そのギャングは偉えらそうに街まちを歩あるいている。
That gangster is walking down the street like he owns the place.

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Read the explanation below to understand the nuance of how this grammar structure is used.

Listen, そうに ain’t about facts. Facts are for cops and accountants. This grammar is about the vibe. It’s what you see, what something looks like on the surface.

When you use そうに, you’re makin’ a judgment based on appearance. You’re watching how somebody is doing an action. You see a dude hunched over, holding his stomach?

You say, “He’s walkin’ as if it’s painful (痛いたそうに歩あるいている).” You don’t know if he’s hurt. Maybe he’s just practicing for a play. But that’s what it looks like.

そうに is an adverb. That means it hooks up to a verb to describe the action. It’s the difference between “He is sad” (fact) and “He is talking like he’s sad” (vibe).

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You use this joint all the time when you’re describing what you’re witnessing. It’s perfect for reading the room.

Say you walk into the boss’s office. He’s countin’ a fat stack of cash. How’s he countin’ it? He’s smilin’, right? He’s countin’ that money happily or like he’s having fun (楽たのしそうに).

Or, you’re interrogatin’ some snitch. He’s sweating, lookin’ around. You ask him a question, and he answers nervously (不安ふあんそうに). He looks nervous while he’s talking. That’s そうに. It’s all about describing the action based on the look.

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Think of そうに like a filter on your phone’s camera. The action is the photo itself. Like, “He is talking” (彼かれが話はなしている). そうに is the filter you put on it.

You add the “Sad” filter? 悲かなしそうに -> He’s talking looking sad.

You add the “Happy” filter? 嬉うれしそうに -> He’s talking looking happy.

The action doesn’t change, but the vibe of how it’s done changes completely. そうに is the “Looks Like” filter for your verbs.

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Read the table below then use it to conjugate some words you know.

Here’s the blueprint for how you hook this grammar up.

Type	How to Conjugate	Conjugated Form	Example Sentence (w/ Translation)
I-Adjective	Drop the final い (i) + そうに	痛いたい -> 痛いたそうに	彼かれは痛いたそうに歩あるいている。
Na-Adjective	Stem + そうに	心配しんぱい  -> 心配しんぱいそう	彼女かのじょは心配しんぱいそうに電話でんわしていた。
Exception	いい / よい (ii / yoi)	良よい -> よさそうに	彼かれはよさそうに笑わらった。
Exception	ない (nai) (negative)	ない -> なさそうに	彼かれは興味きょうみなさそうに話はなしを聞きいた。

It’s simple, really. For i-adjectives, you just chop off the last ‘い’ and smack そうに on the end. For na-adjectives, you don’t even gotta do that; just add そうに straight to the word. The only one that tries to trick you is ‘いい’ . That joint always changes to ‘よさそうに’ . Don’t forget it. And if you wanna say someone looks like they don’t have somethin’, like ‘no interest’, you use ‘なさそうに’ .

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Listen to and repeat the sentences below.

彼女かのじょは悲かなしそうにボスの写真しゃしんを見みていた。
She was looking at the boss’s picture sadly.

彼かれはそのカバンを重おもそうに運はこんでいる。
He’s carrying that bag as if it’s heavy.

ライバルチームは悔くやしそうにこちらを睨にらんだ。
The rival crew glared over here looking bitter.

彼かれは「知しらない」と面倒めんどうくさそうに答こたえた。
He answered, “I dunno,” like it was a big hassle.

ボスは満足まんぞくそうに葉巻はまきを吸すった。
The boss smoked his cigar looking satisfied.

人質ひとじちは怖こわそうに震ふるえていた。
The hostage was shaking as if they were terrified.

彼かれは眠ねむそうにあくびをした。
He yawned like he was sleepy.

警察けいさつは怪あやしそうにその車くるまを調しらべた。
The cop inspected the car suspiciously.

仲間なかまが痛いたそうに腕うでを押おさえている。
My homie is holding his arm as if it hurts.

彼かれはつまらなそうにボスの長ながい話はなしを聞きいていた。
He was listening to the boss’s long story looking bored as hell.

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Stay Solid.