Passing on what you heard: "he said", "I hear", "they say"
と言っていました, "he said", and そうです, "I hear", are the two forms to start with. Friends mostly say って, んだって or らしい instead. A message at work, a news report and what people in general say each have a form of their own.
| Form | What you pass on | Where |
|---|---|---|
| と言っていました, って | What one person said: "he said" | Everyday; って in conversation |
| そうだ | News you were told: "I hear" | Polite talk, writing |
| んだって | The same as そうだ | Casual conversation |
| らしい | News you aren't vouching for: "apparently" | Everyday |
| とか | News you only half heard: "…or something like that" | Conversation, casual or polite |
| によると | The source: "according to" | News, reports, careful conversation |
| とのことです | A message for someone | Work, in speech and email |
| ということです | What a report or an announcement says | News broadcasts; と |
| と言われている | What people in general say: "they say" | Articles, textbooks, guidebooks |
What someone said: と言っていました and って
Full pageと言う・
と言っていました tells a person who wasn't there what someone said. The words come first, retold in the plain form, then と.
What did Tanaka say?
He said he'd be a little late.
With 聞きました in place of 言っていました it is "I heard that".
I heard in the weather forecast that it would rain from the afternoon.
In conversation と usually comes out as って, and the verb after it can drop: って alone is usually "he says" or "I hear".
My older brother said he would come home tomorrow.
Tanaka says he isn't coming.
Tanaka said so, or someone told you. You are passing it on.
そうだ: I hear
Full pageそうだN4
そうだ after a whole plain form passes on news, something you were told or something you read, adding nothing of your own. It is for polite talk and writing. On a stem it is a different ending: おいしそう, "looks delicious".
I heard from my mother that my grandfather left the hospital yesterday.
English says "I heard", but the past goes on 退院した, not on そうです.
I hear you're moving to Kyoto.
Said with ね, to the person the news is about.
With friends: んだって and らしい
Full pageだって・
Among friends, "I hear" is mostly んだって or らしい. Where って passes on someone's words, んだって passes on what they told you as news. らしい is "apparently": you aren't vouching for it. It is said in polite talk too, as らしいです.
The teacher said there's no class next week.
Apparently Tanaka is getting married next month.
I hear you're getting married next month?
Yeah. Who told you?
With the voice going up, んだって asks whether the news is true.
とか: only half heard
Full pageとかN3
とか at the end of something you heard is "…or something like that": you pass it on lightly, without being sure of the details or of who said it.
I heard from a neighbor that the bakery by the station is closing next month, or something like that.
Tanaka-san, I hear you're being transferred to Osaka next month. We'll miss you.
Saying where you heard it: によると
Full pageによると・
によると names the source: "according to". によれば is a little stiffer.
According to the weather forecast, it will snow from tomorrow afternoon.
Friends more often use other ways to say who told them.
〜の話ではfrom what … says
From what a colleague says, the new department head used to be a newspaper reporter, or something like that.
In polite talk too, with そうです at the end.
〜が言ってたけど… said
The clerk said this model is lighter than the previous one.
〜に聞いたんだけどI heard from …
Aki told me that tomorrow's practice has been canceled.
Where it goes wrong
English needs only "according to". Japanese adds an ending that marks the information as passed on. Written news and reports often leave that ending off.
Not said: 姉に
(According to my sister, that film is very good.)
面白いそうです, or 面白いらしいです.
English shifts the tense: "I'm busy" becomes "she said she was busy". Japanese keeps the tense as it was said.
She said she was busy.
Her words: 忙しい, "I'm busy".
She said she had been busy.
Her words: 忙しかった, "I was busy".
Messages and reports: とのことです and ということです
Full pageということだ・
とのことです hands on a message: someone rang or wrote, and another person needs to know. It is the standard way to do this at work. ということです hands on news and reports: it is what newsreaders say. To a friend it would sound like reading out the news.
Yamada phoned. He says he has a fever, so he is taking today off.
According to the weather agency's announcement, the typhoon will approach Kyushu tomorrow morning.
とみられるN2
"Is believed to", in the news: how things look so far, before anyone has confirmed them.
At least ten people are believed to have been injured in the accident.
そうです, んだって or とのことです?
One piece of news about Yamada, said three ways.
I hear Yamada will arrive around seven.
To a colleague, politely.
I hear Yamada's arriving around seven.
To a friend.
Yamada has been in touch: he will get here around seven.
Yamada's own message, handed on at work.
とのことです sounds more official than そうです.
と言われている and とされている: what people say
Full pageと言われている・
と言われている is a passive, "it is said that": what people in general say, with nobody named as the source. とされている is for a rule or an accepted view, and と考えられている for what is thought to be so, usually by experts. You meet all three in articles, textbooks and guidebooks. In a chat, "they say" is more often らしい.
This temple is said to have been built in the eighth century.
Under this system, anyone under sixteen counts as a child.
This illness is thought to be caused by a virus.
と考えられるN2Papers, reports
Without ている, the writer is passing nothing on: it is their own conclusion, the "I conclude" of a paper or a report.
User numbers have risen for three years running, so the trend can be expected to continue.
"They say" has no "they"
They say this town has clean water.
"They" is nobody in particular.
They say this town has clean water.
彼ら is a particular group, one you have just been talking about.
Passing on an order or a request
ように言うN4
"Told me to": it gives what was wanted, not the words that were said.
My doctor told me to walk for thirty minutes every day.