Looking like with 〜そうだ

Usage Notes

This そうだ attaches to the stem of a word: the ます-stem of a verb, an い-adjective without its final い, or a な-adjective on its own. This sets it apart from hearsay 〜そうだ, which attaches to complete plain-form words: 降(ふ)りそうだ, “it looks like rain”, but 降(ふ)るそうだ, “I hear it will rain”.

The impression often comes from sight, but it can come from other senses or from the situation as a whole. The smell of food is enough for おいしそう. News that an entrance exam will have fewer subjects is enough for 受験生(じゅけんせい)が増(ふ)えそうだ, “it looks like more students will apply”.

そうだ is for things the speaker hasn’t confirmed. After tasting the food, the speaker says おいしい, not おいしそう. Looking straight at a red apple, they say 赤(あか)い, not 赤(あか)そう.

そうだ doesn’t follow nouns. To say someone seems to be a student, use 学生(がくせい)みたいだ, 学生(がくせい)のようだ, or 学生(がくせい)らしい. The negative 学生(がくせい)じゃなさそうだ, “doesn’t seem to be a student”, is fine.

Before a noun, そうだ becomes そうな: 楽(たの)しそうな顔(かお). Before a verb, it becomes そうに: 楽(たの)しそうに話(はな)す.

Formation

Judging by Appearance

The speaker gives their impression of something they haven’t confirmed. Sight is the usual source, but other senses, such as smell, work too.

Detective Mouri is invited as a special guest to the birthday party for Reika, daughter of the Yotsui Group’s chairman. At the event, Reika announces her intent to marry.

麗花(れいか):

「そう思(おも)って今日(きょう)のパーティーにも、有能(ゆうのう)そうな男性(だんせい)を数人(すうにん)、お招(まね)きしてますわ…」

“With that in mind, I've invited several promising gentlemen to today's party...”

View Full Example

Reika has invited several men to her party as possible husbands. She can’t know yet how capable they really are, so そうな marks 有能(ゆうのう) as her impression. Before the noun 男性(だんせい), そうだ becomes そうな. The そう in そう思(おも)って at the start of the line is a different word, “so” or “that way”.

Guessing Someone’s Feelings

Nobody can feel another person’s emotions directly, so Japanese speakers usually describe them from the outside: 彼(かれ)はうれしそうだ, “he looks happy”. Stating someone else’s feelings flatly, as in 彼(かれ)はうれしい, sounds odd in conversation. With そうだ, the speaker reads the feeling from a face, a voice, or behavior.

Rinko (Yamato) interviews for a summer job at her favorite cake shop. Following the interview, she is hired and is set to start work the next day. She’s excited at all the new techniques she’ll learn that she’ll use to make various sweets for her boyfriend, Takeo.

凛子(りんこ):

「それがいちばん楽(たの)しみかも」

“I think that's what I'm most looking forward to.”

猛男(たけお):

「大和(やまと)うれしそうだな」

“Yamato looks happy.”

「ずっと好(す)きだったケーキ屋(や)で働(はたら)けることになってよかった」

“I'm glad it worked out that she can work at the cake shop she's always loved.”

View Full Example

Rinko has just been hired at her favorite cake shop, and her face shows it. Takeo can’t feel her happiness himself, so he reads it from her expression: 大和(やまと)うれしそうだな, “Yamato looks happy”. な makes it a remark to himself.

An Action on the Verge of Happening

With a verb, そうだ can say the action is about to happen: 雨(あめ)が降(ふ)りそう, “it’s about to rain”, or 泣(な)きそう, “about to cry”. The speaker can’t use this for their own deliberate actions, since they decide those.

Speakers often exaggerate with it. 死(し)にそう, “I’m going to die”, often means “I’m exhausted”, “I’m starving”, or “I’m so embarrassed”.

Kei and Chinatsu watch as their cousin, Makoto, chases a pheasant back and forth across the field. During a break in the chase, Makoto explains her fascination with the bird.

真琴(まこと):

「常(つね)に届(とど)きそうで届(とど)かない距離(きょり)をキープしてて」

“Constantly seeming like you can reach and keeping a distance you can't...”

「捕(つか)まえてみろよと言(い)わんばかりの目(め)で見(み)てくるんです」

“It's been looking with eyes as if to say, try and catch me!”

View Full Example

Makoto has been chasing a pheasant across the field. It always stays just out of reach. 届(とど)きそうで届(とど)かない means “looks like I can reach it, but I can’t”. 〜そうで〜ない is a common pairing for something that keeps seeming about to happen but never does.

Predicting What Will Happen

A verb with そうだ can also predict an outcome from the situation, even when nothing is about to happen this second. The speaker reads the signs and says how things are likely to go.

Example 1 of 2: Bad at carbonated drinks with 炭酸

Example 1 of 2

A case of the hiccups sends Ayumu down the path of trying each of her friends’ potential solutions. Tomo suggests drinking water as a cure.

歩(あゆむ):

「ジュースでもええんか？」

“Is juice okay too?”

とも:

「いいんじゃねーの？あ炭酸(たんさん)系(けい)なんか効(き)きそうだぞ」

“Yeah, that should be fine, right? Actually, carbonated stuff might work even better.”

歩(あゆむ):

「あかんあかん炭酸(たんさん)は苦手(にがて)やねん」

“No no, I can't do carbonated drinks. I'm bad with them.”

View Full Example

Ayumu has the hiccups, and her friends are suggesting cures. Tomo says a carbonated drink seems likely to work: 炭酸(たんさん)系(けい)なんか効(き)きそうだぞ, “something carbonated might do the trick”. She is predicting, not reporting a result she has seen. ぞ gives the guess a confident push.

Example 2 of 2: Hoping to get along well with 〜といい

Example 2 of 2

After Cocoa moves in, Chino’s father and rabbit Tippy discuss their energetic new tenant.

ティッピー:

「やれやれ大変(たいへん)になりそうじゃ」

“Good grief. This looks like it's going to be a handful.”

お父(とう)さん:

「チノ仲良(なかよ)くやれるといいな」

“I hope Chino is able to get along well (with Cocoa).”

View Full Example

Tippy has just met Cocoa, the café’s lively new tenant, and predicts trouble ahead. 〜になりそう, “looks like it will become”, is a common way to predict how things will turn out. Tippy speaks like an old man, and じゃ is old-fashioned speech for だ.

Nearly Happening with 〜そうになる

In the past tense, 〜そうになった says something came close to happening but didn’t: 転(ころ)びそうになった, “I almost fell”. It’s usually about a narrow escape. Exaggerations work here too: 死(し)にそうになった often just means “it was awful”.

After cheerleading practice, Sakura overhears her friends talking about incidents at the school pool, where Sakura and Chiharu were among those mysteriously pulled underwater.

千春(ちはる):

「きょう　また　プールで足(あし)　引(ひ)っぱられておぼれそうになったんだって」

“I heard that today, someone got dragged under the water at the pool and almost drowned again.”

奈緒子(なおこ):

「こわいねーーー」

“That's scary!”

千春(ちはる):

「先生(せんせい)が原因(げんいん)がわからないならプール閉鎖(へいさ)するしかないっていってたよ」

“The teacher said that if they can't figure out the cause, they'll have no choice but to close the pool.”

View Full Example

Students keep getting dragged under at the school pool. Chiharu reports that it happened again today, and someone おぼれそうになった, “nearly drowned”. They didn’t drown. The んだって at the end marks this as something she heard.

Saying Something Seems Unlikely

The negatives そうにない and そうもない say that an outcome doesn’t look likely: 終(お)わりそうにない, “it doesn’t look like this will ever get done”. They’re a stronger denial than 終(お)わらなそう, “doesn’t look like it’ll be done”, and often suggest things aren’t going the way the speaker hoped.

The culture festival is getting close, and the class is in the last stretch of its preparations. It’s almost six in the evening, and Asuka wants to get as much done as possible today. Mie can’t stay, though. Her curfew is six o’clock, and breaking it would mean a scolding and, worse, no cocoa the next morning. Komura figures her parents must be strict.

あすか:

「ねーちょっと終(お)わりそうにないからさ」

“Hey, it doesn't look like we're going to finish, so…”

「19時(じ)くらいまで残(のこ)れる人(ひと)手(て)あげて」

“Raise your hand if you can stay until around seven.”

View Full Example

The class is getting ready for the culture festival, and it’s nearly six in the evening. Asuka looks at how much work is left and calls out 終(お)わりそうにないからさ, “it doesn’t look like we’re going to finish, so…”. That’s her reason for asking who can stay until seven.

Related Grammar

• Hearsay with 〜そうだ
  • A look-alike そうだ after a complete plain-form word reports something the speaker heard or read, as in 降(ふ)るそうだ, "I hear it will rain".
• Likening things with 〜みたい
  • みたい compares something to something else, and it can also mean "it seems". Unlike そうだ, it can follow a noun.
• Evidence-based guessing with 〜ようだ
  • ようだ draws a conclusion from what the speaker has noticed. そうだ tends to give a direct impression or a prediction.
• Conjecture with 〜らしい
  • らしい draws a conclusion from information, often something the speaker heard. Like ようだ, it can follow a noun.
• As if with 〜んばかり
  • んばかり describes looking so much on the verge of an action that it may as well be happening.