GrammarJLPT N5
→ such
Such / That kind of / Like that
JLPT N5Fixed phraseNeutral
そういう is a pre-noun adjectival expression meaning "that kind of" or "such," used to refer to something the listener has just said or a situation both speaker and listener are aware of. It is formed from そう ("like that," referencing something in the listener's sphere or previously mentioned) plus いう ("to say / to be called"), literally meaning "called/described like that." It always modifies a noun that follows it. そういう belongs to the こそあど system: こういう (this kind of), そういう (that kind of), and ああいう (that kind of — referring to something distant from both speakers). Compared to そんな, which is more casual and sometimes emotionally colored, そういう is neutral in register and often carries a slightly more explanatory or matter-of-fact tone. It is extremely common in everyday conversation for picking up on what someone else has said and commenting on it or categorizing it.
Examples
Example #1
A：明日はテストがあるよ。B：そういうことは早く言ってよ。
Here そういう picks up the content of what speaker A just said — namely the news about the test — and categorizes it as "that kind of thing" (こと). This is one of the most common uses of そういう: taking something the other person mentioned and commenting on it as a type or category. The phrase そういうこと is an extremely frequent collocation in daily Japanese.A: There's a test tomorrow. B: Tell me that kind of thing sooner!
Structures
- Modifying a noun
- そういう + Noun
Common mistakes
A common mistake is confusing そういう with そんな. While both can translate as "that kind of," そんな often carries more emotional weight (surprise, dismissal, emphasis), whereas そういう is more neutral and explanatory. Another error is using そういう without a following noun — since it is a pre-noun modifier, it must always be followed by a noun (e.g., そういうこと, そういう人). Saying just そういう at the end of a sentence is grammatically incomplete; in such cases, そう alone or そうだ should be used instead. Learners also sometimes mix up the こそあど forms, using そういう when they should use こういう (referring to something close to the speaker or something the speaker is about to explain) or ああいう (referring to something distant from both parties).
Related
そんなこういうああいうそのようなというのはそういった