N4 · Probability and hearsay
そうだ for hearsay: I hear that
the hearsay そうだ
A complete plain form plus そうです: passing on what you heard or read.
Hearsay そうだ, polite そうです, follows a complete plain form: 降るそうです, 降ったそうです, 降らないそうです, 寒いそうです. Unlike almost everything else in this area, a noun or a na-adjective keeps its だ: 雨だそうです, 静かだそうです. What stands before そう is the full sentence you heard, and a full sentence ends in だ.
It reports information from somewhere else, without the speaker vouching for it: "I hear", "they say", "apparently". The source is named with によると or によれば, "according to", or with の話では, "from what X said": 天気予報によると、明日は雪だそうです.
There is a second そう, and the two are easy to confuse. Attached to the verb stem or the adjective without い, そう means "looks as if": 降りそうです, "it looks like rain", おいしそうです, "it looks delicious". With the full plain form it is hearsay: 降るそうです, "I hear it will rain", おいしいそうです, "I hear it is delicious". The difference is one syllable and the meaning changes completely.
Hearsay そうだ does not change its own shape: it has no past, no negative and no そうな before a noun. Tense and negation go into the reported sentence instead: 来なかったそうです, "I hear he did not come".
The form
| verb, plain | 降るそうです |
| verb, plain past | 降ったそうです |
| verb, negative | 降らないそうです |
| i-adjective | 寒いそうです |
| na-adjective + だ | 静かだそうです |
| noun + だ | 雨だそうです |
| compare: it looks like rain | 降りそうです |
The rules one by one
Put そうです after a complete plain form.
田中さんは来月結婚するそうです。I hear Mr Tanaka is getting married next month.
Nouns and na-adjectives keep だ before hearsay そう.
あの店は有名だそうです。Apparently that shop is famous.
Name the source with によると or の話では.
ニュースによると、台風が来るそうです。According to the news, a typhoon is coming.
Hearsay そう itself never changes; past and negative go before it.
山田さんは行かなかったそうです。I hear Ms Yamada did not go.
Stem plus そう is a different pattern: it means "looks as if".
雨が降りそうです。It looks like it is going to rain.
A closer look
Why Japanese marks its sources
An English speaker can pass on news — "the trains are stopped" — as if it were their own knowledge, and nobody minds. A Japanese speaker who does the same takes responsibility for it. If the information turns out to be wrong, it was their mistake. Marking it with そうです hands the responsibility back to the source.
In casual speech the same job is done by って at the end: 明日、雨だって, "they say it will rain tomorrow". It is one of the most frequent words in everyday conversation, and it attaches exactly like そうだ, with だ after a noun.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the word is いい or ない
hearsay is regular — いいそうです, ないそうです — but the "looks as if" form is not: よさそう, なさそう.
あのホテルはサービスがいいそうです。I hear the service at that hotel is good.
The appearance pattern adds さ to these two very short words, while hearsay simply takes the full plain form, as it always does.
How to spot it
- 〜そうです
- 〜だそうです
- によると
- によれば
- の話では
- 〜って
Example sentences
天気予報によると、明日は雪だそうです。According to the forecast, it will snow tomorrow.
駅前に新しいカフェができたそうです。I hear a new café has opened in front of the station.
あの映画はとても面白いそうです。They say that film is very good.
佐藤さんのお母さんは先生だそうです。I hear Ms Sato's mother is a teacher.
兄の話では、その山は登るのが大変だそうです。According to my brother, that mountain is hard to climb.
明日の会議は中止になったそうです。Apparently tomorrow's meeting has been cancelled.
7 more example sentences
部長は明日、大阪に出張するそうです。I hear the manager is going to Osaka on business tomorrow.
この辺は昔、海だったそうです。They say this area used to be sea.
新聞によると、電車の料金が上がるそうです。According to the paper, train fares are going up.
鈴木さんは風邪で来られないそうです。I hear Mr Suzuki cannot come because he has a cold.
北海道の冬はとても寒いそうです。They say winter in Hokkaido is very cold.
彼の話では、試験は簡単だったそうです。According to him, the exam was easy.
明日は雨だって。They say it will rain tomorrow.
Worth knowing (1)
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って: the casual hearsay
Among friends, そうだ is replaced by って at the end of the sentence: 田中さん、来ないって, "Tanaka says he is not coming". It can also report what someone said a moment ago, which そうだ rarely does.
田中さん、今日は来ないって。Tanaka says he is not coming today.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
With a source named, the sentence is reporting what a friend said, so it needs hearsay そう after the full form おいしい. おいしそう is your own impression from looking at the cake — and you cannot see a cake "according to a friend".
Full form plus そう is something you heard; stem plus そう is something you see.
Your turn
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