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JLPT N3Hearsay & Conjecture

～によると／～によれば— According to a Source

Cites the source of information being reported. It states where a piece of hearsay or a claim comes from, and is very often paired with a hearsay ending like そうだ, らしい, or ということだ at the end of the sentence.

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Pro lessonUNIT 77 · HEARSAY & CONJECTURE

Structure · 形

[Noun (source)] + によると／によれば　… + そうだ／らしい／とのことだ

Examples · 例文

  • 天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうだ。

    Tenki yohou ni yoru to, ashita wa ame da sou da.

    According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow.

    天気予報 + によると names the source, and the sentence ends in そうだ (hearsay).

  • ニュースによれば、事故で三人が負傷したらしい。

    Nyuusu ni yoreba, jiko de sannin ga fushou shita rashii.

    According to the news, three people were apparently injured in the accident.

    ニュース + によれば cites the source, paired with らしい (hearsay/inference).

  • 友達の話によると、あの店は閉店したとのことだ。

    Tomodachi no hanashi ni yoru to, ano mise wa heiten shita to no koto da.

    According to my friend, that shop has closed down.

    話 + によると introduces the source, closed with とのことだ (reported information).

Usage notes · 注意

  • Register: neutral; によれば is slightly more formal.
  • Almost always paired with a hearsay ending (そうだ／らしい／とのことだ).
  • Common mistake: don't use it to state your own opinion — it reports others' information.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～によると／～によれば is tested against.

vsによって

によると specifically introduces the SOURCE of reported information; によって marks agent, means, cause, or variation and is not tied to hearsay.

vsでは

によると explicitly cites a source for secondhand information; では merely sets a topic/scope ('as for...') without the reporting nuance.

More hearsay & conjecture

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