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← All Lessons 26–50

Minna no Nihongo - Lesson 43

Complete Grammar Guide

Learn how to say that something looks likely to happen, describe how someone or something appears, and use Vてきます for going somewhere, doing something, and coming back.

Lesson 43 has two major ideas:
① ～そうです — “looks like / seems / looks about to…” based on what you can see now.
② Vてきます — go somewhere, perform an action, and come back.

Lesson 43 at a glance

Verb stem + そうです

Something looks likely to happen soon.

Adjective + そうです

Something or someone looks a certain way from appearance.

Verb-て + きます

Go, do something, and then come back.

1. Verb stem + そうです — “looks like it is about to…”

Verb ます-form without ます + そうです

Use this pattern when you look at the present situation and judge that an event seems likely to happen soon.

What you are actually doing:
You are not reporting information you heard from another person. You are looking at signs in front of you and thinking: “From what I can see, this is probably about to happen.”

How to make the form

ます-form Remove ます + そうです Meaning
looks like it will rain/fall
looks like it will bloom
looks like it will fall over
looks like the baby will be born soon
looks likely to rise

The important point is that you use the ます-stem, not the dictionary form.

Core examples

It looks like it is going to rain at any moment.

Ima ni mo ame ga furisō desu.

It looks like it is going to rain any moment now.

今にも means something like “at any moment”. It is especially natural with Vそうです when an event seems extremely close to happening.

The coffee is almost gone.

Kōhī ga nakunarisō desu.

It looks like the coffee is about to run out.

The cherry blossoms will probably bloom soon.

Mō sugu sakura ga sakisō desu.

It looks like the cherry blossoms will bloom soon.

It looks like it will get cold from now on.

Suzushii desu ne. Kore kara samuku narisō desu.

It's cool, isn't it? It looks like it is going to get cold from now on.

When something looks like it may happen accidentally

Shatsu no botan ga toresō desu.

The button on the shirt looks like it is about to come off.

Ki o tsukete. Ki ga taoresō desu.

Be careful. The tree looks like it is going to fall.

Nimotsu ga omokute, fukuro no himo ga kiresō desu.

The luggage is heavy, and the bag's string looks like it is about to break.

Something expected very soon

Mō akachan ga umaresō dakara, sugu takushī o yonde kudasai.

The baby looks like it will be born very soon, so please call a taxi immediately.

Gasorin no nedan ga agarisō desu.

It looks like gasoline prices are going to rise.

Useful everyday situations for Vそうです: weather, things about to fall or break, food about to run out, a train about to arrive, someone about to cry, a phone battery about to die, or any situation where visible signs suggest what will happen next.

2. Adjective + そうです — “looks / seems…”

This use of そうです describes your impression based mainly on appearance, facial expression, atmosphere, or other immediately observable signs.

The English translation is often “looks…”, but the Japanese idea is: “Judging from what I can observe, it seems to be…”

2A. い-adjectives

い-adjective: remove final い + そうです
Adjective Remove い + そうです Meaning
looks delicious
looks happy
looks sad
looks lonely

Kono ryōri wa oishisō desu.

This dish looks delicious.

Hirose-san wa ureshisō desu.

Hirose looks happy.

Rojā-san wa kanashisō desu. Nanika atta no kana.

Roger looks sad. I wonder if something happened.

2B. な-adjectives

な-adjective stem + そうです

Do not add な before そうです.

Adjective Appearance form Meaning
looks strong/sturdy
looks healthy/energetic
looks free / not busy

Kono tsukue wa jōbusō desu.

This desk looks sturdy.

Wrong:
Correct:

3. Important special forms with そうです

いい → よさそうです

いい is irregular here. Its older/base form is よい, so the そう form is:

Kanojo wa atama ga yosasō desu.

She looks intelligent / She seems smart.

Wrong: いいそうです for the appearance meaning
Correct: よさそうです

ない → なさそうです

The adjective ない also uses a special-looking form:

It looks like there isn't much/no time.

This is a useful extension of the basic Lesson 43 pattern and is worth remembering together with いい → よさそうです.

Be careful with かわいい → かわいそう

Mechanically, you might expect:

But かわいそう is already a common Japanese word meaning “pitiful / poor thing / I feel sorry for…”. It normally does not mean “looks cute.”

If you want to say “She looks cute,” a safer natural expression is:

She looks cute.

Negative appearance: “doesn't look…”

This is a useful extension when you want to say that something does not appear to have a certain quality.

This dish doesn't look very tasty.

Tanaka doesn't look very well/energetic.

4. What does そうです actually express?

The appearance form of そうです is based on evidence you can observe. Compare these:

This cake is delicious. You are stating it as a fact.

This cake looks delicious. You judge from its appearance.

If you have not eaten the cake yet but it looks beautiful and appetizing, おいしそうです is natural. After you taste it and know the flavor, you can simply say おいしいです.

5. Appearance そうです vs hearsay そうです

Japanese also has another そうです meaning “I heard that…”. The forms are different, so do not mix them.

Type Japanese Meaning Why?
Appearance / prediction It looks like it will rain. You see dark clouds, etc.
Hearsay I heard that it will rain. You got the information from someone/a forecast.
The hearsay pattern is normally studied separately. It is included here only so you can clearly distinguish it from the Lesson 43 appearance pattern.

6. Vてきます — go, do something, and come back

Verb-て + きます

In Lesson 43, Vてきます is used when the speaker leaves the current place, performs an action somewhere else, and then returns.

A very useful mental picture is: here → go away → do something → come back here.

6A. Go somewhere, do an action, and return

Chotto konbini de zasshi o katte kimasu.

I'm going to the convenience store to buy a magazine, and then I'll come back.

Kicchin kara oyatsu o totte kimasu ne.

I'll go get a snack from the kitchen and come back.

Tomodachi ga mō eki ni tsukimashita. Chotto mukae ni itte kimasu.

My friend has already arrived at the station. I'll go pick them up and come back.

6B. 行ってきます — a standard expression when leaving temporarily

Literally, it has the feeling of “I'll go and come back.” It is a standard expression when leaving home, work, or another place temporarily.

This is the standard response, roughly: “Take care / See you when you get back.”

Natural examples

I'm going to the supermarket and will be back.

I'm going out for a bit and will come back.

I'm going to the post office and will come back.

I'll go buy some drinks and bring them back.

7. Vに行きます vs Vてきます

These expressions are related but the focus is different.

Pattern Main focus Example
Vます-stem + に行きます Purpose of going
Vてきます Go, do it, then return to the current place

“I'm going to buy bread.” The sentence focuses on the purpose of going.

“I'll go buy bread and come back.” The return to the current place is part of the meaning.

8. More natural real-life examples

Weather

A: The sky has gotten dark. — B: Yes. It looks like it's going to rain.

At a restaurant

A: This pasta looks delicious. — B: Yeah. Let's try it.

At the office

A: Sato looks busy. — B: Yes. I heard Sato has three meetings today.

Notice the two kinds of そう in the same conversation:
忙しそう = looks busy (appearance)
あるそうです = I heard there are (hearsay)

Going out briefly

A: Where are you going? — B: I'm just going to buy some coffee and come back.

9. Common mistakes

Mistake 1 — using the dictionary form before appearance そうです
Wrong: if you mean “It looks like it will rain.”
Correct:
Mistake 2 — keeping the final い of an い-adjective
Wrong: おいしいそうです
Correct: おいしそうです
Mistake 3 — adding な to a な-adjective
Wrong:
Correct:
Mistake 4 — いいそうです instead of よさそうです
For the appearance meaning, use よさそうです.
Mistake 5 — forgetting the “come back” feeling of Vてきます in Lesson 43
usually implies “I'll go buy it and come back,” not simply “I will buy it.”

10. Quick cheat sheet

Grammar How to form it Meaning Example
Verb + そうです ます-stem + そうです looks about to happen
い-adjective + そうです remove い + そうです looks...
な-adjective + そうです stem + そうです looks...
いい よさ + そうです looks good
ない なさ + そうです looks like there isn't / doesn't have
Vてきます て-form + きます go do something and return

11. Practice

A. Change to ～そうです

B. Choose the natural sentence

1. Dark clouds are gathering. You think rain will start soon.

2. You are going to buy bread and then return.

1. 雨が降りそうです。 — visible signs suggest rain is about to start.

2. パンを買ってきます。 — go buy bread and return.

C. Translate into Japanese

  1. It looks like the tree is going to fall.
  2. This food looks delicious.
  3. She looks happy.
  4. This desk looks sturdy.
  5. I'll go get a drink and come back.
  6. I'm going to the supermarket and will be back.

Sample answers — other natural wordings are also correct.

D. Meaning check

Which meaning is correct?

  1. I heard that he is busy.
  2. He looks busy.
  3. He is going to become busy.
B. He looks busy. The form is based on appearance.

12. Final memory rules

Verb: remove ます → add そうです. “It looks like it is about to happen.”

い-adjective: remove final い → add そうです.

な-adjective: remove な → add そうです.

Special form: memorize よさそうです.

Vてきます: go away, perform the action, then return.