noun
hearsay; secondhand information; through the grapevine
Refers to information obtained indirectly from another person, not firsthand. Often used in phrases like 人づてに聞く (to hear from someone else).
その話は人づてに聞いただけなので、詳しくは知りません。
I only heard that story secondhand, so I don't know the details.
人づての情報だから、どこまで本当かわからない。
Since it's hearsay, I'm not sure how much of it is true.
Compound of 人 (ひと, 'person') and 伝 (つて, 'means of communication, intermediary'), with rendaku voicing of つて to づて. The word literally means 'through a person' and has been used since at least the Edo period.