Tell me more ×
Japanese Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 6 down vote favorite

I've heard people say "So! So! So! So! So!" (or possibly "Sou! Sou! Sou!" or maybe using "z" instead of "s" - I'm bad at hearing) when laughing in agreement.

When middle-aged women speak Japanese gives an example of this:

Oishii! (Or any other word from the options supplied below.)
So desu ne!
So so so so so!
So ka!
Ne?
Ne!
[continues on - too long for this question]

How is is spelt? Is it the same as the そう that's used in そう です? I tried searching for 然う然う然う然う然う (apparently 然う is a rarer, kanji form according to jisho.org) but couldn't find anything.

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

It is the そう of そうです yes. That is it. No deep meaning, nothing.

share|improve this answer
1  
+1 for a "straight to the point" answer. There really is no other meaning behind what the person is saying. – Jamie Taylor Apr 12 '12 at 12:57
5  
-1 because the question was mainly about spelling/orthography of this phrase, and you haven't really touched on it. If this appeared in a book or manga, would it be written そうそうそうそうそう, or would some of the そうs be abbreviated to そ to indicate the fast speed? Would any commas be used? Here is an article which makes a point of writing it as そそそそそ, but I don't know if it's representative of the general approach among most authors. I would like to see a reply which quotes from a book or something. – Hyperworm Apr 12 '12 at 13:46
4  
I didn't say, and the article doesn't say, that そう can be written そ in general. I was asking whether そうそうそうそうそう can be written そそそそそ (or whether it might have commas etc!) You can't dismiss this just by saying そう is the correct way to spell そう. The phrase 「そっか‥‥‥」 (meaning exactly そうか) exists with that spelling, and doesn't imply that そう can be pronounced or written そっ in other contexts. – Hyperworm Apr 12 '12 at 14:01
2  
@Hyperworm: I agree with you that this does not answer the question being asked, but the asker accepted this answer, which means that he is satisfied with it. So I am not sure if it is worth arguing whether this answer is appropriate or not. – Tsuyoshi Ito Apr 12 '12 at 14:45
1  
@oldergod Btw is this allowed? : "そうそうそうそう。". Or do we have to put a full stop after every "そう" ? – Pacerier Apr 15 '12 at 18:20
show 4 more comments

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.