Grammar › Hearsay & Appearance
そうだ (hearsay) — “I heard that…”
Reports something you heard or read, without vouching for it yourself
Attached to the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun+だ, そうだ reports secondhand information: “I heard that…”, “apparently…”. It never conjugates for tense or politeness itself — the tense lives inside the plain-form clause. Don't confuse it with the appearance そう from N4, which attaches to stems (おいしそう) rather than full plain forms (おいしいそうだ).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Plain form + そうだ | 明日は雨だそうです — I heard it'll rain tomorrow |
| Past plain + そうだ | 試験は難しかったそうです — I heard the exam was hard |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ニュースによると、今年の夏はとても暑いそうです。 | にゅーすによると、ことしのなつはとてもあついそうです。 nyu-suniyoruto、kotoshinonatsuhatotemoatsuisoudesu。 | According to the news, this summer will be very hot. |
| 田中さんはもう会社を辞めたそうです。 | たなかさんはもうかいしゃをやめたそうです。 tanakasanhamoukaishawoyametasoudesu。 | I heard Tanaka already quit the company. |
| あの店のラーメンはおいしいそうです。 | あのみせのらーめんはおいしいそうです。 anomisenora-menhaoishiisoudesu。 | I heard that restaurant's ramen is delicious. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
おいしそう (looks delicious, from appearance) and おいしいそうだ (I heard it's delicious) look one letter apart but follow different attachment rules — appearance そう strips い from the adjective stem, hearsay そうだ keeps the full plain adjective.