Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 3/19

そうにSeem, Look like, Sound

Negative Verb[ない] + そう, い-Adj [ない] + さ + そう

Structure

Verb［stem］+ そうに + Verb(1)
［い］Adjective［い］+ そうに + Verb(1)
［な］Adjective + そうに + Verb(1)
Verb［stem］(2) + そうな + Noun

(1) Adverb、［い］Adjective、［な］Adjective
(2) ［い］Adjective［い］、［な］Adjective

Details

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About そうに・そうな

そうだ is one of the 18 auxiliary verbs in Japanese, and can be used in the same way as な-Adjectives (may be followed by な when acting as an adjective, or に when acting as an adverb). This is a unique characteristic of そうだ and ようだ. It is not something that can be done with all auxiliary verbs. As with そうだ, そうに and そうな carry the meaning of 'seeming like (A)', or 'looking like (A)'.

Caution

そう may also be used when attached to the い-Adjective, ない. In this case, there is a unique conjugation rule which you will need to be careful of. As always, い will be removed from ない before attaching そう. However, さ will need to be inserted between な, and そう. This results in the construction なさそう.

Note that this addition of さ does not happen with verbs. This is due to the ない that is used with negative verbs being an auxiliary verb, and not an い-Adjective. With the auxiliary verb ない, simply remove the い, before adding そう directly to the stem.

Related

Examples

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    これが入(はい)りそうな箱(はこ)ってある？

    Is there a box that looks like it might fit this?

    優(やさ)しそうに犬(いぬ)を撫(な)でた。

    She pet the dog in a way that seemed affectionate.

    今日(きょう)は雨(あめ)が降(ふ)りそうな日(ひ)ですね。

    It looks like today is going to be a rainy day doesn't it.

    つまらなそうな話(はなし)は聞(き)きたくない。

    I don't want to hear a story that sounds boring.

    彼(かれ)は分(わ)かりやすそうな説明(せつめい)をしたが、まだ理解(りかい)ができない。

    He gave an explanation that seemed easy to understand, but I still don't get it.

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そうに・そうな – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (32 in total)

  • busnea

    busnea

    Why can’t you use そうに for nouns? Like noun + そうに + Verb . Because you can use it for ［な］Adjectives and Noun + の + よう + だ is possible.

  • Tensor

    Tensor

    Can anyone explain why using みたいな instead of そうな is incorrect here? I’m having trouble identifying that Bunpro is seeking そうな instead. Any reason to not just mark it right?

  • Asher

    Asher

    Hi there and thanks for posting! みたい and そう are quite often interchangeable, however, this is not the case when it comes to the stem form of adjectives and verbs. If possible, could you link me the sentence that you were struggling with, and I will be able to give you a more thorough explanation.

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