そう
Japanese
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]![]() | This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness. |
Alternative spelling |
---|
/sau/ → /sɔː/ → /soː/
Adverb
[edit]See also
[edit]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) |
こういう (kō iu) | そういう (sō iu) | ああいう (ā iu) | どういう (dō iu) | |
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 (kore kurai) | それくらい (sore kurai) | あれくらい (are kurai) | どれくらい (dore kurai) |
これだけ (kore dake) | それだけ (sore dake) | あれだけ (are dake) | どれだけ (dore dake) | |
これほど (kore hodo) | それほど (sore hodo) | あれほど (are hodo) | どれほど (dore hodo) | |
* irregular ** regular (long vowel) † potentially rude or derogatory |
Interjection
[edit]- 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 [1987 February 20], Fujiko Fujio, “テレパ
椎 [Telepathinkapin]”, in カンビュセスの籤 [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 友 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.
- Ore-tachi ya shin'yū da na! Sō da na
- おれたちや
Synonyms
[edit]Etymology 2
[edit]/sau/ → /sɔː/ → /soː/
Probably either a shift from
Possibly influenced by, or developed by analogy to, the adverbial and interjectional sō (
Pronunciation
[edit]- In Tokyo accent, the accent of the verb construction depends on the suffixed verb:[3]
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
[edit]そう • (-sō) -na (adnominal そうな (-sō na na), adverbial そうに (-sō ni ni))
- seem, seem like, appear
- (after the plain form of a verb or adjective) apparently, heard that (relating something heard from someone or somewhere else)
Usage notes
[edit]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
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
Inflection
[edit]Stem forms | |||
---|---|---|---|
Imperfective ( |
そうだろ | そうだろ | -sō daro |
Continuative ( |
そうで | そうで | -sō de |
Terminal ( |
そうだ | そうだ | -sō da |
Attributive ( |
そうな | そうな | -sō na |
Hypothetical ( |
そうなら | そうなら | -sō nara |
Imperative ( |
そうであれ | そうであれ | -sō de are |
Key constructions | |||
Informal negative | そうではない そうじゃない |
そうではない そうじゃない |
-sō de wa nai -sō ja nai |
Informal past | そうだった | そうだった | -sō datta |
Informal negative past | そうではなかった そうじゃなかった |
そうではなかった そうじゃなかった |
-sō de wa nakatta -sō ja nakatta |
Formal | そうです | そうです | -sō desu |
Formal negative | そうではありません そうじゃありません |
そうではありません そうじゃありません |
-sō de wa arimasen -sō ja arimasen |
Formal past | そうでした | そうでした | -sō deshita |
Formal negative past | そうではありませんでした そうじゃありませんでした |
そうではありませんでした そうじゃありませんでした |
-sō de wa arimasen deshita -sō ja arimasen deshita |
Conjunctive | そうで | そうで | -sō de |
Conditional | そうなら(ば) | そうなら(ば) | -sō nara (ba) |
Provisional | そうだったら | そうだったら | -sō dattara |
Volitional | そうだろう | そうだろう | -sō darō |
Adverbial | そうに | そうに | -sō ni |
Degree | そうさ | そうさ | -sōsa |
Etymology 3
[edit]Various.
Adjective
[edit]そう • (sō) -na (adnominal そうな (sō na na), adverbial そうに (sō ni ni))
Counter
[edit]Noun
[edit]For pronunciation and definitions of そう – see the following entries. | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
(This term, そう (sō), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as そう, see Category:Japanese kanji read as そう.) |
(The following entries are uncreated:
Prefix
[edit]Proper noun
[edit]Suffix
[edit]Verb
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988)
国語 大 辞典 (新装 版 ) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN - ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006),
大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN - ^ Online Japanese Accent Dictionary (OJAD)
- Japanese phrasebook
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese adverbs
- Japanese hiragana
- Japanese terms with usage examples
- Japanese interjections
- Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese suffixes
- Japanese adjectives
- Japanese な-na adjectives
- Japanese counters
- Japanese nouns
- Japanese proper nouns
- Japanese prefixes
- Japanese given names
- Japanese male given names
- Japanese surnames
- Japanese verbs