によると・
You name where the information comes from: the forecast, a survey, your doctor. The end of the sentence then marks it as something you were told: そうだ, らしい, ということだ.
According to the weather forecast, it will snow from tomorrow afternoon.
How to form it
Source + によると／によれば … そうだ／らしい／ということだ
The source is a noun. によれば means the same and is a little stiffer.
- Before it
- Where you got it: ニュース, 調査 (a survey), 資料 (the documents), 医者 (the doctor), 兄 (my brother).
- After it
- What the source says, and then the ending that marks it as passed on.
- Where you'll meet it
- News, articles and reports, and careful conversation. Among friends the source more often comes as 〜が言ってたけど. 〜の話では is said in any company.
In use
According to the doctor, it is best to take this medicine after meals.
According to my brother, that shop is less crowded on weekdays.
らしい keeps his word at a distance: you aren't vouching for it.
According to the traffic report, there is a ten-kilometer jam on the expressway.
The ending says it again
English stops at "according to". Japanese marks the information a second time, at the end. A plain ending makes it your own statement, though you have just said that someone else told you.
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.
Written news and reports do leave the ending off. After a survey or an official announcement they often give the result flat, as a matter of record.
According to a recent survey, sixty percent of respondents shop online at least once a week.
Close neighbours
そうだN4
The ending that most often closes the sentence: "I hear".
According to the article, that town used to be very quiet.
A more official ending, for news and reports.
According to the weather agency's announcement, the typhoon will approach Kyushu tomorrow morning.
んだってN3
Between friends both halves change: 〜が言ってたけど gives the source, and んだって ends the sentence.
The clerk said this model is lighter than the previous one.
によってN3
It looks alike and means something else: "depending on", or "by".
Opinions differ from person to person.
Check yourself
1You are telling a colleague what a friend told you. Which ending fits?
友達に
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one names where the news comes from?
ニュース
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
According to the institute's report, the average temperature in this region has risen by about two degrees over the past fifty years.
According to Yamada, the manager said that the opening hours would be extended from next week.