〜そう (Appearance): How to Say Something 'Looks…' or 'Is About To…'
The judgement it makes: "looks…" and "about to…"
This 〜そう is the appearance (様態) judgement: you're reading how something looks, feels, or is about to happen from what you can see or sense. With adjectives it's "looks ___"; with verbs it's "looks like it's about to ___." It lets you comment on a cake before tasting it, or warn that something is on the verge of happening — a guess from visible signs, not something you were told. (That reported meaning is the lookalike hearsay 〜そうだ, weighed up below.)
このケーキ、おいしそう！
この ケーキ、おいしそう！
This cake looks tasty!
い-adjective: drop い, add そう.
先生は元気そうですね。
せんせいは げんきそうですね。
The teacher looks well, doesn't she?
な-adjective: stem + そう.
今にも雨が降りそうです。
いまにも あめが ふりそうです。
It looks like it's about to rain any moment.
Verb ます-stem (降り) + そう = on the verge.
What it's built on: the stem, then a な-adjective's shapes
The whole reading hinges on where そう attaches — the stem, which is exactly what marks it as a here-and-now guess rather than hearsay:
| Word type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | drop い + そう | おいしい → おいしそう (looks tasty) |
| い-adjective | drop い + そう | 高い → 高そう (looks expensive) |
| な-adjective | stem + そう | 元気 → 元気そう (looks well) |
| な-adjective | stem + そう | 静か → 静かそう (seems quiet) |
| Verb | ます-stem + そう | 降ります → 降りそう (about to fall/rain) |
| Verb | ます-stem + そう | 落ちます → 落ちそう (about to fall) |
| いい (irregular) | → よさそう | よさそう (looks good) |
| ない (irregular) | → なさそう | なさそう (looks like there's none) |
Two words break the plain "drop い" rule and insert さ: いい ("good") → よさそう (not いそう), and ない ("not exist / not so") → なさそう (not なそう) — 「この店、よさそう。」 "This shop looks good," 「お金がなさそう。」 "It looks like there's no money."
Once formed, the whole 〜そう block behaves like a な-adjective: add です to be polite, use そうに before a verb (to describe how an action looks) and そうな before a noun.
モチはうれしそうに笑った。
モチは うれしそうに わらった。
Mochi smiled happily (looking happy).
そうに modifies the verb 笑った.
おいしそうなケーキを買った。
おいしそうな ケーキを かった。
I bought a tasty-looking cake.
そうな modifies the noun ケーキ.
To say something doesn't look a certain way, the two word types split. For an adjective, negate it first, then it lands on 〜なさそう: おいしくない → おいしくなさそう ("doesn't look tasty"); 元気じゃない → 元気じゃなさそう ("doesn't look well"). For a verb "doesn't look like it'll happen," use 〜そうにない (or 〜そうもない): 降りそうにない ("doesn't look like it'll rain"); 終わりそうにない ("doesn't look like it'll finish").
今日は雨が降りそうにない。
きょうは あめが ふりそうにない。
It doesn't look like it'll rain today.
Verb + そうにない = negative of 'about to.'
この料理はあまりおいしくなさそうだ。
この りょうりは あまり おいしくなさそうだ。
This dish doesn't look very tasty.
い-adjective negative + なさそう.
How sure it sounds: appearance そう vs hearsay そうだ
The neighbour worth keeping straight is hearsay 〜そうだ. The same そう carries a completely different degree of directness depending on what it attaches to — a firsthand read versus a secondhand report:
| Form | Core idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance (様態) | how it looks / about to happen — attaches to the STEM | 雨が降りそうだ = It looks like it'll rain |
| Hearsay (伝聞) | I hear that… — attaches to the PLAIN form | 雨が降るそうだ = I hear it's going to rain |
The clue is the attachment: appearance そう grabs the stem (降りそう), while hearsay そう grabs the full plain form (降るそう). With adjectives, appearance drops the い (高そう = "looks pricey") but hearsay keeps it (高いそう = "I hear it's pricey"). For other ways to report what you heard or guessed, compare 〜かもしれない and the 〜ようだ vs 〜らしい vs 〜みたい overview.
In use
With adjectives, 〜そう hedges a judgement you can see — "looks ___," short of stating it as fact:
そのかばん、高そうですね。
その かばん、たかそうですね。
That bag looks expensive, doesn't it?
ヤッタンの弟は元気そうだ。
ヤッタンの おとうとは げんきそうだ。
Yattan's little brother looks full of energy.
この問題は難しそうだ。
この もんだいは むずかしそうだ。
This problem looks difficult.
With a verb stem, it means something is on the point of happening — you can see it's about to occur:
コップが落ちそうだよ！
コップが おちそうだよ！
The cup is about to fall!
ヤッタンは今にも泣きそうだった。
ヤッタンは いまにも なきそうだった。
Yattan looked like he was about to cry.
今にも ('any moment now') pairs naturally with verb + そう.
Watch-outs
- Keeping い on い-adjectives. It's おいしそう, not おいしいそう. (おいしいそう would be hearsay — "I hear it's tasty.")
- Saying いそう or なそう. Use the irregulars: いい → よさそう, ない → なさそう.
- Using the dictionary form of a verb. "About to rain" is 降りそう (stem), not 降るそう (which is hearsay, "I hear it'll rain").
- Using そう for plain appearance you can clearly see. 〜そう is a guess from signs. For something obvious and certain ("she is happy"), just say うれしい — そう adds the "seems/looks" hedge.
The short version
- い-adj: drop い + そう (高そう). な-adj: stem + そう (元気そう).
- Verb ます-stem + そう = about to / on the verge (落ちそう).
- The block acts like a な-adjective: そうに + verb, そうな + noun.
- Irregulars: いい → よさそう, ない → なさそう; negatives 〜なさそう / verb 〜そうにない.
- Appearance attaches to the stem; hearsay 〜そうだ attaches to the plain form — keep them apart.
Practice it
Choose the correct 〜そう (appearance) form, or tell it apart from hearsay そうだ.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
彼は＿＿＿笑っていた。
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between おいしそう and おいしいそう?
おいしそう (drop い) means 'it looks tasty' — your guess from seeing it. おいしいそう (keep い) is hearsay: 'I hear it's tasty.' The dropped い signals appearance; the full form signals reported information.
How do I say いい and ない with そう?
They're irregular and add さ: いい → よさそう ('looks good'), ない → なさそう ('looks like there's none'). Never いそう or なそう.
How do I make it negative?
For adjectives, negate first then add なさそう: おいしくなさそう ('doesn't look tasty'). For verbs meaning 'doesn't look like it'll happen,' use 〜そうにない: 降りそうにない ('doesn't look like it'll rain').
When do I use そうに vs そうな?
〜そう acts like a な-adjective. Use そうに before a verb (うれしそうに笑う = 'smile happily') and そうな before a noun (おいしそうなケーキ = 'tasty-looking cake').
Where 〜そう fits
Don't confuse it with
- 〜かもしれない · N4 — かもしれない means 'might' or 'maybe' — it shows you're unsure. Learn how it attaches to plain verbs, adjectives, and nouns, plus the casual かも and how it ranks against でしょう and はず.
- 〜たい · N5 — 〜たい attaches to a verb stem to say what you want to do. Learn the formation, why it conjugates like an i-adjective, the が/を switch, how to talk about other people's wants (たがる), and see 12 examples.
More N4 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜ようだ — 〜ようだ states a conjecture from your own evidence ('it seems') and, as 〜ように / 〜ような, draws comparisons ('like'). Learn the attachment rules and how it differs from みたい and らしい.
- 〜のに — 〜のに means 'even though' but carries surprise, frustration, or disappointment that the result went against expectation. Learn the formation, the な with nouns and な-adjectives, and how it differs from neutral 〜けど/〜が.
- 〜予定 — 予定 marks a fixed plan or schedule: dictionary verb + 予定だ and noun + の + 予定. Learn the formation, the negative 〜予定はない, and how 予定 differs from つもり.
- 〜ばかり — ばかり has two main N4 jobs: 'nothing but / only too much' (ゲームばかり) and 'just did' (来たばかり). Learn 〜てばかりいる and how 〜たばかり differs from 〜たところ and だけ.
- ございます・でございます — ございます is a very polite ある/あります and でございます a very polite です. Learn how shop staff and announcements use these courteous 丁寧語 forms, plus 〜うございます set phrases.
- 〜ていただけませんか — Climb the politeness ladder for requests: 〜てくれませんか, 〜てもらえませんか, the very polite 〜ていただけませんか, 〜てくださいませんか, and honorific お＋stem＋ください.