Hearsay and appearance in Japanese: おいしいそうです or おいしそうです

Level B1

Hearsay and appearance in Japanese: おいしいそうです or おいしそうです

By the end of this lesson, you can pass on information you received and say how something looks, without mixing the two up. The central idea is this: そうです after a complete plain form (おいしいそうです, oishii sō desu) means you heard it, while そう attached to an adjective without its final い (おいしそうです, oishisō desu) means it looks that way to you. They come from different sources, so they do not carry the same certainty.

Quick review: plain forms before と

The first half of this lesson reuses the plain forms that go before と in と言っていました (to itte imashita), “said”, even if this is your first time seeing them. Verbs: 行く (iku, go), 行かない (ikanai, not go), 行った (itta, went). 大きい (ōkii, big) and 大きかった (ōkikatta, was big) stand alone, while きれい (kirei, clean) and nouns take だ (da). Listen to the examples and notice the form right before と. Words: 明日 (ashita, tomorrow), 公園 (kōen, park), 先生 (sensei, teacher), テスト (tesuto, test), 月曜日 (getsuyōbi, Monday).

The words: what you will describe

おいしい (oishii, delicious) is usually written in kana, as in this lesson; its card shows the kanji 美味しい. 高い (takai) means “expensive” here. 便利 (benri, convenient, handy) works like きれい, not like 高い: it has no final い to lose, and the い of きれい is part of the word, so it stays. 雨が降る (ame ga furu) means “it rains”; 雨 (ame) is the rain. あの (ano) is “that”.

Model: a cake to share

Listen once without reading. Two colleagues are looking at a cake: one only sees it, and the other has heard about it. おいしそうです and 高そうです come from what the first one sees; おいしいそうです and 高くないそうです, from what the second one heard. 高くない (takakunai) is “not expensive”, 駅の前 (eki no mae) is “in front of the station”, and そうですか (sō desu ka) is “I see”. After tasting, the first colleague no longer needs そう: 本当においしいです (hontō ni oishii desu), “it really is delicious”.

What you heard: plain form + そうです

Take a complete sentence in the plain form and add そうです: 明日は雨が降るそうです (ashita wa ame ga furu sō desu). The forms are the ones that go before と: 行かない, 行った, 大きかった, and だ after きれい or a noun, as in テストは月曜日だそうです. Adjectives like おいしい keep their whole form: おいしいそうです. The sentence stays polite, because the politeness sits in です.

Unlike と言っていました, そうです does not need to name who told you. レオさんは明日は行かないそうです (Reo-san wa ashita wa ikanai sō desu) says that Leo is the one not going; who told you stays unsaid, and it may not have been Leo. 土曜日 (doyōbi) is “Saturday”.

行く／おいしい／雨だそうです

How it looks: adjective + そうです

Drop the final い of the adjective and attach そう: おいしい → おいしそうです, 高い → 高そうです (takasō desu), 難しい → 難しそうです (muzukashisō desu), 重い → 重そうです (omosō desu). 便利 has nothing to drop: 便利そうです (benrisō desu). The same goes for きれい: きれいそうです (kireisō desu). いい (ii, good) is an exception: it gives よさそうです (yosasō desu). ない is another: 高くない gives 高くなさそうです (takakunasasō desu). Nouns do not take this そう, and verbs join it in another way, which this lesson leaves out.

Use it for what you judge but have not checked: a cake you have not tasted, a backpack you have not lifted, a book you have not opened. Once you have tasted the cake, say おいしいです. For what anyone can see at a glance, such as 大きい, you usually just say 大きいです.

おいし／高／便利そうです

Side by side: pairs one sound apart

Listen to each pair: the first sentence was heard, the second is how it looks. With おいしい and 高い, the difference is the い that stays or goes: oishii sō desu against oishisō desu, takai sō desu against takasō desu. With 便利, it is だ: 便利だそうです against 便利そうです. A single sound changes “I hear it's delicious” into “it looks delicious”, so say it with care. そうです on its own, as in はい、そうです (hai, sō desu), is still “yes, that's right”.

Two sources, not the same certainty

English “it seems” can cover both, so ask where the information comes from. 高いそうです comes from outside: you received it and pass it on, so how solid it is depends on the source, which may be a teacher or a rumor. 高そうです comes from you: it is an impression from what you see, and you have not checked it. That is why the two fit together in the first example, “That café looks expensive, but I hear it isn't”.

Compare the four sentences that follow: と言っていました names who said it, and そうです passes it on without naming anyone; と思います gives your opinion, and 高そうです gives the impression the thing makes on you.

Your turn, and the summary

A colleague leaves a book on your desk. Cover the sentences below. You have not opened it yet: say how it looks. Then pass on that you heard it isn't difficult, with でも (demo, but) and 難しくない (muzukashikunai, not difficult). Later you read it, and it turns out to be hard: say so in your own name, then check. In short: a complete plain form + そうです is what you heard; an adjective without its final い + そう is how it looks; and once you know for yourself, you need neither.

Practise this lesson

Next lessons