What it means
そうだ expresses an appearance or prediction based on what the speaker can observe. It means that something seems to have a certain quality or looks likely to happen. It commonly follows a verb stem, an adjective stem, or a na-adjective. The plain ending is そうだ, while the polite ending is そうです.
Usage note
With i-adjectives, remove the final い before adding そうだ, but いい is an important exception: it becomes よさそうだ, not いそうだ. This usage is different from the hearsay meaning of そうだ, which means that someone says or reports something.
How to use it
その犬は元気そうです。
That dog looks healthy.
この料理は辛そうです。
This dish looks spicy.
雨が降りそうです。
It looks like it will rain.
その犬は元気そうだ。
That dog looks healthy.
この料理は辛そうだ。
This dish looks spicy.
雨が降りそうだ。
It looks like it will rain.
Example sentences
空が暗いので、もうすぐ雨が降りそうです。
Since the sky is dark, it looks like it will rain soon.
駅の前に新しいパン屋ができたので、朝は混みそうです。
Because a new bakery opened in front of the station, it looks like it will be crowded in the morning.
この料理は辛そうですが、少し食べてみます。
This dish looks spicy, but I will try eating a little of it.