そう

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

Japanese

Etymology 1

Japanese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Alternative spelling
然う (rare)

/sau/ → /sɔː/ → /soː/

Adverb

そう • (sō) ^{←さう (sau)?}

1. so, like that, in such a way, such

   それはそう。／そりゃそうだろ。

   Sore wa sō. / Sorya sō daro.

   Well, of course.

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 (kore)	それ (sore)	あれ (are)	どれ (dore)
	これら (korera)	それら (sorera)	あれら (arera)	—
Determiner	この (kono)	その (sono)	あの (ano)	どの (dono)
	これらの (korera no)	それらの (sorera no)	あれらの (arera no)	—
Kind	こんな (konna)	そんな (sonna)	あんな (anna)	どんな (donna)
Place	ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あそこ (asoko)*	どこ (doko)
	こっから (kokkara)	そっから (sokkara)	—	どっから (dokkara)
Direction / Human	こちら (kochira)	そちら (sochira)	あちら (achira)	どちら (dochira)
	こなた (konata)	そなた (sonata)	あなた (anata)	どなた (donata)
Direction	こっち (kotchi)	そっち (sotchi)	あっち (atchi)	どっち (dotchi)
Human	こいつ (koitsu)	そいつ (soitsu)	あいつ (aitsu)	どいつ (doitsu)
Manner	こう (kō)	そう (sō)	ああ (ā)**	どう (dō)
Degree	これくらい (korekurai)	それくらい (sorekurai)	あれくらい (arekurai)	どれくらい (dorekurai)
	これだけ (koredake)	それだけ (soredake)	あれだけ (aredake)	どれだけ (doredake)
* irregular ** regular (long vowel)

The kanji 此(こ) (ko), 其(そ) (so), 彼(あ) (a), and 何(ど) (do) can be used for determiners, but they are almost always spelled in hiragana.

Interjection

そう • (sō) ^{←さう (sau)?}

1. yes, yeah; it's like that; that's how it is; I see. (interjection to show that the speaker is paying attention)
   • 1987 March 20 [Feb 20 1987], Fujiko Fujio, “テレパ椎(しい) [Telepathinkapin]”, in カンビュセスの籤(くじ) [Cambyses’s Drawing] (藤子不二雄 ＳＦ全短編; 1), 2nd edition, volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Chuokoronsha, →ISBN, 第二章, page 386:

     おれたちや親(しん)友(ゆう)だな！そうだな
     そうだ　そうだ

     Ore-tachi ya shin'yū da na! Sō da na
     Sō da Sō da

     We are bosom buddies! Yes, we are.
     Yes, we are. Yes, we are.

Synonyms

• はい (hai)
• その通(とお)り (sono tōri)
• うん (un)

Etymology 2

/sau/ → /sɔː/ → /soː/

Probably either a shift from 様 (sama), or directly from 相 (sō). Appears from the Muromachi period.

Possibly influenced by, or developed by analogy to, the adverbial and interjectional sō (然う).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [so̞ː]

• In Tokyo accent, the accent of the verb construction depends on the suffixed verb:

	Suffixed verb is accented	Suffixed verb is non-accented
Continuative stem + そう (sō) (evidential)	Result has the accent on the そ (so) mora Example: つくりそ​ーだ [tsùkúrísóꜜòdà]	Result is non-accented Example: あそびそーだ [àsóbísóódá]
Finite form + そう (sō) (hearsay)	Result keeps the original accent Example: つく​るそーだ [tsùkúꜜrùsòòdà]	Result is accented on the そ (so) mora Example: あそぶそ​ーだ [àsóbúsóꜜòdà]

Suffix

そう • (-sō) 

1. seeming that, seeming like, appearing that

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”) plus this suffix forms 美味しいそう (oishii 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 (furi-) 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 (oishi-) of the adjective 美味しい (oishii, “delicious”) plus this suffix forms 美味しそう (oishisō, “looks delicious”). However, いい (ii) + そう becomes よさそう (yosasō) and ない (nai) + そう becomes なさそう (nasasō).

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 seems red”) would not. Another example of this is that 可愛い (kawaii) means someone looks cute so it does not need another そう. (かわいそう (kawaisō) does exist, but means “pitiful” or “poor”.) The suffix 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 seem glad”), which is more natural and polite than saying 嬉しい (ureshii, “you are glad”).

This word is morphologically a clitic after a phrase in plain form, and an inflectional suffix after a verb or adjective stem. It is classified as a 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

Etymology 3

Various.

Adjective

そう • (sō) -na (adnominal そうな (sō na), adverbial そうに (sō ni))

1. 壮: vibrant, manly, brave

Counter

そう • (-sō) 

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

Noun

そう • (sō) 

For pronunciation and definitions of そう – see the following entries.

【双】S [adjective] pair; double 【壮】S [proper noun] a male given name 【相】3 [noun] appearance, how something looks [noun] an aspect of something [noun] (grammar) grammatical aspect [noun] (physics) a phase, as of matter [noun] (ikebana) the central supporting branch of an ikebana arrangement 【草】1 [noun] grass [noun] a draft, a rough copy [noun] cursive, calligraphy in a running hand [noun] something unofficial, an informal abbreviation or knock-off 【葬】S [noun] burial 【僧】S [noun] a (Buddhist) priest, bonze 【箏】H [noun] a guzheng, zheng (Chinese zither) [proper noun] a surname 【左右】 [noun] (obsolete) left and right [noun] letter; tidings

(This term, そう, is an alternative spelling of the above terms. For a list of all kanji read as そう, not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as そう.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 宗, 奏, 荘, 庄, 曹, 喪, 惣, 装, 想, 層, 争, 甑, 騒, 疎雨, 疏雨.)

Prefix

そう • (sō-) 

1. 総: gross, general

Proper noun

そう • (Sō) 

1. 壮: a male given name
2. 宗: a surname
3. 宋: Song

Suffix

そう • (-sō) 

1. 走: race, run

Verb

そう • (sō) 

1. 添う, 副う: to accompany; to comply with
2. 沿う: to follow; to run along
3. 候: (auxiliary) be, do