そうだ vs ようだ: what's the difference?
Hearsay そうだ passes on what you heard; ようだ is your own conclusion from what you see. How to tell them apart, with examples and a drill.
Draft: written with AI help and not yet checked by a teacher. If something looks wrong, please report it.
The patterns
- そうだHearsay: "I hear that…"Open the lesson
- ようだInference: "it seems / it looks like…"Open the lesson
The difference
Hearsay そうだ follows the plain form (降るそうだ, 降ったそうだ) and means you are passing on something you heard or read; the source is often given with によると: 天気予報によると、明日は雨が降るそうです. ようだ means you are drawing your own conclusion from what you can see, hear or feel: 道が濡れている。雨が降ったようだ. Do not confuse hearsay そうだ with the "looks like" そうだ that attaches to a stem (降りそうだ "it looks as if it will rain"). With nouns and な-adjectives the forms differ: 学生だそうだ but 学生のようだ; 静かだそうだ but 静かなようだ. In casual speech, ようだ often becomes みたい.
Side by side
そうだ: someone told you. ようだ: you can see the evidence.
News you were told vs an impression you formed yourself.
ようだ often comes right after the evidence.
Noun + だそうだ vs noun + のようだ.
Quick drill
Pick the word that fits the blank. You get the answer straight away.
ニュースによると、昨日大きな地震があった＿＿。
部屋の電気が消えている。彼はもう寝た＿＿。
母からのメールによると、祖母は元気だ＿＿。
熱があるし、喉も痛い。風邪をひいた＿＿。
あの二人は兄弟の＿＿。よく似ている。
友達の話では、あの映画はとても面白い＿＿よ。