JLPT N4
そうだ (hearsay)
I heard that ~
Structure
Plain form そうだ
How it works
This grammar point is used to report information learned from another source, such as news, rumors, or another person. It attaches to the plain form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns; nouns and na-adjectives take 'da' (e.g., gakusei da sou da, shizuka da sou da). Unlike the 'look like' usage, the 'hearsay' usage does not drop the 'i' from i-adjectives.
Examples
天気予報によると、明日は雨が降るそうだ。
According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow.
田中さんは来月結婚するそうです。
I heard that Mr. Tanaka is getting married next month.
あの店の料理はとてもおいしいそうです。
I heard that the food at that restaurant is very delicious.
Common mistakes
Confusing it with 'looks like' (Seemingly) which uses the stem form (e.g., 'Ame ga furisou' means 'It looks like it will rain,' whereas 'Ame ga furu sou' means 'I heard it will rain').
Tip
To make your sentence sound more natural and specify your source, start the sentence with '~ni yoru to' (According to ~).
More JLPT N4 grammar
See そうだ (hearsay) in real Japanese
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