The meaning of そう


I know when placed after a verb it means "seems like" or "looks like", but
what I want to know is what the そう in

> そう です か

means. I know そう です か means "Is that so?" but I've seen そう used with other
words and I'm not sure what exactly it means. Does it even have a meaning on
its own or is its meaning affected by the characters that follow it?

I know this might seem like a translation question but whenever I tried to
search for an answer online I was only really able to find answers relating to
how to use Sou when attached to verbs.




This 'そう' is an adverb which is similar to English 'so', or 'like that'.

  * そう思う。 (I) think so.
  * そうする、 (I'll) do so.
  * そう大きくはない。 (It's) not that big.

And you can use 'そう' by itself to mean many things, depending on the context
and the intonation:

  * そう。 That's it. Yes. Exactly. Good.
  * そう？ Is that so? Really? Are you sure?
  * そう。 Oh. Okay. Uh-huh. (not very interested)
  * そう、あれは10年前… Well, that was 10 years ago ... (used to recall something old)

'そう' that comes after a verb (e.g しそう, 思いそう) is an auxiliary verb, and it's
etymologically different. One online dictionary has two entries for the
[adverb
そう](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/127918/m0u/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86/) and
the [auxiliary verb そう](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/129024/m0u/).




This 'そう' is an adverb which is similar to English 'so', or 'like that'.

  * そう思う。 (I) think so.
  * そうする、 (I'll) do so.
  * そう大きくはない。 (It's) not that big.

And you can use 'そう' by itself to mean many things, depending on the context
and the intonation:

  * そう。 That's it. Yes. Exactly. Good.
  * そう？ Is that so? Really? Are you sure?
  * そう。 Oh. Okay. Uh-huh. (not very interested)
  * そう、あれは10年前… Well, that was 10 years ago ... (used to recall something old)

'そう' that comes after a verb (e.g しそう, 思いそう) is an auxiliary verb, and it's
etymologically different. One online dictionary has two entries for the
[adverb
そう](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/127918/m0u/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86/) and
the [auxiliary verb そう](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/129024/m0u/).

