So I was doing my reviews and got the sentence. “This winter I will go to hokkaido.”
Now I thought I mostly grasped the Bunpros explanation that この highlights a item close to the speaker.
But with this one I am lost as it says that この is the correct answer but I don’t see how winter could be close to the speaker. I am probably missing something obvious as I am just starting out but if anyone could explain it to me it would help a lot. Thank you for your time.
この precedes a noun and means “this”.
この冬 = This winter…
Think of it not just as physically close, but also close in other ways. ‘This winter’ generally refers to whichever winter is closest, usually the one that’s about to happen or happening at that time. By that logic, the winter is close to the speaker.
Thanks for the help that makes more sense now.
Native example in an insta post that highlights the concept.
この夏も やがて あの夏になる。
This summer will soon become that summer.