Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 13/22

と言(い)う事(こと)だI heard that, Rumor has it that, It is said that, It means that

Can be rephrased to とのことだ if expresses hearsay.

Structure

Phrase + ということ + だ

Details

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    Standard

About ということだ

Like ということ, an expression used for nominalizing a phrase in the fashion of 'the ~ that ~', ということだ makes use of the auxiliary verb だ (or です), and stresses that the nominalized phrase 'is' the case. This phrase is often translated as 'I heard that', or 'it is said that', but literally, it is closer to 'it is that it's ~'. The だ is what gives this expression a high degree of certainty, therefore implying that the speaker has heard the statement elsewhere, and is sure of its validity.

ということだ can be added to the end of any phrase that the speaker wants to highlight as being something that is known.

ということだ is regularly paired with other expressions that show the 'source' of information, such as によると, or によれば.

When ということだ is being used to express hearsay (statements that cannot easily be proven), it can be rephrased as とのことだ. The literal difference between these two phrases is as follows:

ということだ - It can be explained that (A) is ~ (more emphasis on the information).

とのことだ - The statement of (A) has been applied to ~ (more emphasis on the source that 'applied' the information).

Caution

ということだ is considered to be more formal than そうだ when reporting information that has been heard from another source. This is primarily due to ということだ expressing something that is thought to be a fact, while そうだ retains the nuance of being something that is a speculation/guess.

Related

Examples

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    人(ひと)によって考(かんが)え方(かた)が違(ちが)うという事(こと)だ。

    It is said that different people have different ways of thinking.

    イルカは動物(どうぶつ)の中(なか)で頭(あたま)が一番(いちばん)いいという事(こと)だ。

    It is said that dolphins are the smartest of all animals.

    田中(たなか)さんと山田(やまだ)さんは、秘密(ひみつ)で付(つ)き合(あ)っているという事(こと)だ。

    It is said that Tanaka-san and Yamada-san are dating in secret. (rumor has it)

    それはただ文化(ぶんか)が違(ちが)うという事(こと)だ。

    That means that their cultures are different. (it is said)

    忍耐(にんたい)先生(せんせい)によりますと、ガンの治療(ちりょう)方法(ほうほう)がとうとう見(み)つかったという事(こと)です。

    According to professor Nintai, (it is said that) the cure for cancer has been finally discovered.

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ということだ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (18 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    I heard that
    rumor has it that
    it is said that
    it means that

    Structure:
    Verb + ということだ
    Noun + ということだ

    Explanation:
    [Used to: report of what has been heard (more formal than そうだ), often used with によると/によれば・to explain something・to analyze something]

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  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

  • Anthropos888

    Anthropos888

    Should be possible as well (since the “formal” hint is missing):

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Added as alternative answer!

  • kakapo

    kakapo

    I kinda also feel that らしい would work here too? Especially given the “rumor has it” meaning?

  • matt_in_mito

    matt_in_mito

    I would guess that if you hadn’t put だ then it wouldn’t have been an incorrect answer. Putting だ after らしい is incorrect, as it is with all い adjectives.

  • kakapo

    kakapo

    @matt_in_mito, thanks for your reply!

    Of course, you are right on らしい being an い-adjective. Also, I don’t think I even went through the alternative answers. I will do when the card pops up again.

  • kakapo

    kakapo

    A follow-up and conclusion : らしい is indeed a “semi-accepted” answer.

    Apologies for posting too quickly in the first place

  • Razael

    Razael

    How about adding とのことだ which is a bit more formal but basically the same?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @Razael
    Hey and welcome on the community forums

    I have added とのこと to answers, and a note about it.

    Thank you very much for the feedback!

    PS
    I think we will have to split the grammar point to ということだ・とのことだ (hearsay) and ということだ (meaning) eventually

  • koko191

    koko191

    Any difference between ということだ and と言われている?

  • ljoekelsoey

    ljoekelsoey

    Quite a few! Taking the above example,

    田中さんと山さんは、秘密で付き合っているということだ。
    It is said that Tanaka and Yamada are secretly dating (bit gossipy, but whatever )

    If you were to replace ということだ with といわれている, the nuance would change to be more concrete. This means there are people literally saying that Tanaka and Yamada are at it, rather than an insinuation that there is a rumour that they are at it. Similarly in English too, the expression “they say” is a bit misleading because there is no “they” and they aren’t saying anything, it is used to express hearsay or a rumour.

  • daniellacda

    daniellacda

    Hi!
    I found this in Shin kanzen master N3 dokkai, it says ~とのことだ is an alternate version of ~ということだ, maybe it could be added too?
    Hope it helps!

  • airblaster

    airblaster

    Could the example “苦くるしいこともある。でもそれが生いきるということだ” also be rephrased as “苦くるしいこともある。でもそれが生いきるといわれていえる” or would the meaning change?

  • Daru

    Daru

    The meaning would change!

    By saying という言われていえる you would be saying “To be said, it’s possible to say”, so I’m guessing you probably meant "と言われている” as in “it is said”.

    It would change to “but, that is said to be living”. It sounds kind of distant to me, and the meaning definitely goes another other way.

    Huge mental gymnastics but, to me, it feels as if some aliens had some humans in a test tube or something and as these humans suffer and strive, the aliens would take notes as in “so that is what they call to be alive”. I know it’s far-fetched, but I hope it helped!

  • ShinobiTay

    ShinobiTay

    I have a question! what is the difference with とか。 and ということだ。
    Isnt とか just I heard

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @ShinobiTay !

    ということだ is typically used when you have a high degree of certainty.
    この魚は全く臭くない。まだ新鮮と言う事だ。In this sentence the speaker is certain that the fish is fresh because it does not smell bad.

    とか is used when you have a low degree of certainty.
    彼は最近彼女と別れたとか。In this sentence, the speaker is not too sure if this info is accurate.

    Due to this, とか and 知らないけど, are used together very often to let the listener know that they are not sure if the information they are spreading is accurate or not ( this is done so that the speaker doesn’t have to take responsibility when it comes out that the information they gave was false) .

    明日は日本中で雪が降るとか、知らんけど。‘Apparently it is going to snow all over Japan tomorrow, but who knows (don’t blame me if it doesn’t actually snow)’

    Hope that helps!

  • ShinobiTay

    ShinobiTay

    Thank you that helps a lot!

  • bokudake

    bokudake

    Is using ということなのだ at the end of the sentence wrong instead of this grammar point? After all it only adds more emphasis.

    I failed this time, however, it means I challenged myself with new things.
    今回()は失敗()だったけど、新()しいことにチャレンジしたということだ。
    vs
    今回()は失敗()だったけど、新()しいことにチャレンジしたということなのだ。

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