Lesson list
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Lesson 3

Advanced: Lesson 3

overview:

In Advance lesson 3, we will be learning how to construct three different ways to describe "I heard that..", "It seems that..", "according to.." etc.

Lesson overview
Using "そうです"
Using "らしいです"
Using "ようです"

Usage of そうです / って

breakdown

You can use this to express something that you've heard. It relays what the speaker has heard to the listener. Some of the more common sources are news and reports you've heard from a friend, newspapers, the internet, social media etc.

structure
Verb (plain form) + そうです
i-adj (plain form) + そうです
na-adj + だ (plain form) + そうです
noun + だ + そうです
Examples:
綺麗だそうです、学生だそうです
examples
1. I heard tomorrow will be hot.
1. 明日は暑いそうです。
2. I read in the news that there was an earthquake in Japan yesterday.
2. 新聞によると1 昨日日本で地震があったそうです。
新聞 ・ しんぶん
地震 ・ じしん
3. I heard him say that his landlord is very stingy.
3. 彼の主人はとてもケッチだそうです。
主人 ・ しゅじん

Casual/plain form

breakdown

って is the casual/plain form of そうです. The structure is exactly the same.

examples
1. I heard tomorrow will be hot.
1. 明日は暑いって。
2. I read in the news that there was an earthquake in Japan yesterday.
2. 新聞によると昨日日本で地震があったって。
3. I heard him say that his landlord is very stingy.
3. 彼の主人はとてもケッチだって。
Things to note:
  1. Remember to use によると or によれば to indicate the source of information.
  2. って is the casual form for そうです. The sentence structure is the same.
  3. Remember to add だ after na-adj and nouns.

Usage of らしいです / らしい

breakdown

The usage of らしい is to express a guess. "I guess that...", "I guess that...", "It seems that..."

らしい behaves/has the same conjugation pattern like an i-adj.

Meaning wise, it is similar to そうです but らしい includes the speaker's conjecture or judgement about the information.

You can use らしい when the statement is based on something that you've seen or experienced.

structure
Verb (plain form) + らしいです
i-adj (plain form) + らしいです
na-adj (plain form) + らしいです
noun + らしいです
examples
You saw a queue outside a bread shop.
1. It seems that the bread over there is delicious.
1. あそこのパンは美味しいらしいです。
Because it's quiet.
2. The child has probably fallen asleep already.
2. 子供はもう寝たらしいです。
You heard a lot of complaints.
3. I think this product is not good.
3. この製品は上手ではないらしいです。
製品　・ せいひん
Things to note:
  1. らしい behaves/has the same conjugation pattern like an i-adj.
  2. Because らしい is used with some objectivity, it might sometimes give the impression that the speaker is avoiding responsibility for the statement.
  3. Casual/plain form for らしいです is らしい.

Usage of ようです /　ようだ　/ みたいです

breakdown

The usage of ようです is to express a guess after gathering information that based on the speaker's senses.
"It looks like..."

ようです behaves/has the same conjugation pattern like a na-adj.

structure
Verb (plain form) + ようです
i-adj (plain form) + ようです
na-adj (plain form) + な + ようです
noun + の + ようです
examples
You saw mould on the bread.
1. It seems that the bread is spoiled.
1. このパンは腐っているようです。
腐る　・ くさる ・ Rotten
You can hear the sound of water.
2. It seems like we're near the river.
2. 川に近いようです。
川　・ かわ ・ River
You saw dark clouds in the sky.
3. It seems like it's going to rain soon.
3. すぐ雨が降るようです。

Casual/plain form for ようです is みたいです

breakdown

みたい is the casual/plain form of ようです. It is usually used in speech. There is no need for な and の to be placed after na-adj and noun respectively.

structure
Verb (plain form) + みたいです
i-adj (plain form) + みたいです
na-adj (plain form) + みたいです
noun + みたいです
examples
You saw mould on the bread.
1. It seems that the bread is spoiled.
1. このパンは腐っているみたいです。
You can hear the sound of water.
2. It seems like we're near the river.
2. 川に近くいるみたいです。
You saw dark clouds in the sky.
3. It seems like it's going to rain soon.
3. すぐ雨が降るみたいです。
Things to note:
  • The casual form of どうです is みたいです. However, みたいです is almost exclusively used for speech.
  • There is no need for な and の to be placed after na-adj and noun respectively.
  • You use your senses to come to a conjecture.