Hearsay そうです in Japanese

Overview

The hearsay expression そうです is one of the most practical grammar points you will encounter at the A2 level. It allows you to report information you have heard from others, read in a source, or learned indirectly. In English, it corresponds to phrases like "I heard that...", "they say that...", or "apparently...".

This construction is formed by attaching そうです to the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ. It is essential to distinguish this hearsay そうです from the appearance そう (stem + そう), which expresses how something looks. The two structures are built differently and carry completely different meanings.

Mastering hearsay そうです will help you share news, relay gossip, cite sources, and discuss information you have not personally verified. It is a staple of everyday Japanese conversation.

How It Works

The formation is straightforward: take the plain form of any predicate and add そうです.

Predicate Type	Plain Form	+ そうです	Meaning
Verb (present)	行く	行くそうです	I heard (someone) will go
Verb (past)	行った	行ったそうです	I heard (someone) went
Verb (negative)	行かない	行かないそうです	I heard (someone) won't go
い-adjective	高い	高いそうです	I heard it's expensive
な-adjective	静かだ	静かだそうです	I heard it's quiet
Noun	学生だ	学生だそうです	I heard (they're) a student

Key rules:

1. Always use the plain form before そうです. Do not use ます form.
2. For な-adjectives and nouns, keep だ before そうです (静かだそうです, 学生だそうです).
3. To make the overall sentence more polite, change the ending: そうです (polite) or そうだ (plain).
4. You can optionally indicate the source with ～によると ("according to...").

Source phrase	Example
ニュースによると	According to the news
友達の話では	According to my friend
天気予報によると	According to the weather forecast

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
明日は雨だそうです。	I heard it will rain tomorrow.	Noun + 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 + そうです
彼は来ないそうです。	I heard he's not coming.	Negative plain form
日本では電車が便利だそうです。	I hear trains are convenient in Japan.	な-adjective + だ + そうです
ニュースによると、地震があったそうです。	According to the news, there was an earthquake.	Source + past tense
あの店は先月閉まったそうです。	I heard that shop closed last month.	Past tense verb
彼女は元気だそうです。	I hear she's doing well.	な-adjective
来年、新しい駅ができるそうです。	They say a new station will be built next year.	Future event
田中さんは会社を辞めるそうですよ。	I heard Tanaka is going to quit the company.	With sentence-ending particle
北海道は今とても寒いそうです。	I hear Hokkaido is very cold right now.	い-adjective

Common Mistakes

Confusing hearsay そうです with appearance そう

• Wrong: おいしいそうです。 (intending "It looks delicious.")
• Right: おいしそうです。 (It looks delicious.) vs. おいしいそうです。 (I heard it's delicious.)
• Why: Appearance そう attaches to the adjective stem (おいし + そう), while hearsay そうです attaches to the full plain form (おいしい + そうです). The い makes all the difference.

Using ます form before そうです

• Wrong: 行きますそうです。
• Right: 行くそうです。
• Why: Hearsay そうです always follows the plain form, not the polite form.

Dropping だ with な-adjectives and nouns

• Wrong: 静かそうです。 (This actually means "It looks quiet" -- appearance!)
• Right: 静かだそうです。 (I heard it's quiet.)
• Why: With な-adjectives, you must keep だ to signal hearsay. Without it, the meaning shifts to appearance.

Using そうです for your own experience

• Wrong: 私は昨日病気だったそうです。 (about yourself)
• Right: 私は昨日病気でした。
• Why: You do not use hearsay for things you experienced directly. It is only for secondhand information.

Usage Notes

Hearsay そうです is neutral in register and works in both casual and polite conversation. In casual speech, そうだ (plain ending) is common. In writing and formal speech, そうです is standard.

When you want to sound slightly more tentative, you can pair it with phrases like ～ということです or ～って (very casual). The casual ～って is extremely common in spoken Japanese: 明日は雨だって ("They say it'll rain tomorrow").

In news reporting and formal contexts, ～とのことです is a more formal alternative that carries a similar meaning.

Practice Tips

• Listen to Japanese news clips and try to identify when reporters use そうです or とのことです to relay information. Practice restating headlines using this pattern.
• Pick three things you learned today from others and write sentences using そうです. Pay close attention to whether you need だ before そうです.
• Practice the minimal pair between hearsay and appearance: write both versions for adjectives like おいしい, 高い, and 難しい to solidify the difference.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Plain/Dictionary Form -- you need solid command of plain forms to attach そうです correctly
• Next steps: Conjecture らしい -- another way to express indirect information, with a nuance of inference