Why Japanese People Say そう So Much

Have you noticed that Japanese say そう all the time? You might hear そう そうそう そうです そうですか そうか そうだね そうなんだ そうなんだね そうなんですね They don't all contain the same word そう but they don't all mean exactly the same thing Sometimes そうですか means I see Sometimes そうなんですか means really? Sometimes そうだね means yeah I agree And sometimes Japanese people say そう そう そう そう What does that even mean? Many Japanese learners try to memorize each expression as a completely separate phrase But you don't need to do that All of these expressions have the same core First, we have そう Then, we add small expressions like そうです そうか そうだね そうなんだ The first part points to a situation The ending shows the speaker's feeling or attitude Once you understand this structure, these expressions become much easier So today, let's learn the core image of そう And then, we'll look at what happens when we add different endings after it Now, one quick note before we begin So just remember, today we're going to talk about the conversational そう We're not going to talk about expressions like おいしそうです そう That means it looks delicious Or 雨が降るそうです I heard that it will rain These are different uses of そう So we're not going to talk about it Don't worry about it We're only going to focus on expressions like そうです そうか そうだね そうなんだ Before we start For years, I kept thinking Are we something like this existed? A place where I could simply write Get corrections Understand my mistakes Learn naturally Eventually, I stopped thinking And I decided to build it myself It's called 日本語ダイアリー Just write about your day in Japanese Your diary is corrected naturally The way a native speaker would say it Then you get a simple explanation So you can understand why it changed Not just what changed Learn from your own writing Start your 日本語ダイアリー today Now let's begin with the core image The core image of そう First, have you ever heard of the word それ before? I think you have Imagine that you're holding a book I can point to a book and ask What is that? I use それ because the book is close to you The listener And I'm the speaker So Japanese has これ それ あれ When something is close to me, the speaker, I say これ When something is close to you, the listener, I say それ When something is far away from both of us, I say あれ So これ points to a thing close to me, that's これ それ points to a thing that's close to you, the listener, それ あれ points to a thing far from both of us, あれ But Japanese doesn't only point to physical things That's the main idea Japanese can also point to a way, a condition, or a situation Look at these words こう そう You don't need to memorize all these today The important word for this video is そう You can think of それ and そう as a member of the same sou family But they point to different things Now それ points to a thing It's gotta be a thing, right? Now, when you say そう, the そう points to a way, a condition, or a situation Now, let's look at an example A says 明日は休みです Tomorrow is a day off Then B says そうです そうです That's right What is そう pointing to here? It's not pointing to a book It's not pointing to a phone It's pointing back to the whole situation 明日は休みです So you can imagine B pointing to A's words and saying そうです That is how it is That is the situation This is a core image So again それ points to a thing そう points to a situation or what someone said Very often the information comes from the listener The listener gives you some information So you point back to that information with そう For example 田中さんは先生です 田中 is a teacher B says そうです That's right Here, そう points to 田中さんは先生です The previous information what A-san said 明日の授業は10時からです Tomorrow's class starts at 10 B says そうです That's right Again, そう points to the whole information 明日の授業は10時からです That is why そう is not simply the Japanese word for yes Right Now, Japanese also has はい But はい and そう do not have exactly the same core image はい is a direct response It can show that you heard, understood or agreed But そう points back to the information itself A simple image is はい Yes そう That is how it is That is what I've heard Of course in actual English, we often translate both as yes But the Japanese image are slightly different Right Now, そう by itself Let's begin with the shortest form そう With close friends or family, you may hear そう by itself For example A-san says 明日休みなの? Are you off tomorrow? B says そう Yeah, that's right Here, B is simply saying That is the situation for tomorrow But be careful Because そう is very short It can sometimes sound flat or cold Imagine someone tells you 来月仕事を辞めます I'm quitting my job next month And you only answer そう Depending on your voice, image sounds like Okay, so? I don't really care It is not always rude But it can be rude So be careful with it Friends may use it usually But your tone and facial expressions are very important here Now, compare these そう A flat voice can sound uninterested But あ、そう With a brighter voice can sound more interested Right And そう With rising intonation can mean Really? Is that so? So even when the word is the same The intonation changes the feeling Right そう That's right そう Really? When you have time, you can practice them Yeah, with the right intonation in the right situation Now, let's repeat it そう、そう Repeating そう makes the agreement stronger It often means Exactly That's right Yes, that's what I meant For example, essays 田中さんって黒いメガネをかけている人? B says そう、そう その人 Exactly That's him A says 駅の前にある赤いレストラン The red restaurant in front of the station B says そう、そう そこ Yes, exactly That's the place Sometimes Japanese people repeat it even more Just saying そう、そう、そう、そう、そう Each そう does not have a new meaning here The repetition simply shows Stronger and more excited agreement You're still pointing to what the other person said You're just saying Yes, that information That's exactly what I meant Right? Alright, next Let's add this here そう with です そうです This makes it polite That's all The basic image is That is how it is That is correct That is the situation For example 田中さんは日本語の先生ですか? Is Mr. Tanaka a Japanese teacher? And B says はい、そうです Yeah, that's right Right, so そうです is especially natural when it comes from a fact, identity, description, or piece of information はい Now next Let's add か here そう Now we have そうか And そうですか The basic image is the same The main differences is the politeness level そうか is casual そうですか is polite Many beginners learn か equal a question That is true But it is not the whole story Listen to this 来月日本に行きます I'm gonna go to Japan next month B says そうですか Really With rising intonation, it can sound like a question そうですか Is that so? Really? そうですか The speaker may be surprised or may want a confirmation But listen to this 来月日本に行きます I'm gonna go to Japan next month B says そうですか いいですね I see, that's nice This time the intonation falls Just like そうですか The speaker is not really asking a question They are receiving the new information You can imagine the speaker thinking Is that the situation? Then accepting it Oh I see That is the situation そうですか So そうですか Really? そうですか I see The same thing happens with the casual form そうか Really? そうか I see But because そうか is casual You use it with friends, family or when talking to yourself Right? With a teacher, customer or someone you do not know well Use そうですか Okay Now そうだね and そうですね Now let's add ね Again the core meaning is same Just politeness level is different そうだね is casual そうですね is polite The important part here is ね I actually talked about this in my previous video But ね The particle ね shares information or feeling with the listener So you are sharing the information You can imagine it as You feel this too, right? For example 今日は寒いですね It's cold today, isn't it? And B says そうですね Yes, it is この映画面白かったね The movie was interesting, wasn't it? B says そうだね Yeah, it was So the image is そう That situation You and I share it That is why そうだね and そうですね often mean Yes, that's true I agree Yes, we feel the same way There is also another common use of そうですね Japanese people often say while thinking For example 日本でどこに行きたいですか? Where do you want to go in Japan? B says そうですね 北海道に行きたいです Let me think I want to go to Hokkaido Here そうですね does not mean Yes, that's right It works more like Well, let me think But the main image for today is still sharing or considering The situation with the listener Right? Now そうなんだ and そうなんですね Finally, let's look at one of the most common reactions in Japanese そうなんだ In a polite version For today, you can think of them as having the same basic core そうなんだ is casual そうなんですね is polite and softer The important part is んだ Right? んだ is often used when we talk about the background Reason, explanation or situation behind something For example 今日は行けない I can't go today To simply gives the information But 今日は行けないんだ The situation is that I can't go today This sounds more explanatory Maybe there's a reason Maybe the speaker is about to give more background So when someone said you knew background information You can respond with そうなんだ The images Oh, so that's the situation Oh, so that's what is happening Sounds like you're connecting the reason with it behind the story Right? For example 来月日本に引っ越すんだ I'm moving to Hokkaido next month B says そうなんだ Oh, really? B received the new situation The polite version works in a similar way 来月北海道に引っ越します I'm moving to Hokkaido next month B says そうなんですね Oh, I see Right, that's the way you use そうなんだ and そうなんですね Now you understand the core idea First We have そう It points to a situation or what someone said Right? Then Japanese at the small ending We looked at そうです そうか そうですか そうだね そうですね そうなんだ そうなんですね But Japanese has many other expressions そうかな そうだよね そうなんだけど そういうことか They may look like completely different phrases But the system is the same For example そうかな We can break it apart そう か な そう points to information か adds a question or doubt な sounds like speakers talking to themselves Like reflecting themselves So そうかな would be I wonder if that's true So the other expressions with そう would be just like that as well So again You don't need to memorize every situation as a completely different phrase They all have the same core image そう with something So first Find そう Then look at what comes after Right はい Now Japanese people use そう all the time You may hear そう そうそう そうです そうか そうなんだ そうなんですね But they're not random expressions They all begin with the same core そう So remember それ points to a thing そう points to a situation or what someone said Then the ending changes the speaker's attitude です makes it polite そうです か receives question or understands information そうか そうですか ね shares the information or feeling with the listener そうだね そうですね That receives the background of situation そうなんだ そうなんですね So you don't need to memorize every single expression separately First Understand そう Then listen to what comes after it And once you understand the system Longer expressions become much easier too So did you understand the core image of そう? If you did you can say そういうことか Right そういうことか Right That's it for today's lesson Thank you for watching guys And I'll see you in the next video Bye for now