Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 5/18

そう

Look like, Appear, Seem, Have a feeling that

Do not confuse with そうだ (I heard that...).

Structure

Verb［ます］+ そう + だ
［い］Adjective［い］+ そう + だ
［な］Adjective + そう + だ

Negative:
Verb［ない］+ な + そう + だ
［い］Adjective ［ない］ + なさ + そう + だ
［な］Adjective + では(1)ない + なさ + そう + だ

Exceptions:
いい ￫ よい + さそう + だ ￫ よさそうだ

(1) じゃ

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About そう

そうだ is one of the 18 primary auxiliary verbs in Japanese, and can be used in two (2) different ways. The broad meaning in each of its applications is that something 'seems' to be a certain way. Due to this, そう is regularly translated as 'seems like', 'looks like', or 'appears as though'.
In this lesson, we will focus on the form that is used with the conjunctive (stem) form of words. Please examine the structure guide to see these forms.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)は毎日(まいにち)走(はし)りそうだ。
    She seems like she runs everyday.
  • これは正(ただ)しそうだ。
    This seems correct.
  • あの店員(てんいん)は丁寧(ていねい)そうだ。
    That clerk seems like he is attentive.
Caution
そう may also be used when attached to the い-Adjective, ない. In this case, there is a unique conjugation rule which we will need to be careful of. As always, い will be removed from ない before attaching そう. However, さ will be inserted between な, and そう. This creates the expression なさそう.
  • 彼(かれ)の部屋(へや)は汚(きたな)くなさそうだ。
    His room doesn't seem messy.
  • あの車(くるま)は小(ちい)さくて便利(べんり)じゃなさそう。
    That car is small, and looks inconvenient.
Note that this addition of さ does not happen with verbs. This is due to the ない that is used with negative verbs being an auxiliary verb, and not an い-Adjective. With the auxiliary verb ない, simply remove the い, before adding そう directly to the stem.
  • 彼(かれ)はもうイギリスに帰(かえ)らなそうだ。
    It appears that he is not going back to England.
Caution
This そう is utilized exclusively to make predictions/guesses about something based on visual information. It is relatively low confidence, so should not be used for things that are obvious. In these cases, みたい would be used instead.
  • 明日(あした)は朝(あさ)から雨(あめ)が降(ふ)るみたいだ。
    It looks like it is going to start raining tomorrow morning. (Higher confidence)
  • 明日(あした)は朝(あさ)から雨(あめ)が降(ふ)りそうだ。
    It seems like it is going to start raining tomorrow morning. (Lower confidence)

Examples

  • 雪(ゆき)が降(ふ)りそうです。

    It looks like it is going to snow.

  • 先生(せんせい)の仕事(しごと)は難(むずか)しそうです。

    The job of being a teacher looks hard.

  • 今日(きょう)の宿題(しゅくだい)は簡単(かんたん)そうだ。

    Today's homework looks easy.

  • その食(た)べ物(もの)は食(た)べやすそう。

    That food looks easy to eat.

  • この教科書(きょうかしょ)はとても難(むずか)しそうです。

    This textbook seems very difficult.

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そう – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (25 in total)

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you meant the information tab of the grammar point! You wrote example sentences so I thought it was literally the sentences under the “Examples” tab.

    You’re absolutely right, the “information” tab is indeed complete nonsense explaining how to use the grammar point and then giving examples for the other one!

  • Chrispy

    Chrispy

    I highly agree to this! I was so confused by the information section. Thanks for pointing it out @Antlershy! This should get fixed soon!

  • KolkJPN

    KolkJPN

    So just to be clear, the そう that uses the stem of the verb is a seems like, looks like kinda thing, and the そうだ that uses the dictionary form of the verb as a “I heard that…” are completely different things, right? Because for some reason, the example sentences provided in N4’s そう section are all actually the the “I heard that…” type.

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