modality N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜そうにない — very unlikely to ~
〜そうにない ・ そうにない
Builds on 〜そうだ
Meaning
- (very) unlikely to ~ / shows no sign of ~ing — by all appearances it won't happen
Key sentence
この仕事は今日中に終わりそうにない。
This work doesn't look like it'll be finished today.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (ます-stem) | V(stem) + そうにない (also そうもない / そうにもない) | 降る → 降りそうにない / 来る → 来そうにない |
Examples
彼はなかなか来そうにない。
It doesn't look like he's coming any time soon.
雨は当分やみそうにない。
The rain shows no sign of stopping for a while.
When you can't use it
- This is the negative of the appearance-based 〜そうだ ('looks like'), so it attaches to the ます-stem of a verb, not to the plain form. It judges from observation that something won't happen — it isn't a flat statement that it won't (that's 〜ない).
Easily confused with
〜そうだ Appearance 〜そうだ says something looks likely to happen (降りそうだ = 'looks like it'll rain'). 〜そうにない is its negative — looks unlikely to happen (降りそうにない = 'doesn't look like it'll rain'). そうになる Same appearance そう base, but そうになる means 'almost happened' (a near-miss: 転びそうになった = 'almost fell'), while そうにない means 'unlikely to happen at all.'
See 〜そうにない in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜そうにない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.