Japanese N4
Lesson 9 of 24
It Looks Like Rain
about 12 minutes
After this lesson you can
- Say how something looks to you, before you know.
- Say something is about to happen.
Words this lesson teaches
- ふりそう
- looks like it will fall (rain, snow)
- おいしそう
- looks delicious
- みえます
- is visible, can be seen
- あじみ
- a taste, tasting a little
- くち
- the mouth; a mouthful
- かんたんそう
- looks easy
- むずかしそう
- looks difficult
- はるのメニュー
- the spring menu
What it explains
そう on the stem: your own eyes
This そう says I am looking at it and this is my read. It carries no source and needs none, because the source is you. With a verb it usually means about to: 「ふりそうです」 is not it rains but it is on the point of raining.
Do not use it on things you can just see
そう is for a guess about something not directly visible — taste, difficulty, what is about to happen. 「きれいそうです」 about a flower is wrong, because you can see whether a flower is pretty; you say 「きれいです」. The test is whether you are inferring or just reporting.
The scene itself is in the app.
Lesson one of this track is free to read in full. From lesson two on, the story, the audio and the review are part of a free account.