〜そうだ

How to form it

• Put the plain form before そうだ: 来(く)るそうだ, 高(たか)いそうだ, 行(い)ったそうだ.
• Nouns and な-adjectives add だ: 雨(あめ)だそうだ, 静(しず)かだそうだ.
• To be polite, use そうです. The part before it stays plain.

Examples

Notes

• Name the source with 〜によると: 天気予報(てんきよほう)によると、明日(あした)は雨(あめ)だそうです.
• This そうだ does not change for past or negative. Put the tense in the part before it: 来(こ)なかったそうだ (I heard they didn't come).

Common mistakes

• Confusing it with the そうだ of appearance. 降(ふ)るそうだ means you heard it will rain; 降(ふ)りそうだ means it looks like rain.

Similar meaning

• 〜らしいapparently / typical of

  "Apparently": what you have gathered, stated with more distance.

• 〜と言(い)っていたsaid that

  Reports what a particular person said.

Same form, different meaning

• 〜そうだlooks like

  After a ます-stem or adjective stem, そうだ means "looks like".