そう

See also Appendix:Variations of "so", and Appendix:Variations of "sou"

Japanese

Adverb

そう (kanji 然う, romaji sō)

1. so, like that

See also

Japanese demonstratives

	ko- “this” (close to speaker)	so- “that” (close to listener)	a- “that over there” (far from both)	do- “which” (indeterminate, question)
Object	これ	それ	あれ	どれ
	これら	それら	あれら	—
Determiner	この	その	あの	どの
	これらの	それらの	あれらの	—
Kind	こんな	そんな	あんな	どんな
Place	ここ	そこ	あそこ*	どこ
Direction	こちら	そちら	あちら	どちら
	こっち	そっち	あっち	どっち
Human	こいつ	そいつ	あいつ	どいつ
Manner	こう	そう	ああ**	どう
* irregular ** regular (long vowel)

Counter

そう (romaji -sō)

1. 艘: small boats
2. 層: floors in a building
3. 双: pairs

Interjection

そう (romaji sō)

1. yes, yeah; it's like that; that's how it is
2. I see. (interjection to show that the speaker is paying attention)

Synonyms

• はい
• その通り
• うん

Kanji reading

そう (romaji sō)

On-reading of:

• 争: contend
• 爽: refreshing
• 棗: jujube

Noun

そう (romaji sō)

1. 層: stratum, layer, seam, tier
2. 僧: priest, monk, bonze
3. 相: aspect, phase, dimension
4. 総: gross, general

Proper noun

そう (romaji Sō)

1. 壮: A male given name

Suffix

そう (romaji -sō)

1. seeming that, seeming like, appearing that
2. 層: layer
3. 荘, 庄: manor
4. 双: pair
5. 走: race, run

Usage notes

This productive suffix meaning seeming like can come after a full phrase in plain form, or after a verb or adjective stem, thereby forming a "-na" adjective.

• After a full phrase in plain form, the resulting phrase implies reported speech, something heard from someone else. For example, the verb 降る (furu, "to fall from the sky") plus this suffix forms 降るそう (furu sō, "I've heard that it will rain" or "someone told me that it will rain"). The adjective 美味しい (oishii, "delicious") minus the "i" ending plus this suffix forms 美味しそう (oishi sō, "I've heard that it's delicious").

• After a verb or adjective stem, the resulting word means it looks like X. For example, the stem 降り of the verb 降る (furu, "to fall from the sky") plus this suffix forms 降りそう (furisō, "it looks like it will rain"). The stem 美味し of the adjective 美味しい (oishii, "delicious") plus this suffix forms 美味しそう (oishisō, "looks delicious").

The suffix should not be used after stem forms describing visually obvious physical traits like color. Although 赤いそう (akai sō, "I've heard that it's red") would be valid, *赤そう (akasō, "it looks red") would not. It should, however, be used when describing another person's mood or mental state. For example, if another person looks glad, one says 嬉しそう (ureshisō, "you look glad"), which is more natural and polite than saying 嬉しい (ureshii, "you are glad").

Verb

そう (godan conjugation, romaji sou)

1. 添う: to accompany; to comply with
2. 沿う: to follow; to run along