When the particle
と is used for 引用(いんよう) (citation) in Japanese, it is regularly partnered with other verbs, to form set phrases. One of these set expressions is
と聞(き)いた, which means ‘I heard that (A)’.
と聞(き)いた may be used after any phrase expressing the thing that was heard.
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来年(らいねん)から先輩(せんぱい)が私(わたし)と同(おな)じマンションに住(す)むと聞(き)いた。
I heard that my senpai is going to live in the same apartment that I do.
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北海道(ほっかいどう)の冬(ふゆ)は、沖縄(おきなわ)の冬(ふゆ)より寒(さむ)いと聞(き)いた。
I heard that winter in Hokkaido is colder than winter in Okinawa.
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友達(ともだち)からあなたは歌(うた)うのが上手(じょうず)だと聞(き)いた。
I heard from a friend that you are good at singing.
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社長(しゃちょう)の息子(むすこ)がもう大学生(だいがくせい)だと聞(き)いた。
I heard that the son of the company president is already a college student.
だ is often omitted after nouns and
な-Adjectives when used with
ときいた in casual conversation. While this sounds perfectly normal, it is technically not correct Japanese.
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あなたは泳(およ)ぐのが下手(へた)と聞(き)いたけど、本当(ほんとう)なの?
I heard that you are bad at swimming, but is that true?
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あれが世界一(せかいいち)高(たか)い山(やま)と聞(き)いた。
I heard that that mountain over there is the tallest in the world.