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JLPT N4

〜そうです（伝聞）

I heard that... (hearsay)

Structure

Plain form of verb / adjective / noun + そうです

Reports information the speaker heard or read from someone else, without adding their own judgement.

Examples

  • 天気予報によると、明日は雨が降るそうです。

    てんきよほうによると、あしたはあめがふるそうです。

    According to the weather forecast, I heard it will rain tomorrow.

  • 田中さんは来月結婚するそうです。

    たなかさんはらいげつけっこんするそうです。

    I heard that Tanaka-san is getting married next month.

  • あのレストランはあまりおいしくないそうです。

    あのレストランはあまりおいしくないそうです。

    I heard that restaurant isn't very tasty.

  • 昨日のパーティーはとても楽しかったそうです。

    きのうのパーティーはとてもたのしかったそうです。

    I heard yesterday's party was a lot of fun.

  • 田中さんが会社を辞めるそうですが、本当ですか。

    たなかさんがかいしゃをやめるそうですが、ほんとうですか。

    I heard Tanaka-san is quitting the company — is that true?

  • あの店はもうすぐ閉まるそうだ。

    あのみせはもうすぐしまるそうだ。

    I heard that shop is closing soon.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing the hearsay そうです (attaches to the plain form unchanged: 降るそうです, 忙しいそうです) with the completely different 'looks like' conjecture そうです (attaches to the stem, dropping い/だ: 降りそうです, 忙しそうです) — mixing them up changes 'I heard it will rain' into 'it looks like it will rain.'
  • Forgetting to insert だ before そうです after nouns and na-adjectives in the hearsay form (incorrect: 彼は先生そうです; correct: 彼は先生だそうです) — this だ is required for hearsay but is dropped in the 'looks like' conjecture form, which is a frequent source of confusion.
  • Using そうです without any clue about where the information came from (によると, から聞いた, と言っていました, etc.) in writing or formal speech — spoken casual Japanese sometimes omits the source, but doing so in writing can sound unclear about whose information is being reported.

How it's different from similar grammar

  • そう（様態・見た目の推測）

    The hearsay そうです in this entry reports something the speaker heard or read, and attaches to the plain form without any change: 雨が降るそうです (I heard it will rain). The 'looks like' conjecture そう attaches to the verb ます-stem or the adjective stem (dropping い/だ) and describes what the speaker guesses from what they can see: 雨が降りそうです (It looks like it's about to rain, based on the dark clouds).

  • ようです / みたいです

    ようです/みたいです expresses the speaker's own inference or judgment based on evidence they observed or felt: 空が暗いので、雨が降るようです (Judging from the dark sky, it seems it will rain). そうです (hearsay) purely relays information the speaker heard from someone else or read somewhere, without adding personal judgment: 天気予報によると、雨が降るそうです (According to the forecast, I heard it will rain).

How this shows up on the JLPT

N4 tests recognizing that hearsay そうです attaches to the plain form without change, often with a clue like によると or と言っていました nearby; some questions also test distinguishing it from the visually similar 'looks like' conjecture そう, which attaches to stems instead.

Quick check (3 questions)

  • 1. Choose the word that correctly completes the hearsay sentence: 田中さんは最近、仕事が忙しい＿＿。(I heard Tanaka has been busy with work lately.)

  • 2. Which sentence correctly reports the hearsay that 'she is good at tennis'?

  • 3. Which sentence means 'It looks like it's about to rain' (the speaker's own guess from what they see), rather than 'I heard it will rain' (information from someone else)?

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