Happy Sunday Japanophiles, Herewith the 61st issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Today, we’re simply going through some grammar:

Learn Japanese Grammar: Verb + そう – “Looks Like It’s Going To…”

Today we’re diving into a helpful and expressive grammar pattern:
Verb + そう (sou) – which means “it looks like (something is going to happen)”.

It’s one of the most visual ways to describe what you think is about to happen—based on what you see or feel right now.

📚 Table of Contents

• What is 〜そう?

• How to Form Verb + そう

• Using 〜そう for What You See

• Using 〜そう for What You Feel or Imagine

• When NOT to Use そう

• Bonus: How そう Works Grammatically

🎯 What is 〜そう?

In this form, そう means “looks like it’s going to…”

It attaches to the masu-stem of a verb (the part before 〜ます).

Examples:

You remove 〜ます and add そう.

📝 泣きます ➜ 泣きそう
(Nakimasu ➜ Nakisou) ➜ "Looks like [someone] is going to cry"

👀 Using そう for What You Can See

Use this form when you're observing something happening right now and want to make a comment on it.

Examples:

📌 今にも雨が降りそうです。
(いま にも あめ が ふりそう です。)
Ima ni mo ame ga furisou desu.
➡ "It looks like it’s going to rain any minute."

📌 あの木、倒れそうだよ！
(あの き、たおれそう だ よ！)
Ano ki, taoresou da yo!
➡ "That tree looks like it’s going to fall!"

Use it when something is just about to happen, and you're judging by what you see.

🤔 Using そう for What You Feel or Imagine

You can also use 〜そう to describe things that you feel might happen, based on your own emotions or mental picture.

Examples:

📌 つらい。泣きそう。
(つらい。なきそう。)
Tsurai. Nakisou.
➡ "This is tough. I feel like I’m going to cry."

📌 このケーキ、美味しいけど、残しそう。
(この けーき、 おいしい けど、 のこしそう。)
Kono keeki, oishii kedo, nokoshisou.
➡ "The cake’s delicious, but I probably won’t be able to finish it."

In conversations:

A: マラソン出ようよ。
(Marason deyō yo.)
➡ "Let’s do a marathon."

B: やだよ、すごい疲れそう。
(Yada yo, sugoi tsukaresou.)
➡ "No way. It looks like it’d be really exhausting."

Here, B is imagining how tired they’d feel—just thinking about it!

🚫 When NOT to Use そう

You can’t use this form to describe past events or things you already know happened.

Instead, use 〜らしい (rashii) or 〜よう (yō) for that.

Example:

❌ あの木倒れそうだった。
This could mean "It looked like it was going to fall." (okay!)

✅ あの木倒れたそうだよ。
(あの き たおれた そう だ よ。)
Ano ki taoreta sou da yo.
➡ "I heard that tree fell."

This そう means "I heard...", not "looks like."

🧠 How 〜そう Works Grammatically

When a verb takes the そう form, it behaves like a な-adjective. That means you can:

• Add です for politeness:

  • 雨が降りそうです。
    Ame ga furisou desu.
    ➡ "It looks like it’s going to rain."

• Add だ for plain speech:

  • 雨が降りそうだ。
    Ame ga furisou da.

• Use it with nouns:

  • 雨が降りそうな空
    (あめ が ふりそう な そら)
    Ame ga furisou na sora
    ➡ "A sky that looks like it’s going to rain."

• Use past tense:

  • 昨日は雨が降りそうだった。
    Kinō wa ame ga furisou datta.
    ➡ "Yesterday it looked like it was going to rain."

📝 Summary Table

🎉 Wrapping Up

Now you can confidently use verb + そう to express what looks like it’s going to happen, whether it’s based on what you see, feel, or imagine.

That’s all folks!

Let me know if you enjoyed this simple grammar run-through :)

Have a great Sunday!