Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
The same form そうだ splits on the source of the information. For hearsay, the speaker relays something they were told, so it attaches to plain forms of verbs and adjectives: 英語の先生だそうだ. For the looks-like use, the speaker judges from direct visual or sensory evidence, and it attaches to the stem of an adjective or verb: 美味しそうだ. Swapping them is wrong because you cannot report a rumor with the conjecture pattern, and you cannot express a visual guess with the hearsay pattern.
- そうだ Use そうだ when you are passing on information you heard from someone else.
- そうだ Use そうだ when you are making a guess from what you see or feel.
そうだ souda
I heard that
An auxiliary which indicates that the information expressed by the preceding sentence is what the speaker heard.
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キングさんは英語の先生だそうだ。
I heard that Mr. King is a teacher of English.
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利子さんは英語がとても上手だそうです。
I heard that Toshiko speaks very good English.
そうだ souda
Looks like/Seems
An auxiliary adjective which indicates that what is expressed by the preceding sentence is the speaker’s conjecture concerning an event in the future or the present state of someone or something, based on what the speaker sees or feels.
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あのステーキは美味しそうだった。
That steak looked delicious.
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あの車が高そうだ・そうです。
That car looks expensive.
そうだ and そうだ are both JLPT N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.