I have seen both だそう
and そう
written at the end of a sentence to convey "apparently". Do you use だそう when trying to convey "according to" (によると)?
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Maybe not quite duplicate, but might help: japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5143/1173– gibbonMay 28, 2012 at 10:03
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4See also japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/607, japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2729, japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/850– cypherMay 28, 2012 at 10:21
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Is really だそう used as "apparently"?– GradiusAug 7, 2012 at 8:30
1 Answer
If the sentence ends in a verb or -い adjective, do not use -だそう. Here's an example:
Nagano has delicious soba: 長野はそばがおいしいです。
I hear Nagano has delicious soba: 長野はそばがおいしいそうです。
According to the travel agency, Nagano has delicious soba: 旅行会社によると、長野はそばがおいしいそうです。
If the sentence ends in a -な adjective or a noun, use -だそう:
Mount Fuji is beautiful: 富士山はきれいです。
I hear Mount Fuji is beautiful: 富士山はきれいだそうです。
According to my sensei, Mount Fuji is beatiful: 先生によると、富士山はきれいだそうです。
The rule is this: take the plain form of the sentence (as if you're speaking informally), and add そうです.
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6Worth mentioning is that -そう is also used to mean "seems", but it is constructed differently. When expressing "seems", you use the stem of the predicate, as opposed to using the plain form. "彼は親切そうです。" means "He seems nice." Whereas "彼は親切だそうです。" means "I heard he's nice." So unless it's clear from the context, omitting the -だ is not an option. Aug 2, 2012 at 19:29