Japanese Grammar Bank

HEARSAY IN JAPANESE

In Japanese, expressing hearsay is a way to convey information that you have heard from someone else.

This lesson will cover various methods to express hearsay, including そうです (sou desu), らしい (rashii), and んだって (ndatte).

USING そうです

そうです sou desu

The expression そうです is commonly used to indicate that you heard something from someone else.

It is similar to saying “I heard that…” or “It is said that…” in English. This expression can be used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns.

PATTERN

Verb / adjective / noun + そうです

彼は来るそうです。Kare wa kuru sou desu.I heard that he is coming.
天気は良いそうです。Tenki wa yoi sou desu.I heard that the weather is good.
View More Examples:
彼女は元気だそうです。Kanojo wa genki da sou desu.I heard that she is fine.
その映画は面白いそうです。Sono eiga wa omoshiroi sou desu.I heard that the movie is interesting.
彼は先生だそうです。Kare wa sensei da sou desu.I heard that he is a teacher.
その店は人気があるそうです。Sono mise wa ninki ga aru sou desu.I heard that the store is popular.

USING らしい

らしい rashii

The expression らしい is another way to indicate hearsay, often used to imply that the information comes from various sources or rumors.

It suggests that the speaker is not entirely sure of the information but has heard it from others.

PATTERN

Verb / adjective / noun + らしい

彼は結婚したらしい。Kare wa kekkon shita rashii.I heard that he got married.
今日は寒いらしい。Kyou wa samui rashii.I heard that it’s cold today.
View More Examples:
彼女は有名ならしい。Kanojo wa yuumei rashii.I heard that she is famous.
あの店は安いらしい。Ano mise wa yasui rashii.I heard that the store is cheap.
彼は学生らしい。Kare wa gakusei rashii.I heard that he is a student.
あの映画はつまらないらしい。Ano eiga wa tsumaranai rashii.I heard that the movie is boring.

USING んだって

んだって ndatte

The expression んだって is an informal way to express hearsay, often used in casual conversations.

It is similar to saying “I heard that…” or “They say that…” and can be used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns.

PATTERN

Verb / adjective / noun + んだって

彼は会社を辞めたんだって。Kare wa kaisha o yameta ndatte.I heard that he quit his job.
今日は忙しいんだって。Kyou wa isogashii ndatte.I heard that you are busy today.
View More Examples:
彼女は先生なんだって。Kanojo wa sensei nan datte.I heard that she is a teacher.
あの店は閉店したんだって。Ano mise wa heiten shita ndatte.I heard that the store has closed.
彼はアメリカに行ったんだって。Kare wa Amerika ni itta ndatte.I heard that he went to America.
その映画は面白いんだって。Sono eiga wa omoshiroi ndatte.I heard that the movie is interesting.

USING ということだ

ということだ to iu koto da

The expression ということだ is a more formal way to express hearsay, often used in written language or formal speech.

It translates to “It is said that…” or “It is reported that…”.

PATTERN

Verb / adjective / noun + ということだ

彼は結婚するということだ。Kare wa kekkon suru to iu koto da.It is said that he is getting married.
その映画は面白いということだ。Sono eiga wa omoshiroi to iu koto da.It is said that the movie is interesting.
View More Examples:
彼女は有名だということだ。Kanojo wa yuumei da to iu koto da.It is said that she is famous.
天気は良いということだ。Tenki wa yoi to iu koto da.It is said that the weather is good.
彼は先生だということだ。Kare wa sensei da to iu koto da.It is said that he is a teacher.
その店は人気があるということだ。Sono mise wa ninki ga aru to iu koto da.It is said that the store is popular.

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FAQs

How to use そうです?

そうです (sou desu) is used to convey information that you have heard from someone else. It indicates that the speaker is relaying something they were told or heard.

Verb / adjective / noun + そうです

彼は来るそうです。 (Kare wa kuru sou desu.) – “I heard that he is coming.”

天気は良いそうです。 (Tenki wa yoi sou desu.) – “I heard that the weather is good.”

How to use んだって?

The expression んだって (ndatte) is an informal way to express hearsay, often used in casual conversations.

It conveys that the speaker has heard something from someone else.

Verb / adjective / noun + んだって

彼は会社を辞めたんだって。 (Kare wa kaisha o yameta ndatte.) – “I heard that he quit his job.”

今日は忙しいんだって。 (Kyou wa isogashii ndatte.) – “I heard that you are busy today.”

How to use ということだ?

The expression ということだ (to iu koto da) is used to convey hearsay in a more formal manner.

It is often found in written language or formal speech, indicating that the information is reported or said by someone else.

Verb / adjective / noun + ということだ

彼は結婚するということだ。 (Kare wa kekkon suru to iu koto da.) – “It is said that he is getting married.”

その映画は面白いということだ。 (Sono eiga wa omoshiroi to iu koto da.) – “It is said that the movie is interesting.”

How to express excessiveness in Japanese?

To express excessiveness in Japanese, you can use the structure: verb stem + すぎる (sugiru).

This structure is used to indicate that an action is done too much or to an excessive degree.

The same pattern applies to adjectives, where you remove the final い for い-adjectives or add すぎる directly to な-adjectives.

Examples:

食べすぎる (tabe sugiru) – “to eat too much”

飲みすぎる (nomi sugiru) – “to drink too much”

暑すぎる (atsu sugiru) – “too hot”

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Learn more about how to express excessiveness in Japanese here.

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