忙しそうです and 忙しいようです

[Lagra]

Hello all!
What is the difference between these two forms? "Minna no Nihongo" says, that "ミラ-さんは忙しそうです" means something like "Mr Miller looks busy" (based on watching Mr Miller), and "ミラ-さんは忙しいようです" means "Mr Miller must be busy" (based on what the speaker has heard/read etc). But then there are the following sentences: " - 人が集まっていますね。- ええ、事故のようですね。" Why do we use " ようです" here, if the sentence is based on what we see directly? Does this sentence imply, that the first speaker has seen the crowd, and the second didn't? Is そうです simply not used with nouns?
Anyway, could somebody please explain the meaning of these two forms in detail?
Thank you very much!

 

[wanabee]

Hello all!
What is the difference between these two forms? "Minna no Nihongo" says, that "ミラ-さんは忙しそうです" means something like "Mr Miller looks busy" (based on watching Mr Miller), and "ミラ-さんは忙しいようです" means "Mr Miller must be busy" (based on what the speaker has heard/read etc). But then there are the following sentences: " - 人が集まっていますね。- ええ、事故のようですね。" Why do we use " ようです" here, if the sentence is based on what we see directly? Does this sentence imply, that the first speaker has seen the crowd, and the second didn't? Is そうです simply not used with nouns?
Anyway, could somebody please explain the meaning of these two forms in detail?
Thank you very much!

Hi, Lagra!

I don't see much difference between ミラーさんは忙しそうです and ミラーさんは忙しいようです.
Both could be translated as "Mr. Miller seems to be busy," and could be used regardless of whether you felt it through your observation of Mr. Miller, or you heard it from someone else.
You need to decide one or the other according to context.

The same explanation applies to "事故のようですね"; it could be used either by a person witnessing the accident site or by a person who is not on the scene but just guessing the accident from other available information.

Next, take a look at "ミラーさんは忙しいそうです”.
In this sentence, the speaker is saying, "I heard Mr. Miller was busy." or "Mr. Miller told me that he was busy." Both interpretations are possible, depending on context.
You got the information from Mr. Miller himself or others such as your friends.
The point is, "ミラーさんは忙しいそうです” is a hearsay.

By the way, Mr Miller must be busy is ミラーさんは忙しいに違いありません, and not ミラーさんは忙しいようです.

Hope it helps!

 

[Ryukishin]

Hi, Lagra!
I highly agree with wanabee
Both don't sound really different
Yet In most cases, 忙しいそうです does sound more casualI would say "雨が降りそうです" When I see the sky getting cloudy and It looks like It's going to rain right away
and
I would say "雨が降るようですね" when I've heard the weather forecast that says It will rain soon
"ようですね" sounds like you have a hunch about something that is likely to happen but you're not quite certain about it
"ようです" is normally followed by "ね" when it comes to this sort of phrases
彼女はこんな動物が好きなようですね = It seems she likes this kind of animal
So ミラーさんは忙しそうです means "It looks like Mr.Miller is busy"
and you can also say ミラーさんは忙しみたいです which means "Mr.Miller looks busy"
also ミラーさんは忙しいようですね which means "It seems Mr.Miller is busy/ Mr.Miller seems to be busy (atm)"
But using 忙しいようですね sounds like you are talking to someone about Mr.Miller that seems to be busy based on your perception and you have your own reason for thinking that He is busy (i.e I called him a couple of times but He didn't answer, So I think maybe he is busy at this moment)
while using ミラーさんは忙しそうです implies that you're certain about what you see with your own eyes
Sorry for my unclear explanation
I hope this somehow helps you though