This grammar shows what something looks like. You use it when you see something and make a guess about it.
い-Adjective [stem] + そうですPrimary
な-Adjective + そうです
Verb [stem] + そうです
This grammar shows what something looks like. You use it when you see something and make a guess about it.
このケーキ、とても美味しそうですね。
This cake looks very delicious, doesn't it?
田中さんは昨日、とても暇そうでしたよ。
Mr. Tanaka looked very bored/free yesterday.
この問題はあまり難しくなさそうだ。
This problem doesn't look very difficult.
彼は何か言いたそうな顔でこちらを見ていた。
He was looking over here with a face that seemed to want to say something.
今にも雨が降りそうですから、傘を持っていきましょう。
It looks like it's going to rain any second, so let's take an umbrella.
This grammar shows how something looks. It is like saying 'looks delicious' or 'seems happy'.
This is different from 〜そうです (hearsay). That form means "I hear that...". This form means "it looks like...". The way you connect them is different. This form connects to the stem of verbs. It connects to the stem of い-adjectives. The hearsay form connects to the plain form of verbs and adjectives.
Don't use this when you know something for sure. For example, don't say '赤そう' (akasou) if you are holding a red apple. There are two special rules. '良い' (ii) changes to '良さそう' (yosasou). It does not become 'いそう'. Also, 'ない' (nai) changes to 'なさそう' (nasasou). For example, '面白くない' (omoshirokunai) becomes '面白くなさそう' (omoshirokunasasou). This means 'it does not look interesting'.
Often confused with(1)
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