In Japanese, sou そう means "like that," "that's right," "it seems," or "I heard from someone that" depending on what function of the word is being used in a given sentence.
Pronoun
Before a verb, sou そう is part of the kou, sou, aa, dou こう, そう, ああ, どう set of adverbial kosoado words.
- sou omou
そう思う
To think that way. - sou shita
そうした
To have done that way.
To have done so.
Suffix
After a word, it's the sou そう suffix, meaning "seems" or "so I heard" depending on how it's attached to other words.
- oishi-sou da
美味しそうだ
Seems delicious. - oishii-sou da
美味しいそうだ
I heard it's delicious. - oishi-sou na keeki
美味しそうなケーキ
A cake that seems delicious. - oishi-sou ni taberu
美味しそうに食べる
To eat it in a way it seems delicious. - shini-sou da
死にそうだ
It seems [he] will die. - shinda-sou da
死んだそうだ
I heard [he] died. - genki-sou da
元気そうだ
Seems lively. - genki da-sou da
元気だそうだ
I heard [he] is lively.
Some light novel, manga, and anime titles have a ~sou ～荘 suffix that's added to the name of a building that houses people, a dormitory, a villa, a complex, because the series takes place in the location. This is a completely different word, but, for reference, some possible translations:
- boku-ra wa minna Kawai-sou
僕らはみんな河合荘
We're All Kawai Complex. (literally.)
We're All Miserable.- This is a wordplay on the word kawaisou 可哀想, "pitiable," "miserable."
- Sakura-sou no {petto na} kanojo
さくら荘のペットな彼女
The {Pet} Girlfriend of the Sakura Hall. - Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san
ゆらぎ荘の幽奈さん
Yuuna-san of the Yuragi Inn. - Sunohara-sou no Kanrinin-san
すのはら荘の管理人さん
The Caretaker of the Sunohara Dormitory.- kanri suru
管理する
To manage [a place, a task]. To take care of.
- kanri suru
Interjection
Alone in a phrase, it's the sou そう interjection, which means simply "so." And by alone I mean just it, the optional copula, sentence-ending particles, nominalizers or whatever other expressions, of course.
- sou そう
sou da そうだ
sou desu そうです
sou desu yo そうですよ
sou desu wa そうですわ
sou yo そうよ
sou da ze そうだぜ
sou da zo そうだぞ
sou da mon そうだもん
sou da mono そうだもの
sou de aru そうである
sou de arimasu そうであります
sou de arinsu そうでありんす
sou degozaru そうでござる
sou degozaimasu そうでございます
It's so!
That's right! - sou na そうな
sou ne そうね
sou da na そうだな
sou da ne そうね
sou da mon na そうだもんな
sou da mon ne そうだもんね
Yeah.
You're right.
Isn't it so? - sou ka そうか
sokka そっか
It's so, huh?
I see. - sou ka? そうか？
sou desu ka? そうですか
Is that so? - sou darou そうだろう
sou desho そうでしょ
That's right, isn't it? - sou de arou? そうであろう？
sou deshou ka? そうでしょうか？
Is that right? - sou ka na? そうかな？
sou ka ne? そうかね？
Is that right, I wonder? - sou nanda yo そうなんだよ
sou na no da そうなのだ！
sou na no desu そうなのです
sou na no desu wa そうなのですわ
sou nandesu そうなんです
sou nandesu yo そうなんですよ
Yeah, that's right! - sou da tte そうだって
sou da tte ba そうだってば
sou da tte ba yo そうだってばよ
I'm saying it's so! - sou ni kimatteru! そうに決まってる！
Of course it's so!
In essence this is the same meaning as the pronoun, except it isn't modifying a verb.
Sometimes, the "I see" sou ka can mean "I got it" when a person is having an idea, typically accompanied by a fist hitting palm gesture.
In this case it's like the person is talking to themselves: they think of something and say sou そう, "it's that way," but the "way" they're referring to is what they imagined inside their heads. Interlocutors have no idea what the person is referring to until they say what they just just realized.
Anime: Ouran High School Host Club, Ouran Koukou Hosuto-Bu 桜蘭高校ホスト部 (Episode 1)
- Context: Haruhi is trying to remember a word that perfectly describes a certain person. After thinking for a while, she gestures and says:
- a!! sou ka!
あ！！そうか！
Ah!! [I got it]!- uzai
うざい
Obnoxious. (the word she remembered.)
- uzai
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