Grammar › Hearsay & Appearance
〜そうだ — “I heard that…” (hearsay)
Reporting secondhand info: 明日は雨だそうです — I heard it'll rain tomorrow
Plain form + そうだ reports something the speaker heard or read elsewhere, with no change in form regardless of tense — “word has it that…” This そうだ (hearsay) attaches to the complete plain form and never conjugates, unlike the appearance そう (which drops adjective/verb endings and does conjugate).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Plain form + そうだ | 雨が降るそうです — I heard it's going to rain |
| Noun/na-adj + だそうだ | 彼は医者だそうです — I heard he's a doctor |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうです。 | てんきよほうによると、あしたはあめだそうです。 tenkiyohouniyoruto、ashitahaamedasoudesu。 | According to the weather forecast, I heard it'll rain tomorrow. |
| 田中さんはもう帰ったそうです。 | たなかさんはもうかえったそうです。 tanakasanhamoukaettasoudesu。 | I heard Tanaka-san has already gone home. |
| このレストランはとても人気だそうだ。 | このれすとらんはとてもにんきだそうだ。 konoresutoranhatotemoninkidasouda。 | I heard this restaurant is very popular. |
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Watch out
Hearsay そうだ attaches to the full, unchanged plain form (面白いそうだ) — don't confuse it with appearance そう, which drops the い of an adjective (面白そう, “looks interesting”). The two look almost identical but conjugate completely differently.