I Heard That / Hearsay (~sou da)
〜そうだ（伝聞）
~そうだ (hearsay) reports information heard from others — 'I heard that' or 'they say that.'
Pattern
Verb (plain form) + そうだ | i-adj + そうだ | na-adj + だそうだ | Noun + だそうだ
Explanation
The hearsay ~そうだ is used to report information the speaker learned from another source — news, other people, books, etc. It follows the plain form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns + だ.
Unlike the appearance ~そうだ (which attaches to stems), hearsay ~そうだ attaches to the complete plain form: 降るそうだ (I heard it will rain), おいしいそうだ (I heard it's delicious), 静かだそうだ (I heard it's quiet), 学生だそうだ (I heard they're a student).
The hearsay ~そうだ does not conjugate for tense — the tense is expressed in the preceding clause. It cannot be made negative or past. To indicate the source of information, use ～によると...そうだ (according to...).
Examples
天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうだ。
てんきよほうによると、あしたはあめだそうだ。
tenki yohou ni yoru to, ashita wa ame da sou da.
According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow.
あの映画はとてもおもしろいそうだ。
あのえいがはとてもおもしろいそうだ。
ano eiga wa totemo omoshiroi sou da.
I heard that movie is very interesting.
田中さんは来月結婚するそうだ。
たなかさんはらいげつけっこんするそうだ。
Tanaka-san wa raigetsu kekkon suru sou da.
I heard Tanaka-san is getting married next month.
昨日の試験は難しかったそうだ。
きのうのしけんはむずかしかったそうだ。
kinou no shiken wa muzukashikatta sou da.
I heard yesterday's exam was difficult.
Common Mistakes
Wrong
おいしそうだ (meaning 'I heard it's delicious')
Correct
おいしいそうだ
Hearsay requires the full adjective: おいしいそうだ. Without い, it becomes the appearance form ('looks delicious').
Wrong
静かそうだ (meaning 'I heard it's quiet')
Correct
静かだそうだ
For na-adjectives in hearsay, include だ before そうだ.
Wrong
雨だそうだった
Correct
雨だそうだ
Hearsay そうだ doesn't conjugate for tense. Express tense in the preceding clause instead.
Related Grammar Points
Vocabulary in Examples
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