そうだ

The suffix そうだ attaches to verb stems and adjective stems to express that something looks like or appears to be a certain way, based on the speaker's direct observation or impression. It conveys a judgment about appearance or an inference about what is likely to happen.

With verbs (masu-stem + そうだ)

Expresses that something looks like it's about to happen or seems likely to happen, based on visual cues or the current situation.

With い-adjectives (remove い + そうだ)

Expresses that something appears to have a certain quality.

With な-adjectives (stem + そうだ)

Important exceptions

• いい (good) → **よさそうだ** (not いそうだ)
  このみせ店はよさそうだ。

  This shop looks good.
• ない (not exist) → **なさそうだ** (not なそうだ)
  じかん時間がなさそうだ。

  It looks like there's no time.

Grammatical behavior

そうだ behaves like a な-adjective when modifying nouns or adverbs:

• そうな
  • Noun:
    おいしそうならあめんラーメンですね。

    That's delicious-looking ramen, isn't it!
• そうに
  • Verb:
    こどもたち子供たちがたのし楽しそうにあそんでいる遊んでいる。

    The children are playing as though they're having fun.

Negative forms

There are two ways to negate:

• Adj stem + そうではない / そうじゃない (it doesn't look like…):

  このもんだい問題はむずかし難しそうじゃない。

  This problem doesn't look difficult.

• V[masu stem] + そうにない / そうもない (it doesn't look like it will…):

  あめ雨はやみそうにない。

  It doesn't look like the rain will stop.

Distinction from hearsay そうだ

Do not confuse this with the hearsay そうだ, which attaches to the plain form of verbs and adjectives (e.g. ふる降るそうだ – "I heard it will rain"). The appearance そうだ discussed here attaches to the stem (e.g. ふり降りそうだ – "It looks like it will rain"). Hearsay そうだ also stays fixed – it never becomes そうな or そうに.