1.
yeah yeah, that's right, exactly
Used in conversation to express strong agreement or to confirm what someone has said. Often signals that the speaker has just remembered or recognized something.
Functions
- Agreement: enthusiastically confirms what someone just said, stronger than a single そう. Often used while nodding along. 「あの店おいしいよね」「そうそう！」
- Recollection: introduces something the speaker just remembered, like "oh right" or "that reminds me." そうそう、言い忘れてたけど… (Oh right, I forgot to mention…)
Watch out
そうそう followed by a negative is a different word, an adverb meaning "not that often, not so easily": こんなチャンスはそうそうない (A chance like this doesn't come often).
Similar words
- そうだね: agreement (neutral)
- そうですね: agreement (polite)
- そういえば: speaking of which, come to think of it
- あ、そうだ: oh, that's right (sudden recollection)
Register
Casual. In polite or formal conversation, そうですね is preferred. Very common in speech, rare in formal writing.