What are hearsay expressions in Japanese?

You’ll usually use そうだ (transcribed sōda) and its polite form そうです (transcribed sōdesu) to report information that you think is reliable. It’s most often translated as “I hear that…” or “I’ve heard that…”

そうだ (transcribed sōda) follows the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ (transcribed da).

Here five cases where you might want to use そうだ (transcribed sōda) rather than another hearsay marker!

1. A specific source

   You’ll often use そうだ (transcribed sōda) when you would be able to tell someone exactly where you got your information, even though you won’t always mention your source.

   When you’re using そうだ (transcribed sōda) you often actually will identify your source!

   • If the source someone official, like media or the authorities, formal-sounding phrases such as 〜によると (transcribed ni yoru to) or 〜によれば (transcribed ni yoreba) will follow the source.

     ６時のニュースによると、台風が九州に近づいているそうですよ。

     Transcription: Rokuji no nyūsu ni yoru to, taifū ga Kyūshū ni chikazuite iru sōdesu yo.

     Translation: According to the 6 o’clock news, a typhoon is approaching Kyushu.

   • If the source is less official, you might use 〜の話では (transcribed no hanashi de wa) or the more casual 〜に聞いたんだけど (transcribed ni kiita n da kedo) or 〜から聞いたんだけど (transcribed kara kiita n da kedo)

     ジョンに聞いたんだけど、マイクとメアリーが結婚するそうだよ。

     Transcription: Jon ni kiita n da kedo, Maiku to Mearii ga kekkon suru sōda yo.

     Translation: I’ve heard from John that Mike and Mary are getting married.

     In conversation, そうだ (transcribed sōda) is often followed by the sentence-ending particle よ (transcribed yo).

2. Reliable information

   Use そうだ (transcribed sōda) to mark hearsay that you think is reliable. Though you’re acknowledging that your evidence comes from a third-party, so it technically could be wrong, you wouldn’t use this ending if you really doubted what you’d heard.

   • 天気予報によると午後から雨が降るそうだから、傘を持っていくといいよ。

     Transcription: Tenki yohō ni yoru to gogo kara ame ga furu sōda kara, kasa o motte iku to ii yo.

     Translation: According to the weather forecast, it’s going to rain in the afternoon. So you should take your umbrella with you.
   • ❓天気予報によると午後から雨が降るそうだが、たぶん降らないだろう。

     Transcription: Tenkiyohō ni yoruto gogo kara ame ga furu sōda ga, tabun furanai darō.

     Translation: According to the weather forecast, it’ll rain in the afternoon, but it probably won’t.

     Here, you doubt the weather forecast, maybe it’s nice outside, so you shouldn’t use そうだ (transcribed sōda)

   If you have reason to doubt that what you heard is true, it’s better to use a quotation expression like 〜と言っている (transcribed to itte iru, meaning “says that...”) to distance yourself from the information:

   ✅天気予報は午後から雨が降ると言っているが、たぶん降らないだろう。

   Transcription: Tenkiyohō wa gogo kara ame ga furu to itte iru ga, tabun furanai darō.

   Translation: The weather forecast says that it’ll rain in the afternoon, but it probably won’t.

3. Confirming with a better source

   Though you can’t someone what they’ve heard using そうだ (transcribed sōda), you can use it to confirm information you’ve heard with a more reliable source. To do this, just follow そうだ (transcribed sōda) the sentence-ending particle ね (transcribed ne) and use a rising intonation.

   • 来年日本へ行くそうですね。➚

     Transcription: Rainen Nihon e iku sōdesu ne.➚

     Translation: I’ve heard that you are going to Japan next year, am I right?

     You heard it from a third-party, but the person actually traveling is a better source.
   • 妹さんが来年日本へ行くそうだね。➚

     Transcription: Imōto san ga rainen Nihon e iku sōda ne.➚

     Translation: I’ve heard that your younger sister is going to Japan next year, am I right?

     The sibling of the person traveling is a better source than the person who originally told you.

   Notice, though, that you can’t use そうだ (transcribed sōda) to confirm information with your original source. If your listener is the one who originally told you the information, confirm it using other phrases like 〜と言っていましたね (transcribed to itte imashita ne?, meaning “You said that…, didn’t you?”) instead, like the example below:

   • ✅来年日本へ行くと言っていましたね。➚

     Transcription: Rainen Nihon e iku to itte imashita ne.➚

     Translation: You said that you were going to Japan next year, didn’t you?
   • ❌来年日本へ行くそうですね。

     Transcription: Rainen nihon e iku sōdesu ne.

4. Reporting what someone else wants, thinks, or feels

   In Japanese we don’t directly state that someone else wants, thinks or feels. Instead, we state that we’ve heard or been told about what they think.

   ❌チュンさんは中国に帰りたい。

   Transcription: Chun san wa Chūgoku ni kaeritai.

   Translation: Intended: Chun wants to go back to China.

   As a result, you’ll often report that someone else wants something, thinks something, or feels something using そうだ (transcribed sōda).

   ✅チュンさんは中国に帰りたいそうだ。

   Transcription: Chun san wa Chūgoku ni kaeritai sōda.

   Translation: I’ve heard Chun wants to go back to China.

   Check out our post on how to say “want” in Japanese to learn other ways to report on other people’s desires.

5. Less formal writing

   While そうだ (transcribed sōda) can be used to mark hearsay in everyday writing, like in a diary, email, or essay, it’s usually kept out of very formal writing. You won’t often see it used in newspaper articles, academic papers, or business reports.

   To mark hearsay in very formal writing, it’s better to use expressions like 〜という (transcribed to iu) or 〜ということだ (transcribed to iu koto da).

The hearsay marker らしい (transcribed rashii) and its polite form らしいです (transcribed rashii desu) are used to mark something you’ve heard that you think is a little less reliable.

Like そうだ (transcribed sōda), the hearsay marker らしい (transcribed rashii) follows the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ (transcribed da). It can also follow non-past, past, or negative forms.

Let’s look at some reasons you might use らしい (transcribed rashii) rather than another hearsay marker.

• Rumors or an uncertain source

  We use らしい (transcribed rashii) to mark information that you’re less certain is actually true. Often this is because you’re not really sure who the original source was.

  • うわさによると、あの選手はドイツのサッカーチームに移るらしい。

    Transcription: Uwasa ni yoru to, ano senshu wa Doitsu no sakkā chiimu ni utsuru rashii.

    Translation: Rumor has it that that player will move to a German soccer team.
  • 小耳に挟んだんだけど、ジョンが辞表を出したらしいよ。

    Transcription: Komimi ni hasanda n da kedo, Jon ga jihyō o dashita rashii yo.

    Translation: I overheard that John turned in his resignation letter.

    小耳に挟む (transcribed komimi ni hasamu) is an idiomatic phrase that means “to overhear.” Its literal meaning is something like “to catch in a small ear”! 👂

  We should never use it in formal writing.

• Confirming someone else’s hearsay

  You’ll often use らしい (transcribed rashii) in a phrase like そうらしいね (transcribed sō rashii ne, meaning “I’ve heard so too”) or its polite version そうらしいですね (transcribed sō rashii desu ne) to let the other person know you have also heard the information they have.

  Speaker A:

  加藤さんは独立するそうだよ。

  Transcription: Katō san wa tokuritsu suru sōda yo.

  Translation: I’ve heard that Ms. Kato is starting her own business.

  Speaker B:

  ああ、そうらしいね。

  Transcription: Ā, sō rashii ne.

  Translation: Yeah, I’ve heard so too.

The expressions 〜ということだ (transcribed to iu koto da) and the related form 〜とのことだ (transcribed to no koto da) are used to report reliable information, like そうだ (transcribed sōda), but are more formal and objective in tone. They can also be used in negative (“I haven’t heard…”) and past tense (“I had heard…”) forms.

Like the other hearsay expressions we’ve seen, 〜ということだ (transcribed to iu koto da) and 〜とのことだ (transcribed to no koto da) follow the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ (transcribed da). The polite versions of these endings are 〜ということです (transcribed to iu koto desu) and 〜とのことです (transcribed to no koto desu), respectively.

Though these endings are more formal in tone than そうだ (transcribed sōda), they are still often used in conversation as well as in writing.

Let’s look at some of the reasons you might use 〜ということだ (transcribed to iu koto da) or 〜とのことだ (transcribed to no koto da) over one of the other hearsay endings.

• Formal and objective

  〜ということだ (transcribed to iu koto da) and 〜とのことだ (transcribed to no koto da) sound more formal and objective than そうだ (transcribed sōda).

  These endings are most often used to report information from reliable sources like: newspaper articles, media news, eyewitness testimonies, official statements, or government data. However, unlike そうだ (transcribed sōda), these endings don’t imply that the speaker endorses the information.

  • 政府関係者によると、総選挙は来年の春ごろになるということだ。

    Transcription: Seifu kankeisha ni yoru to, sōsenkyo wa raine no haru goro ni naru to iu koto da.

    Translation: According to government officials, the general election will take place around next spring.
  • 目撃者の話では、事故当時信号は赤だったとのことです。

    Transcription: Mokugekisha no hanashi de wa, jiko tōji shingō wa aka datta to no koto desu.

    Translation: According to what an eyewitness says, the traffic light was red at the time of the accident.

• Past hearsay

  〜ということだ (transcribed to iu koto da) and 〜とのことだ (transcribed to no koto da) can be used in the past tense to talk about what you “had heard” or “once heard.” Usually you’ll use this in a situation where the information probably is no longer true.

  ３時までに配達するということだったのに、５時をすぎても荷物はまだ届かない。

  Transcription: Sanji made ni haitatsu suru to iu koto datta noni, goji o sugite mo nimotsu wa mada todokanai.

  Translation: I was told that they would make a delivery by 3 o’clock, but the package has not yet arrived even though it’s past 5 o’clock.

• Delivering a message

  You’ll sometimes use 〜とのことだ (transcribed to no koto da) to deliver someone else’s personal message. For example:

  よろしくとのことです

  Transcription: yoroshiku to no koto desu

  Translation: (someone) sends their best regards / (someone) says hi

Mark the “source” of the message with either から (transcribed kara) or が (transcribed ga). You can also specify the “recipient”, marking them with に (transcribed ni), but usually this is left out, since the context makes it clear.

The hearsay marker とか (transcribed toka) is a bit of a formal-sounding expression, typically used in personal correspondence, like letters and emails. A bit like らしい (transcribed rashii), this marks information obtained through the grapevine or through rumor, rather than from a specific source.

Like our other hearsay markers, it follows the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ (transcribed da).

Using とか (transcribed toka) makes your information sound a bit vague or uncertain, so it shouldn’t be used to communicate important information like schedule changes in office memos. In these cases, use そうだ (transcribed sōda) instead.

• ✅チームミーティングは火曜日に変更になったそうです。

  Transcription: Chiimu miitingu wa kayōbi ni henkō ni natta sōdesu.

  Translation: I’ve heard that the team meeting has been moved to Tuesday.
• ❌チームミーティングは火曜日に変更になったとか。

  Transcription: Chiimu miitingu wa kayōbi ni henkō ni natta toka.

In casual conversations among friends and family members, you can also use the hearsay marker 〜んだって (transcribed ndatte). This is a shortened version of 〜のだということだ (transcribed no da to iu koto da) which literally means “it is said that.”

Like our other hearsay markers, it follows the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ (transcribed da).

So 〜んだって (transcribed ndatte) is very often used to confirm information you’ve heard from a third party. In this use, 〜んだって (transcribed ndatte) has a rising intonation:

When you are fairly certain your information is correct, but still want to confirm it, you can add the particle ね (transcribed ne) after 〜んだって (transcribed ndatte). The intonation does not go up in this case.