Translation guide
In Japanese, 'they say' is not a single word but a grammatical pattern used to report hearsay or general opinion. The most common way is the hearsay particle そうだ attached to a clause, or the phrase と言われている for 'it is said that'. The subject 'they' is usually omitted, as Japanese often drops pronouns when the referent is general or unknown.
They say it will rain.
Use そうだ attached to the plain form.
To convey that something is said by unspecified people, equivalent to 'I hear that...' or 'apparently'.
Attach to the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun + だ to mean 'I hear that...' or 'they say that...'. This is the most direct equivalent of 'they say' for reporting hearsay.
They say it will rain tomorrow.
They say he isn't coming.
Literally 'it is said that...'. Used for widely held beliefs or common knowledge, often in more formal or written contexts.
They say Japan is a safe country.
Expresses conjecture based on hearsay or evidence, similar to 'it seems that...' or 'apparently'. Less direct than そうだ but very common in conversation.
They say that restaurant is good.
Casual contraction of のだそうだ or のだと言う, used to relay something you heard. Common in informal speech.
They say there's a test tomorrow.
To express what people generally think or believe, often without a specific source.
Used for widely accepted facts or beliefs. The passive form implies a general consensus.
They say this medicine is effective.
Used in the form 〜という to mean 'it is said that...' or 'they call it...'. Often used to introduce names or definitions.
Japanese often omits the subject 'they' entirely and relies on context or grammatical markers like 〜られる (passive) or 〜そうだ to indicate hearsay.
Do not translate 'they say' as 彼らは言う (karera wa iu). This sounds unnatural and overly specific. Japanese prefers impersonal constructions or hearsay particles.
they say (literal, unnatural)
そうだ is a direct hearsay marker ('I hear that...'). らしい implies conjecture based on evidence or hearsay ('it seems that...'). と言われている is more formal and used for general beliefs ('it is said that...').
What do they call this flower?
As they often say, the early bird catches the worm.