I hear that; they say that

This そう passes on information you heard or read. Attach it to the plain form of any verb or adjective (降るそうだ, I hear it will rain). Unlike the appearance そう, the form before it never changes for politeness, and it often pairs with によると (according to).

Examples

• 天気予報てんきよほうによると、明日あすは雪ゆきが降ふるそうです。

  Tenki yohou ni yoru to, ashita wa yuki ga furu sou desu.

  According to the forecast, they say it'll snow tomorrow.

• 田中たなかさんは来月らいげつ結婚けっこんするそうです。

  Tanaka san wa raigetsu kekkon suru sou desu.

  I hear Tanaka is getting married next month.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 天気予報 weather forecast
• 明日 tomorrow
• 雪 snow
• 降る to fall (rain, snow)
• 来月 next month
• する to do

Related patterns · Guessing and hearsay

• 〜そうだ（様態） looks like; seems (from appearance)
• 〜ようだ it seems; it appears (based on evidence)
• 〜らしい seems; apparently (from what one heard)
• 〜かもしれない might; maybe
• 〜にちがいない must be; I'm sure that