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> **Possible Duplicate:**  
>  [What is the difference between ~げ and
> ~そう](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1386/what-is-the-
> difference-between-%e3%81%92-and-%e3%81%9d%e3%81%86)

What is the difference between 〜げ and 〜そう?

Consider for example:

彼が、何か言いたげに近づいて来た。

彼が、何か言いたそうに近づいて来た。

Or are they synonyms?
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2012-11-05T21:35:13.080
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2012-11-05T22:00:05.910
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word-choice
Difference between 〜げ　and 〜そう
They are very similar, however there is a slight difference in nuance. げ
implies a stronger sense of _uncertainty_ compared to そう.

So, in your first example, you are not certain whether he wanted to say
something or not, while in the second example, you are _almost_ certain that
he wants to say something.

Another example:

> 彼が楽しそうに話している //#1
>
> 彼が楽しげに話している //#2

If you saw the person and noticed that they were laughing, smiling, etc. You
are most likely to use version #1 and not version #2 because you are confident
about your conjecture.

However, although in standard dialect there is the distinction I mentioned
above, in some dialects (and in young people's slang) they do no make this
distinction and げ is used commonly to mean そう.
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answer