Hearsay そうです in Japanese

In Brief

Put そうです after the plain form of a statement to report information that came from someone or somewhere else: 明日は雨だそうです means “I heard it will rain tomorrow.” With nouns and な-adjectives in the present affirmative, keep だ before そうです. Do not confuse this hearsay pattern with appearance そう, as in 雨が降りそうです (“It looks like it is going to rain”).

Overview

Hearsay そうです lets you pass on information without presenting it as something you know directly. Depending on the context, English may use “I heard that…,” “they say…,” “according to…,” or simply “apparently.” Japanese does not have to name the person who heard the information: the ending itself signals that the speaker is reporting it.

This is an A2 pattern built on the plain form—the basic informal set of verb and adjective endings used before many grammar expressions. Despite its polite ending です, the statement immediately before そうです normally takes plain form. Learning that boundary is the key to forming the pattern correctly.

The same sound そう also appears in a different pattern meaning “looks” or “seems.” The two patterns differ in both form and evidence. Hearsay そうです reports a message, article, forecast, or rumor; appearance そうです describes an impression based on what you can observe.

How It Works

The basic pattern

Use this structure:

plain statement + そうです

The plain statement is the content being reported. It can be affirmative or negative, present or past. Here “present” also covers future meaning, because Japanese commonly uses the non-past form for future events.

Type of word before そうです	Formation	Example	Meaning
Verb, non-past affirmative	dictionary form + そうです	来るそうです	I hear they will come.
Verb, non-past negative	ない form + そうです	来ないそうです	I hear they will not come.
Verb, past affirmative	た form + そうです	来たそうです	I hear they came.
Verb, past negative	なかった form + そうです	来なかったそうです	I hear they did not come.
い-adjective, affirmative	adjective + そうです	高いそうです	I hear it is expensive.
い-adjective, negative	くない + そうです	高くないそうです	I hear it is not expensive.
な-adjective, affirmative	adjective + だ + そうです	静かだそうです	I hear it is quiet.
な-adjective, negative	adjective + ではない + そうです	静かではないそうです	I hear it is not quiet.
Noun, affirmative	noun + だ + そうです	先生だそうです	I hear they are a teacher.
Noun, negative	noun + ではない + そうです	先生ではないそうです	I hear they are not a teacher.

In everyday speech, じゃない often replaces ではない: 休みじゃないそうです (“I hear it is not a day off”). Past noun and な-adjective statements use だった or ではなかった: 去年は学生だったそうです (“I heard they were a student last year”).

Why だ stays with nouns and な-adjectives

In 便利だそうです, だ belongs to the reported statement 便利だ (“it is convenient”). It is not changed to です just because the full sentence is polite. Compare the internal statement and the report:

• 電車が便利だ。 — Trains are convenient.
• 電車が便利だそうです。 — I hear trains are convenient.

An い-adjective does not take だ: 面白いそうです, not 面白いだそうです.

Casual and polite endings

そうです is polite and fits ordinary conversation with people you do not speak casually to. The casual equivalent is そうだ:

• 田中さんは来ないそうです。 — I hear Ms. Tanaka is not coming. (polite)
• 田中さんは来ないそうだ。 — I hear Ms. Tanaka is not coming. (plain; common in casual speech and writing)

The politeness applies to your act of reporting. It does not turn the content before そう into a polite form.

Naming the source with によると

To say where the information came from, use source + によると (“according to…”), usually near the beginning of the sentence:

天気予報によると、明日は雪だそうです。
“According to the weather forecast, I hear it will snow tomorrow.”

Common sources include ニュースによると (according to the news), 先生の話によると (according to what the teacher said), and 友達によると (according to my friend). では can also identify the medium or report, especially in concise statements: ニュースでは、来月値上げするそうです (“The news says prices will rise next month”).

Hearsay versus appearance

This contrast is essential because English “seems” may suggest either meaning.

Meaning	Formation	Example	Evidence
Hearsay: “I hear that…”	plain form + そうです	雨が降るそうです。	A forecast or another person’s report
Appearance: “It looks as if…”	verb stem + そうです	雨が降りそうです。	The sky looks threatening
Hearsay with い-adjective	full adjective + そうです	この店は安いそうです。	Someone says the shop is cheap
Appearance with い-adjective	adjective without い + そうです	この店は安そうです。	The shop looks cheap

With a な-adjective, hearsay keeps だ—元気だそうです (“I hear they are well”)—whereas appearance uses 元気そうです (“They look well”). A small difference in form changes the source of your claim.

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
明日は雨だそうです。	I heard it will rain tomorrow.	Noun 雨 + だそうです
あの映画は面白いそうです。	They say that movie is interesting.	い-adjective
彼は来ないそうです。	I heard he is not coming.	Negative verb
日本では電車が便利だそうです。	I hear trains are convenient in Japan.	な-adjective + だ
山田さんは来月結婚するそうです。	I heard Yamada is getting married next month.	Future event expressed with non-past form
駅の近くに新しいカフェができたそうです。	I heard a new café opened near the station.	Past report
その店は日曜日には開いていないそうです。	Apparently that shop is not open on Sundays.	Negative ongoing state
佐藤さんは以前、銀行員だったそうです。	I heard Sato used to be a bank employee.	Past noun + だった
この薬はあまり苦くないそうです。	I hear this medicine is not very bitter.	Negative い-adjective
天気予報によると、週末は暖かくなるそうです。	According to the forecast, it will get warmer this weekend.	Explicit source
ニュースによると、けが人はいなかったそうです。	According to the news, no one was injured.	Past negative
友達の話では、あのホテルは静かではないそうです。	According to my friend, that hotel is not quiet.	Negative な-adjective
部長は今日は会社に戻らないそうです。	I hear the department manager will not return to the office today.	Useful workplace report
この町の祭りは三百年以上続いているそうです。	They say this town’s festival has continued for over 300 years.	Reporting a fact learned indirectly

English often requires you to choose “I heard,” “they say,” or “apparently.” Japanese そうです itself does not specify who originally spoke. Choose the English translation that best fits the stated source and situation.

Common Mistakes

Using a polite form before そうです

• Wrong: 田中さんは来ますそうです。
• Right: 田中さんは来るそうです。
• Why: The reported content normally uses plain form. The final です makes the overall report polite.

Dropping だ after a noun or な-adjective

• Wrong: 明日は休みそうです。 (if you mean “I heard tomorrow is a day off”)
• Right: 明日は休みだそうです。
• Why: A present affirmative noun statement ends in だ before hearsay そうです. Without だ, the sentence may be interpreted as the appearance pattern where that interpretation is possible.

Adding だ after an い-adjective

• Wrong: あの本は難しいだそうです。
• Right: あの本は難しいそうです。
• Why: An い-adjective already forms a complete plain statement; it does not take だ.

Confusing a report with visible evidence

• Wrong for visible dark clouds: 雨が降るそうです。
• Right: 雨が降りそうです。
• Why: 降るそうです reports what someone said, while 降りそうです is your judgment from the current appearance.

Treating そうです as a guarantee

• Awkward: 明日は絶対休みです。休みだそうです。
• Better: 予定表によると、明日は休みだそうです。
• Why: Hearsay marks indirect knowledge. It passes on a claim and does not by itself guarantee that the claim is true. Naming the source makes the basis clearer.

Usage Notes

Hearsay そうです is neutral and widely used in conversation, announcements, and explanatory writing. It sounds especially natural when the source is relevant but the exact words are not. If the listener may wonder “Who says?”, add によると or another source phrase.

English speakers sometimes overuse “someone told me” when translating into Japanese. Japanese often leaves the source unstated if everyone knows it from context: 来週はテストだそうです is complete on its own. Conversely, when reliability matters—news, schedules, health information, workplace decisions—stating the source is useful.

This form reports the content rather than quoting the speaker’s exact words. For a direct quotation, use the quotation particle と, as in 先生は「来週テストをします」と言いました (“The teacher said, ‘We will have a test next week’”). Hearsay そうです is more like passing on the resulting information: 来週はテストだそうです.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these distinctions at A2, but they will help when you meet similar forms later.

そうです and らしいです

Both can be translated as “apparently,” but they are not always identical. Hearsay そうです presents a report fairly directly: 彼は病気だそうです means that this is what you heard. 彼は病気らしいです often sounds like a conclusion based on outside information or signs, with more distance or uncertainty: “Apparently he is ill.” In real conversation their territory overlaps, but そうです is the clearer beginner choice when explicitly relaying what a source said.

ということです as an explanatory report

ということです can also report information, especially when summarizing or explaining what a statement means. Compare:

• 会議は中止だそうです。 — I hear the meeting is canceled.
• 会議は中止だということです。 — The information is that the meeting is canceled; in other words, it is canceled.

The second form can sound more explanatory or formal. It is common when drawing out the content or implication of an announcement.

Connecting the report to another clause

The linking form そうで can continue the sentence:

田中さんは来月引っ越すそうで、今は家を探しています。
“I hear Tanaka is moving next month, and is looking for a home now.”

This is useful in more developed speech and writing, but beginners can safely use two sentences instead.

Responsibility for the claim

Choosing hearsay grammar is also a stance: it tells the listener that the knowledge is indirect. It does not mean the speaker doubts the report, but it creates some distance from it. In careful communication, avoid using vague そうです to spread a serious rumor; identify a credible source or say clearly that the information is unconfirmed.

Practice Tips

1. Transform complete statements. Write four plain forms such as 行く・行かない・行った・行かなかった, then add そうです to each. Repeat with an い-adjective, a な-adjective, and a noun so that だ becomes automatic where required.
2. Pair report and appearance. Make contrast pairs such as おいしいそうです (“I hear it is delicious”) and おいしそうです (“It looks delicious”). Saying the evidence aloud—“a friend told me” versus “I can see it”—helps fix the distinction.
3. Report real information. After checking a forecast, notice, or news headline, summarize one item with によると…そうです. This connects the grammar to a genuine source instead of an invented sentence.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Plain/Dictionary Form — provides the verb, adjective, and copula forms placed before そうです.
• Next step: Conjecture らしい — expresses an inference or apparently true information and overlaps with hearsay in some contexts.