Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 1: 13/22

によるとAccording to

Remember that ことによると is a set expression meaning "perhaps"!

Structure

Noun + よる(1)
Verb + ところ + よる(1)

(1) れば

Details

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About によると・によれば

によると, a combination of the case marking particle , the う - Verb よる, and the conjunction particle と, is a phrase that is used to express that something is 'according to (A)', or 'going off (A)'. In these cases, (A) is considered to be the source of some form of information which will be conveyed in the (B) part of the sentence.

This expression will be used after nouns, or with verbs that have been paired with ところ (to indicate the 'place' where the information came from).

In newspapers and in articles, the more formal によりますと variant can also regularly be seen.

However, this structure is not limited to using と, and the same meaning can be conveyed with with によれば. This is just よる in its conjunctive form that pairs with the conjunction particle .

Caution

Although によると and によれば are largely interchangeable, によると will convey a higher level of 'certainty', or 'reliability' in regard to the source of information. Due to this, によると is more likely to be used when referring to legitimate sources (police, news, etc).

  • 警視庁(けいしちょう)によると、イマダ容疑者(ようぎしゃ)()ている母親(ははおや)包丁(ほうちょう)()ていたという(こと)です
    According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police department, Imada, the suspect, stabbed his mother who was sleeping, with a knife.

Fun Fact

よる is almost always written in hiragana alone. However, there are several different kanji that can be used to represent this verb. Each of these kanji have slightly different nuances, but they generally all represent the same 'base' meaning. This meaning is that '(B)'s foundation is (A)'. The most common kanji used for よる are as follows:

()る - (B) depends on (A).

()る - (B) extends from (A).

()る - (B) results from (A).

()る - (B) is due to (A).

Examples

--:--

    天気予報(てんきよほう)によると明日(あした)()れです。

    According to the weather forecast, tomorrow will be sunny.

    警察(けいさつ)によると犯人(はんにん)()げたそうです。

    According to the police, the criminal escaped.

    先輩(せんぱい)(はなし)によると、あの会社(かいしゃ)はブラック企業(きぎょう)らしい。

    According to what my senior said, that company is one of those 'black companies'.

    目撃者(もくげきしゃ)によれば犯人(はんにん)20代(にじゅうだい)男性(だんせい)だ。

    According to the witness, the criminal is a man in his 20s.

    ()くところによれば(かれ)はあの()()きみたいだ。

    According to what I hear, it seems as though he likes that girl.

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によると・によれば – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (17 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Added and fixed

    Thank you for the feedback,
    Cheers!

  • Ambo100

    Ambo100

    It looks like there are now two links to the same resource.

  • Daru

    Daru

    It has been fixed! Thank you for pointing it out!

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