〜そうです（伝聞） sou desu

〜そうです（伝聞）（sou desu）means “I hear that ...; they say that ...”. Attached to the plain form, そうです reports hearsay: information you got from another source (someone told you, the news, etc. Formation: ふつうけい(V/A/Nだ)+そうです

I hear that ...; they say that ...

N4

Formation

ふつうけい(V/A/Nだ)+そうです

Explanation

Attached to the plain form, そうです reports hearsay: information you got from another source (someone told you, the news, etc.), conveyed unchanged. It connects to plain forms of verbs and adjectives directly, and to nouns/な-adjectives with だ (学生だそうです).

Examples

てんきよほうによると、あしたあめがふるそうです。
てんきよほうによると、あしたあめがふるそうです。
According to the forecast, they say it will rain tomorrow.
たなかさんはりょうりが上手だそうです。
たなかさんはりょうりがじょうずだそうです。
I hear that Tanaka is good at cooking.

Note

Don't confuse with the 'looks like / seems' そう (V-ます+そう, Aい(去い)+そう), which has no だ for nouns and takes a different form.

FAQ

〜そうです（伝聞） — what does it mean and how is it used?

I hear that ...; they say that .... Attached to the plain form, そうです reports hearsay: information you got from another source (someone told you, the news, etc.), conveyed unchanged. It connects to plain forms of verbs and adjectives directly, and to nouns/な-adjectives with だ (学生だそうです).

〜そうです（伝聞） — how do you form it?

ふつうけい(V/A/Nだ)+そうです

〜そうです（伝聞） — any usage notes?

Don't confuse with the 'looks like / seems' そう (V-ます+そう, Aい(去い)+そう), which has no だ for nouns and takes a different form.

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