〜そうだ (Hearsay) vs 〜そう (Looks Like): Same Word, Two Meanings

The core difference

Both use そう, but they differ on two things at once — the form they attach to, and where the information comes from:

The rule is mechanical and dependable: hearsay takes the full plain form (present, past, positive or negative all stay intact), while appearance chops the verb to its ます-stem or strips the adjective ending. The meaning follows from the form — a whole sentence quoted back is a report, a bare stem is a visual impression.

See it in one situation

Same rain, same そう, two completely different sources of knowledge:

The first passes on a report. The second is ヤッタン looking up at the clouds and predicting for himself.

伝聞の〜そうだ — the "I hear that" そう

Use plain form + そうだ to pass along information you got from someone else — a person, a book, the news. Crucially, the form in front stays complete: present or past, positive or negative, verb or adjective, nothing gets trimmed.

To name your source, lead with 〜によると ("according to ~"): 友達によると、試験は難しかったそうだ ("according to my friend, I hear the exam was hard"). Note that past and negative live inside the plain form here — 降ったそうだ ("I hear it rained"), 降らないそうだ ("I hear it won't rain").

Full details: 伝聞の〜そうだ guide.

様態の〜そう — the "looks like" そう

Use stem + そう to describe how something looks or seems to you right now, or that it's on the verge of happening. Verbs drop to the ます-stem (降り, 落ち, 泣き), and adjectives lose their ending (おいし, 高, 元気).

Two irregulars are worth memorizing because they don't just take the bare stem: いい → よさそう ("looks good") and ない → なさそう ("doesn't look like there is any / doesn't seem so"). So 元気そう ("looks well") but 都合が悪そう with the small stem, and よさ/なさ get an extra さ.

Full details: 様態の〜そう guide.

A useful contrast: the connection is everything

• Hearsay keeps the word whole: 高いそうだ ("I hear it's expensive"), 行くそうだ ("I hear he's going").
• Appearance trims it: 高そう ("looks expensive"), 泣きそう ("looks about to cry").

So the single fastest check is: is the form before そう complete or chopped? Complete → 伝聞 ("I heard"). Chopped → 様態 ("it looks"). おいしいそうだ = "they say it's tasty"; おいしそう = "it looks tasty."

Common mistakes

1. Using the full form for a "looks like" meaning. "This looks delicious" is おいしそう, not おいしいそう (that last one means "I hear it's delicious"). Trim the い for appearance.
2. Chopping the verb for hearsay. "I hear it'll rain" is 降るそうだ, never 降りそうだ (that means "it looks about to rain"). Keep the plain form whole for a report.
3. Forgetting いい and ない are irregular. "Looks good" is よさそう and "doesn't seem to be any" is なさそう — not いいそう or ないそう in the appearance sense.
4. Putting past/negative in the wrong place. For hearsay the tense sits before そうだ: 降らなかったそうだ ("I hear it didn't rain"). For appearance you inflect そう itself: 降りそうにない ("doesn't look like it'll rain").

Quick recap

• Hearsay (伝聞) = plain/dictionary form + そうだ → "I hear that ~ / they say ~."
• Appearance (様態) = ます-stem or adjective stem + そう → "looks like / seems about to ~."
• The tell is the connection: full form → heard it; stem → saw it.
• 雨が降るそうだ (from the forecast) vs 雨が降りそう (from the sky).
• Irregulars: いい → よさそう, ない → なさそう.

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