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LEARN + JAPANESE / 66 of 186 JLPT N4

I Heard That そうだ

This そうだ attaches straight to the plain form, no changes to the verb or adjective at all, and reports secondhand information, “I heard that.” It always marks the source as something you learned from elsewhere, never your own direct experience.

Hint · 힌트
Attaching straight to the plain form is what separates this そうだ from the other one covering appearance, that one instead drops adjective endings and reshapes the word. Here, nothing changes, 簡単だ keeps its だ, 来る stays 来る.
Hint · 힌트
によると, “according to,” names the source explicitly and pairs constantly with this そうだ, ニュースによると, 天気予報によると, spelling out exactly where the secondhand information came from.

In casual conversation, とか can loosely report something heard: 来月引っ越すとか, “I heard they might move next month, or something like that.” It sounds less exact than そうだ and often signals that the speaker is passing on uncertain or incomplete information.

んだって is a casual reported form, “I heard that…” or “they say…” It is common in conversation and can sound informal, especially when passing on gossip or news.

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