When learning Japanese, you might often come across the expressions そうです and だそうです. Both are used to convey hearsay or information you heard from someone else, but they’re not exactly the same. Understanding the difference will help you sound more natural and precise in Japanese. Let’s break it down!

1. What Does そうです Mean?

そうです is a common expression that means “I hear that…” or “It seems that…” You use it when you want to report information you have heard from others. It’s often used in casual and formal speech to share secondhand information.

Example:

• 雨あめが降ふるそうです。
  (I heard that it will rain.)
• 彼かれは医者いしゃだそうです。
  (I heard that he is a doctor.)

In these sentences, you’re telling someone what you heard, but you’re not the original source.

2. What Does だそうです Mean?

だそうです is a combination of the copula だ (which acts like the verb “to be” in casual speech) plus そうです, the hearsay marker. It’s typically used when reporting hearsay about nouns or na-adjectives.

Why add だ? Because in Japanese grammar, when you want to connect a noun or a na-adjective with そうです (hearsay), you often need the copula だ to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Example:

• 彼かれは医者いしゃだそうです。
  (I heard that he is a doctor.)
  Here, 医者いしゃ (doctor) is a noun, so we add だ before そうです.
• 静しずかだそうです。
  (I heard that it’s quiet.)
  Here, 静しずか (quiet) is a na-adjective, so we add だ.

3. When Do You Use そうです vs. だそうです?

4. Summary

• Use そうです after verbs and i-adjectives to report hearsay.
• Use だそうです after nouns and na-adjectives because they require the copula だ before そうです.
• Both express that you heard information from someone else (hearsay).
• Both are very useful for polite conversations or when you want to be careful about the source of information.

If you keep these simple rules in mind, you’ll be able to use そうです and だそうです confidently and naturally.

Want to learn more about Japanese grammar? Feel free to ask anytime!

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