quotation N4 common casualpolitewritten
〜と聞いた — I heard that ~
〜と聞いた ・ ときいた
Builds on 〜と
Meaning
- I heard that ~ — relays a specific piece of information you received from someone
Key sentence
田中さんが結婚すると聞いた。
I heard that Tanaka is getting married.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain-form clause + と | [clause(plain)] + と + 聞いた | 雨が降る → 雨が降ると聞いた |
Examples
来月から値段が上がると聞いた。
I heard prices are going up from next month.
あの店は閉まったと聞いたけど、本当？
I heard that shop closed down — is that true?
先生から、試験が延期されたと聞きました。
I heard from the teacher that the exam was postponed.
Easily confused with
〜そうだ (hearsay) Both report second-hand news. と聞いた centers on the act of your hearing it (and can name the source with から). そうだ just tags a statement as hearsay without foregrounding that you heard it personally. 〜と言われている と聞いた = a one-time piece of news you personally received. と言われている = a standing, general belief held by people at large.
See 〜と聞いた in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜と聞いた the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.