Passing On Information
This そうです reports something you learned from elsewhere — the news, a friend, a sign. You are not judging whether it is true; you are relaying it.
- 明日は雨が降るそうです。(I hear it'll rain tomorrow.)
Plain Form, Nothing Removed
Attach to the plain form and keep だ on nouns and な-adjectives:
| Type | + そうです |
|---|---|
| Verb | 降るそうです |
| い-adjective | 高いそうです |
| な-adjective | 静かだそうです |
| Noun | 学生だそうです |
That kept だ is the whole difference from the other そう — see below.
The Two そう Are Not the Same
This is the single most confused pair in N4:
| Hearsay (this page) | Appearance | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | I heard that | It looks like |
| Verb | 降るそう (plain) | 降りそう (stem) |
| い-adj | 高いそう | 高そう (drop い) |
| な-adj | 静かだそう | 静かそう |
| Conjugates? | No — always そうです | Yes — そうな, そうに |
雨が降るそうです = I heard it will rain.
雨が降りそうです = it looks like rain.
One kana apart, completely different claims.
Naming Your Source
Pair it with によると:
- 天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうです。(According to the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow.)
Related Ways to Report
- と言っていました — quotes a specific person. See と.
- らしい — heard it, and you find it plausible.
- ということです — formal, common in announcements.
そうです is the most neutral of these: pure relay, no evaluation.
No Past Form on そう
Put the tense inside:
- ○ 昨日来たそうです。(I hear he came yesterday.)
- × 来るそうでした。