Examples
Meaning
〜そうだ in this usage means looks like or seems likely based on appearance. It describes the speaker's visual impression or a situation that looks about to happen.
Formation
For verbs, use the ます-stem plus そうだ, such as 降りそうだ. For い-adjectives, remove い and add そうだ, such as おいしそうだ. For な-adjectives, add そうだ directly, such as 元気そうだ. Important exceptions include いい to よさそう and ない to なさそう.
Usage
Use this pattern when judging from what you can see: food looks delicious, someone looks busy, or rain looks likely. It is common in casual conversation and polite speech.
Nuance
This pattern is based on surface appearance, so it does not mean you have confirmed the fact. おいしそう means it looks delicious, not that you already know it is delicious.
Comparison
Do not confuse this with hearsay 〜そうだ. 雨が降りそうです means it looks like it will rain. 雨が降るそうです means I heard it will rain. The form before そう is the key difference.
Common Mistakes
A common mistake is attaching appearance そう directly to nouns. For nouns, use patterns like 〜みたいだ or 〜のようだ instead, depending on the meaning.
Related Grammar
〜そうだ（伝聞）
〜そうだ in the hearsay sense means I heard that or it is said that. It reports information from another source.
〜ようだ
〜ようだ expresses inference or resemblance. It is often used when something seems true based on evidence or when something is like something else.
〜みたいだ
〜みたいだ means seems like or looks like. It is a conversational pattern used for inference and resemblance.
〜そうだ（様態）・〜そうだ（伝聞）の違い
This page separates the two meanings of 〜そうだ: appearance and hearsay. The key difference is the form before そうだ.
〜そう・〜よう・〜みたい・〜らしいの違い
This comparison page organizes 〜そう, 〜よう, 〜みたい, and 〜らしい so learners can distinguish appearance, inference, hearsay, and typicality.