Grammar detail: 〜そうです

〜そうです - seems ~ or I heard that ~

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The expression そうです can be used in two similar but slightly different ways: to say that something seems a certain way, or to suggest that you heard that something is the case. It can also be used as a standalone expression of agreement.

seems like ~, appears ~

adjective

そうです

verb stem

そうです

means

seems like (something)

One very common example is おいしそうです, meaning 'looks tasty', which is almost a set phrase for example when seeing food prepared by a host.

For い adjectives, the い is dropped before the そうです.

たか
高
そうです (that) seems expensive

な adjectives are used as is:

しんせつ
親切
そうです (he/she) seems kind

For verbs, the stem is used:

かれ
彼
は
め
目
が
さ
覚
めそうです he looks like he's about to wake up

hearsay, I heard that ~

A very similar construction is used to express 'hearsay', i.e. 'I heard that ~'. In this case, the form is:

verb plain form

verb plain past

そうです

かれ
彼
は
つか
疲
れているそうです He seems tired
あめ
雨
が
ふ
降
ったそうです They say it rained

When used with adjectives, a な adjective is followed by だ, and an い adjective keeps its い:

しんせつ
親切
だそうです I heard he/she's kind
たか
高
いそうです I heard that's expensive

You may occasionally see だ after an い adjective, but this is to convey additional nuance, and would be incorrect as a form of the そうです construction itself. (For example, 嬉しいだそうよ might be a response to a question such as お父さんは気に入ってくれた？, in which case it would mean that the speaker is reporting that the the speaker thinks the father said '嬉しいだ', not that the speaker heard that the subject is 嬉しい.)

standalone expression

そうです can also be used as a standalone expression which indicates agreement / confirmation:「そうです。」or 「そうですね。」

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