I've been learning Japanese for a few years now but I still haven't fully
grasped the ways そうです is used in conversation.

What I'm concerned with are the following expressions:

  1. そうです/そうなんです
  2. そうですか/そうなんですか
  3. そうですね/そうなんですね
  4. そうかな

I haven't found a thread that fully addresses what each of these mean/how they
are different to each other etc.

If anyone could give me a hand I'd appreciate it so much!
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-10T11:20:44.010
32794
2016-07-08T16:44:18.777
12084
question
translation words
そうです expressions
なん is, of course, a short for なの, and in the above examples does no more than
strengthen the assertion of the speaker.
(<http://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%AA%E3%81%AE>)

  1. Both mean "that's right" or "that's correct". 

  2. Both mean "is that right?" or "is that correct?". But I'd say that depending on the tone in which they are spoken, they could both include either relief or disbelief (or even acceptance of what the speaker knew was going to happen, but that's a bit melodramatic) in whatever triggered their being spoken in the first place. Note that my only source for this is anime and games, and the way the characters in them decide to express themselves.

  3. Both mean "that's right, isn't it?" ("isn't it?" being rhetoric of course). Depending on how they are said, they could mean "I guess so(.../!)" with a trace of, again, relief or disbelief.

  4. "I wonder if that's correct/true..." <http://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%8B%E3%81%AA>
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-10T13:41:07.423
32797
2016-03-10T13:41:07.423
10548
32794
answer