Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
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そうだ (Conjecture)

そうだ (Conjecture)

そうだ (Conjecture) Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Auxiliary Adjective

Essential Meaning: X looks / X appears / X seems

Construction: 

  • Verb ます-Form + そうだ
    • E.g. 話はなしそうだ [X appears to be speaking]
    • E.g. 食たべそうだ [X appears to be eating]
  • (い-Adjective / な-Adjective) stem + そうだ
    • E.g. 高たかそうだ [X appears to be expensive]
    • E.g. 静しずかそうだ [X appears to be quiet]

Notes:

  • This construction expresses the speaker’s conjecture based on direct visual information (i.e. it can only be used when the speaker directly observes something). The speaker’s conjecture concerns the present state of someone / something or concerns an event that may take place in the future.
    • E.g. あの車くるまは高たかそうだ。[That car appears to be expensive.]
    • E.g. 雨あめが降ふりそうだ。[It looks like it will rain.]
  • Before そうだ (Conjecture), いい becomes よさ and ない becomes なさ.
    • E.g. このアパートはよさそうだ。[This apartment looks good.]
    • E.g. 問題もんだいはなさそうだ。[There seems to be no problem.]
    • E.g. 村山むらやまさんの家いえはあまり新あたらしくなさそうだ。[Murayama-san’s house doesn’t appear to very new.]
  • A noun can not directly precede そうだ (Conjecture), because this intended meaning is instead expresses by らしい. Noun + copula also can not precede そうだ (Conjecture) because this grammatical construction conveys hearsay. However, in the negative non-past tense, a noun can precede そうだ (Conjecture).
    • E.g. *加藤かとうさんは学生がくせいそうだ。[Kato-san appears to be a student.] A noun cannot directly precede そうだ (Conjecture). The appropriate construction would be 学生がくせいらしい.
    • E.g. *加藤かとうさんは学生がくせいだそうだ。[I heard that Kato-san is a student.] When a Noun + Copula precedes そうだ, it indicates そうだ (Hearsay), not そうだ (Conjecture).
    • E.g. 加藤かとうさんは学生がくせいじゃないそうだ。[Sato-san doesn’t appear to be a student.] A negative non-past noun can precede そうだ (Conjecture).
  • Typically, the negative form of verbs do not precede そうだ (Conjecture). Instead, Verb ます-Form + そうにない / もない are used.
    • E.g. クリスは車くるまを売うりそうにない。[Chris doesn’t doesn’t seems like she will sell her car.]
    • E.g. クリスは車くるまを売うりそうもない。 [Chris doesn’t doesn’t seems like she will sell her car.]
    • E.g. この問題もんだいは学生がくせいにはできそうにない。[As for this problem, it doesn’t seem that students can solve it.]
    • E.g. この問題もんだいは学生がくせいにはできそうもない。[As for this problem, it doesn’t seem that students can solve it.]
  • そうだ (Conjecture) is also used to express the speaker’s conjecture concerning his or her future future non-volitional actions based on feelings.
    • E.g. 僕ぼくはこのケーキを残のこしそうだ。[It seems that I won’t be able to finish this cake.]
    • E.g. 私わたしはとても疲つかれていて倒たおれそうだ。[I’m very tired; it seems that I may collapse.]
  • そうだ (Conjecture) conjugates as a な-Adjective, so pre-nominally it becomes そうな.
    • E.g. 高たかそうな車くるま [An expensive-looking car]
    • E.g. 雨あめが降ふりそうな空そら [A sky that looks like it may rain]

Example Sentences:

雨あめが降ふりそうだ。[It looks like it may rain.]

あの車くるまは高たかそうだ。[That car looks expensive.]

この家いえは強つよい風かぜが吹ふいたらたおれそうだ。[This house looks like it may collapse from a strong gust of wind.]

あのステーキはおいしそうだった。[That steak looked delicious.]

このあたりは静しずかそうだ。[This area appears to be quiet.]

WILD Examples:

Listen to this line at 1:24: 溢あふれそう、滴したたって、漂ただよう、その香かおり [It seems like it will overflow, it’s flowing out, it’s drifting, that aroma] At 1:40, listen for this line: Oh Oh Oh, 美味おいしそうだ [Oh oh oh, it seems delicious]

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