そうだ
souda
The two そうだ are one thing: "this isn't mine"
The picture You didn't verify it. You picked it off the surface with your eyes, or off the air with your ears, and you set it down exactly as you found it.
Where the picture shows up in そうだ
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picked up by eye
雨が降りそうですね。
ame ga furisō desu ne
Looks like it's going to rain.
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the surface, before the taste
このケーキ、おいしそう。
kono kēki, oishisō
That cake looks delicious.
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someone else's outside
課長、今日は忙しそうです。
kachō, kyō wa isogashisō desu
The section chief looks busy today.
You can't see inside another person, so 忙しそう, not 忙しい.
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picked up by ear
田中さん、来月辞めるそうです。
tanaka-san, raigetsu yameru sō desu
I hear Tanaka is quitting next month.
降りそう (surface) attaches to the ます-stem; 降るそう (hearsay) attaches to the plain form. The shape tells you which.
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passing it on with its source
天気予報では明日は雪だそうです。
tenki yohō de wa ashita wa yuki da sō desu
The forecast says snow tomorrow.
After a noun it's だそう — never 雪そう.