JLPT N4

そうです（hearsay）

I heard that ~, It seems that ~ (hearsay)

Structure

Verb/I-adj (plain form) + そうです / Na-adj (plain form) + だそうです / Noun + だそうです

How it works

This expresses information that the speaker has heard from someone else or read somewhere, not observed directly. It conveys hearsay or second-hand information.

Examples

明日は雨が降るそうです。

I heard that it will rain tomorrow.

Common mistakes

Confusing it with the 〜そうです (appearance) which attaches directly to the stem for verbs/i-adjectives and has no だ for na-adjectives/nouns.

Tip

Remember 'sou desu' has two meanings: 'looks like' (based on observation) and 'I heard' (based on information). The key is the preceding form. Plain form = hearsay.

More JLPT N4 grammar

ようにするようになるそうだ (appearance)そうだ (hearsay)ようだらしいかもしれないてしまう

See そうです（hearsay） in real Japanese

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