How to Say “I Heard…” in Japanese: ～そう / ～って

When you want to tell someone what you heard from someone else in Japanese, there are two very useful and natural ways to say it: ～そう and ～って. Both are commonly used in daily conversation, and each has its own tone and usage. Let’s break them down!

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1. ～そう (I heard that…)

The grammar pattern ～そう is used when you’re reporting something you heard or read. It’s more formal than ～って and is often used in polite conversation or writing.

✅ Structure:

Plain form + そうです

• Verb (plain): 来くる → 来くるそうです
• Noun: 学生がくせい → 学生がくせいだそうです
• い-adjective: かわいい → かわいいそうです
• な-adjective: 元気げんき → 元気げんきだそうです

🗣️ Examples:

• 田中たなかさんは先生せんせいだそうです。
  I heard that Mr. Tanaka is a teacher.
• あの店みせは人気にんきだそうです。
  I heard that restaurant is popular.
• 来週らいしゅう、雪ゆきが降ふるそうです。
  I heard it will snow next week.

This form is often used when the speaker wants to sound more objective or respectful, especially when the information is not their own opinion.

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2. ～って (I heard that… / They said…)

The grammar ～って is a casual, spoken way to report what you heard. It’s very common in informal conversations among friends and family.

✅ Structure:

Plain form + って

This grammar is very flexible and often replaces と in ～と言いいました.

🗣️ Examples:

• 山田やまださん、来こないって。
  I heard Yamada isn’t coming.
• あの映画えいが、おもしろいって！
  They say that movie is interesting!
• 先生せんせい、テストは明日あしたって言いってた。
  The teacher said the test is tomorrow.

In writing, this form is sometimes written as 〜って言いってた (said that…), but in casual conversation, people often just use ～って on its own.

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📌 Quick Comparison:

Grammar	Register	Meaning	Example
～そう	Polite, semi-formal	“I heard that…”	雨あめが降ふるそうです。
～って	Casual	“They said…” / “I heard…”	雨あめが降ふるって。

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✅ Bonus Tip: Don’t Confuse with 〜そう (Looks like…)

Be careful! ～そう can also mean “looks like”, as in 美味おいしそう (looks delicious) or 楽たのしそう (looks fun). The meanings are different depending on the grammar:

• 雨あめが降ふりそう = It looks like it’s going to rain. (based on what you see)
• 雨あめが降ふるそう = I heard it’s going to rain. (based on what you heard)

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✨ In Summary:

• Use ～そう when reporting hearsay politely.
• Use ～って when chatting casually with friends.
• Both are useful tools to make your Japanese more natural and expressive!

Practice using both forms when talking about news, rumors, or what someone said. Next time you hear something interesting, try saying it in Japanese!