Explanation
そうだ has two distinct uses:
- Appearance: [stem] + そうだ = "looks like / seems". おいしそう = "looks delicious".
- Hearsay: [plain form] + そうだ = "I heard that...". ふるそうだ = "I heard it will rain".
For い-adjectives, drop い before appearance そう: おいしい → おいしそう.
Formation: Attach to the stem of a verb or い-adjective, or to the stem of a な-adjective (drop な): おいしい becomes おいしそう, 静か becomes 静かそう. The negative is 〜なさそう.
Usage & nuance: 〜そうだ expresses a judgement based on what the speaker can see right now — an appearance or an imminent impression. It cannot come from hearsay or from information read somewhere.
Compare: Use 〜そうだ for a visual impression (おいしそう = looks tasty), 〜ようだ for a reasoned inference from evidence, and 〜らしい for hearsay or typicality.
हिंदी में समझें
そうだ के दो अलग उपयोग हैं:
- दिखावट: [stem] + そうだ = "लगता है"। おいしそう = "स्वादिष्ट लगता है"।
- सुनी-सुनाई: [सामान्य रूप] + そうだ = "मैंने सुना कि..."।
い-विशेषण में い हटाकर そう: おいしい → おいしそう।
Examples
- このケーキはおいしそうです。 (Kono keeki wa oishisou desu.)
हिंदी: यह केक स्वादिष्ट लगता है।
English: This cake looks delicious. - あしたはあめがふるそうです。 (Ashita wa ame ga furu sou desu.)
हिंदी: सुना है कल बारिश होगी।
English: I heard it will rain tomorrow. - かれはとてもげんきそうです。 (Kare wa totemo genki sou desu.)
हिंदी: वह बहुत स्वस्थ लगता है।
English: He looks very healthy. - このケーキはおいしそうです。 (Kono keeki wa oishisou desu.)
हिंदी: यह केक स्वादिष्ट लग रहा है।
English: This cake looks delicious. - 今にも雨が降りそうだ。 (Ima ni mo ame ga furisou da.)
हिंदी: ऐसा लगता है कि अभी बारिश होगी।
English: It looks like it is about to rain.
Common mistakes
- おいしいそう (for appearance) → おいしそう — Drop い for appearance そう.
- Confusing appearance and hearsay そう → Appearance uses the stem; hearsay uses the full plain form — Context and form differ.
Practice this topic
Test your understanding with 8 questions on 〜そうだ — Looks like / Hearsay.