- Japanese script (just hiragana):
- そうですね
- Japanese script with word breaks:
- そう.です.ね
- International Phonetic Alphabet
- /soo.desɯ̥.ne/
- Hepburn:
- sõ desu ne
そう (sõ) is a pronoun referring to something abstract that is (in an abstract sense) near to the listener. One translation might be "that" in the context of "that's a good idea", although this sentence is usually translated as "(that is) so, isn't it", with so referring to そう (the subject is omitted in this sentence).
です (desu) is the polite form of the copula (だ/da is the plain form), so translates simply as "is" or "be".
ね (ne) is a particle (助詞/joshi) used at the end of a sentence to indicate a request of confirmation like "..., right?" or "..., isn't it?" but doesn't really necessitate confirmation.
So from a purely syntactical analysis we could translate the phrase as "that's so, isn't it?" and tends to be used for agreement. However, it is used in other contexts that this definition wouldn't suggest. As I learnt only a few weeks ago, it is also used with a meaning of "hmm, let me see" in some contexts, and probably has a few more meanings I don't recall or haven't yet come across.