Japanese grammar
What does ～そうだ (hearsay) mean? Japanese grammar N4
～そうだ (hearsay) means I heard that ~, reportedly ~.
| Level (estimated, JLPT framework) | N4 |
|---|---|
| Structure | Plain form + そうだ N／Aな + だそうだ |
| Romaji | ~ sō da |
| Meaning | I heard that ~, reportedly ~ |
How to use it
Relaying information received from someone else, the news, or a source you've heard or read.
- The hearsay そうだ keeps the source sentence's form unchanged and adds そうだ. So nouns and na-adjectives keep だ: 休みだそうだ, 元気だそうだ.
- This pattern does not show the speaker's own inference. The source is usually indicated with ～によると or ～の話では.
Examples
天気予報によると、明日は雪が降るそうです。
According to the weather forecast, it will snow tomorrow.
田中さんは来週休みだそうです。
I heard that Tanaka will be off next week.
Common mistakes
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Wrong田中さんは元気そうです。（meaning "I heard he's doing well"）
Correct田中さんは元気だそうです。
元気そうだ means seeing them and it looks like they're doing well; 元気だそうだ is hearing information that the person is doing well.
Exam tips
- によると／話では are markers of the information source; after nouns and na-adjectives, だそうだ must be kept.