そんなSuch a・Kind of, Something like ~

そういう (and its variants こういう, ああいう, どういう) and そんな・こんな・あんな・どんな both modify nouns to mean 'that sort of,' 'this sort of,' etc. While often similar in meaning, そういう tends to be a bit more formal or polite. In contrast, depending on context そんな can be used with a negative or dismissive tone, which is not true of そういう.

そんな・こんな・あんな・どんな come before nouns and mean 'that/this/what kind of (A)' or 'something like (A)'. そんなに is the same そんな, but followed by に. そんなに (as well as こんなに, あんなに, どんなに) is used with verbs or adjectives to add emphasis, similar to 'that much' or 'to that extent' in English. For example, そんな本 means 'a book/books like that,' and そんなに面白い means 'that interesting' or 'so interesting'.

そんな・こんな・あんな・どんな are used before nouns and mean 'that/this/what kind of' or 'something like (A)'. This is a common and fairly casual pattern in everyday speech. いかなる is similar to どんな, but with a much more formal or literary tone. For example, いかなることがあっても and どんなことがあっても both mean 'no matter what happens', but the いかなる version sounds much more formal.