V ます-form / い-adj / な-adj + そうです (V-masu stem / i-adj / na-adj + sou desu) — A guess made by looking
The form for guessing from what you see — "that looks tasty", "it looks like rain".
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
Meaning
「〜そうです」makes a guess from what your eyes can see.
How to attach
- How to attach it: for a verb, drop ます and add そう (降ります → 降りそうです); for an い-adjective, drop い (おいしい → おいしそうです); for a な-adjective, drop な or だ (大変 → 大変そうです).
- Learn the two exceptions by heart — いい → よさそうです and ない → なさそうです.
- Before a noun it becomes 〜そうな — おいしそうな ケーキ.
Versus what you know
Which to pick? Use 〜そうです when you saw it yourself; when you are passing on what you heard from someone, use the plain form (普通形) + そうです, which comes in a later lesson.
Watch out
- The big trap: you cannot use it for something your eyes already tell you.
- ✗ 赤そうです, ✗ きれいそうです — whether a thing is red or pretty is plain to see, so just say 赤いです, きれいです.
- そう only guesses at what is hidden (taste, a feeling) or at what is about to happen (rain about to fall, a thing about to drop). It never attaches to a noun (✗ 学生そうです).
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
この ケーキは おいしそうです。
This cake looks tasty.
雨が 降りそうです。
あめが ふりそうです。
It looks like it is going to rain.
この 仕事は 大変そうです。
この しごとは たいへんそうです。
This job looks tough.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
What happens when そう is added to 「いい」?
💡 Hint: This is one of the two exceptions.
いい → よさそうです and ない → なさそうです — learn these two by heart.
Looking at the sky, which says "it looks like rain"?
💡 Hint: Drop ます, then add そう.
降ります → 降り + そうです. 降るそうです means "I hear it will rain" — heard, not seen.
Which one of these is unnatural?
💡 Hint: そう is not needed for what the eye already sees.
You can already see that it is red, so just say 赤いです. きれい works the same way.
Your score: /3