  You [should] learn a little more [from] that [boy].
  • Here, "that boy" refers to Rock, who is an adult man, but nonetheless a "kid" to the speaker who's a much older woman.
  • anta あんた
    anata あなた
    You.
  • mo chotto もちょっと
    mou chotto もうちょっと
    A little more.
  • wo mi-narau を見習う
    To see and learn from. (to learn something by watching how someone else does it.)

Manga: Hikaru no Go ヒカルの碁 (Chapter 2, はるかな高み)

• Context: Hikaru is looking for an adversary.
• aitsu to uteru?
  あいつと打てる？
  Can [I] [play] with [him]?
  • utsu 打つ
    To hit.
    To play. (a game like Go, in which you hit stones on a board.)
• gata.. ガタ･･
  *chair feet hitting the floor as he gets up.* (onomatopoeia.)
• a, uun, ano ko wa...
  あ　うーん　あの子は･･･
  Ah, err, [he] [is]...