Where? Variations and usages


I have come across three main ways to indicate the idea of "where" in
Japanese:

どこ

どこに

どちら

Can anyone shed light on when one is used or preferred over another? Or with
what combination of word types? Also any additional information about
alternatives to those that I have listed is greatly appreciated.




どちら can be the politer version of どこ.  
The に in どこに is a locative/directional particle, as pointed out by @Eiríkr in
the comment. (So どちらに, どちらへ can be the politer ways of saying どこに, どこへ, "in/to
where, in/to which place", eg 「 **どこに** 行くの？」(casual) 「 **どちらへ**
お出かけですか。」(polite)).

> Can anyone shed light on when one is used or preferred over another? Or with
> what combination of word types?

どこ is used more in casual conversation, and どちら, in politer conversation. So
どこ is used more with casual type of words and どちら, with politer type of words,
eg:  
「 **どこ** に持っていけばいい？」(casual) 「 **どちら** にお持ちしましょう？」(polite)  
「出身は **どこ** ？」(casual) 「ご出身は **どちら** ですか。」(polite)

> Also any additional information about alternatives to those that I have
> listed is greatly appreciated.

We also have いずこ to mean "where", but it sounds old-fashioned and stiff.

* * *

As a side note...

どこ basically means "where" "which place" "which part"...  
(It can also mean "which team/organization" "what degree/extent" etc., eg 「
**どこ** が優勝したんですか。」「 **どこ** まで厚かましいんだ。」)

... whereas どちら can be the politer version of:

>   * どこ -- where, which place  
>  eg「 **どこ** に住んでるの？」(casual)「お住まいは **どちら** ですか。」(polite)
>   * どっち -- which one (of two) / which direction  
>  eg「肉か魚、 **どっち** がいい？」(casual)「お肉かお魚、 **どちら** がよろしいですか。」(polite)  
>  「恵方巻、 **どっち** 向いて食べたらいい？」(casual)「恵方巻は **どちら** を向いて食べればいいですか。」(polite)
>   * どれ -- which one (of three or more)  
>  eg「前菜は三種、ABCとあるけど **どれ** にする？」(casual)「前菜は三種、ABCとございますが、 **どちら**
> になさいますか。」(polite)
>   * だれ -- who  
>  eg「 **だれ** ？」(casual)「 **どちら** 様ですか。」(polite)
>




どちら can be the politer version of どこ.  
The に in どこに is a locative/directional particle, as pointed out by @Eiríkr in
the comment. (So どちらに, どちらへ can be the politer ways of saying どこに, どこへ, "in/to
where, in/to which place", eg 「 **どこに** 行くの？」(casual) 「 **どちらへ**
お出かけですか。」(polite)).

> Can anyone shed light on when one is used or preferred over another? Or with
> what combination of word types?

どこ is used more in casual conversation, and どちら, in politer conversation. So
どこ is used more with casual type of words and どちら, with politer type of words,
eg:  
「 **どこ** に持っていけばいい？」(casual) 「 **どちら** にお持ちしましょう？」(polite)  
「出身は **どこ** ？」(casual) 「ご出身は **どちら** ですか。」(polite)

> Also any additional information about alternatives to those that I have
> listed is greatly appreciated.

We also have いずこ to mean "where", but it sounds old-fashioned and stiff.

* * *

As a side note...

どこ basically means "where" "which place" "which part"...  
(It can also mean "which team/organization" "what degree/extent" etc., eg 「
**どこ** が優勝したんですか。」「 **どこ** まで厚かましいんだ。」)

... whereas どちら can be the politer version of:

>   * どこ -- where, which place  
>  eg「 **どこ** に住んでるの？」(casual)「お住まいは **どちら** ですか。」(polite)
>   * どっち -- which one (of two) / which direction  
>  eg「肉か魚、 **どっち** がいい？」(casual)「お肉かお魚、 **どちら** がよろしいですか。」(polite)  
>  「恵方巻、 **どっち** 向いて食べたらいい？」(casual)「恵方巻は **どちら** を向いて食べればいいですか。」(polite)
>   * どれ -- which one (of three or more)  
>  eg「前菜は三種、ABCとあるけど **どれ** にする？」(casual)「前菜は三種、ABCとございますが、 **どちら**
> になさいますか。」(polite)
>   * だれ -- who  
>  eg「 **だれ** ？」(casual)「 **どちら** 様ですか。」(polite)
>

