In Japanese grammar, “〜そうになる” (sou ni naru) is a phrase that means “for something to almost happen” or “to be about to happen.” It is very often used to describe a situation in which something looks like it’s about to happen.
Here’s a few examples of 〜そうになる in action:
- 彼は本を読んでいるところを妻が見て、怒りそうになった。 (Kare wa hon o yonde iru tokoro o tsuma ga mite, ikari sō ni natta. / His wife saw him reading a book and was about to become angry.) In this sentence, the husband was reading a book, and the wife saw him doing so. As a result of this action, the wife looked like she was about to become angry, and the phrase “〜そうになる” describes the result of the wife seeing the husband reading a book.
- 彼女は、私の言ったことを聞いて、驚きそうになった。 (Kanojo wa, watashi no itta koto o kiite, odoro ki sō ni natta. / She listened to what I said and seemed surprised.)
Bonus:
The phrase “そうになる” is often used with the particle “と” (to) to indicate a condition, and it can be used with various verb forms to describe the way something has become.
Examples of そうになる with と:
- この料理は熱いうちに食べないと、そうになる。 (Kono ryōri wa atsui uchi ni tabenai to, sō ni naru. / If you don’t eat this dish while it’s hot, it will turn out that way.) The speaker is saying that if you don’t eat the dish while it’s hot, it will become cold. The phrase “そうになる” describes the result of not eating the dish while it’s hot.
- 彼女がその映画を見ると、泣きそうになった。 (Kanojo ga sono eiga o miru to, naki sō ni natta. / When she saw that movie, she seemed like she was going to cry.)
Any questions?
