"Seemingly cute" - かわいい + 〜そう


The `〜そう` form means "seemingly 〜" and is usually conjecture made based on
first-hand information. This usually means seeing something or hearing about
something and making a conjecture, e.g., `おいしそう` when seeing the food.
(Presumably, first-hand information would extend to ESP, psychic visions,
etc., if you believe in that.)

Now, it's hard to imagine that this would ever apply to `かわいい` based on visual
first-hand information; since you're actually seeing the thing, there's no
guessing about whether or not it's cute. However, it would be possible to make
a "seemingly cute" conjecture if the first-hand information was hearing a
description of something. For example, maybe your friend is describing their
new puppy to you. Upon hearing the description you might respond that it seems
cute.

By the rules, `かわいい` (sometimes written `可愛い`) would then become
`かわいそう【可愛そう】`. Unfortunately, this coincides with `かわいそう【可哀想】` meaning
"pathetic; pitiful; sad".

  1. Is the "seemingly cute" `かわいそう` even used practically in the way I mentioned (or some other way)?
  2. If so, is context enough to distinguish which of the two words it's actually supposed to be? Or should you just avoid it altogether? Because I can think of a context where it would still be ambiguous.

> "My new puppy is small, and fluffy, and likes to play ball. But a cat
> attacked him the other day".  
> "かわいそう" → (Is it "Seems cute" or "Poor thing"???)




From what I've read, the original meaning of "かわいい" had less to do with
"cuteness", and more to do with inherent qualities such as weakness, small
size, docility, etc., that engender a feeling of pity. As far as I recall, the
change in meaning to "cute appearance" is fairly recent. So it could be that
either "かわいそう" just hasn't caught up with the new meaning yet, or is useful
enough retaining the older meaning that it's unlikely to change.

Additionally, as a conjecture (and keep in mind that it's just a conjecture: I
don't feel 100% confident about this), I think there may be a tendency to use
~そう to express qualities that are not immediately visible, i.e. that are
inferred rather than seen. For things judged by outside appearance only, it
may be that the construction "~く/に みえる" is more natural. So, in your example,
maybe "かわいく見える" would give the "It looks cute" meaning. My sense is that
"かわいそう" doesn't give this meaning.




From what I've read, the original meaning of "かわいい" had less to do with
"cuteness", and more to do with inherent qualities such as weakness, small
size, docility, etc., that engender a feeling of pity. As far as I recall, the
change in meaning to "cute appearance" is fairly recent. So it could be that
either "かわいそう" just hasn't caught up with the new meaning yet, or is useful
enough retaining the older meaning that it's unlikely to change.

Additionally, as a conjecture (and keep in mind that it's just a conjecture: I
don't feel 100% confident about this), I think there may be a tendency to use
~そう to express qualities that are not immediately visible, i.e. that are
inferred rather than seen. For things judged by outside appearance only, it
may be that the construction "~く/に みえる" is more natural. So, in your example,
maybe "かわいく見える" would give the "It looks cute" meaning. My sense is that
"かわいそう" doesn't give this meaning.

