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JLPT N3Hearsay & Conjecture

～ということだ— Which Means / I Hear That

Has two main uses. As hearsay it reports information heard from a source ('I hear that ~'). As a conclusion it restates or interprets what something amounts to ('that means ~ / in short'). Context and the presence of a source distinguish which reading applies.

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Pro lessonUNIT 47 · HEARSAY & CONJECTURE

Structure · 形

[Plain form / clause] + ということだ

Examples · 例文

  • 天気予報によると、明日は雪が降るということだ。

    Tenki yohou ni yoru to, ashita wa yuki ga furu to iu koto da.

    According to the forecast, it's going to snow tomorrow.

    によると + ～ということだ = hearsay, reporting a source

  • 返事がないということは、興味がないということだ。

    Henji ga nai to iu koto wa, kyoumi ga nai to iu koto da.

    No reply means (that) there's no interest.

    ～ということだ here draws a logical conclusion ('it means')

  • つまり、もう間に合わないということだ。

    Tsumari, mou ma ni awanai to iu koto da.

    In short, it means we won't make it in time.

    つまり + ～ということだ = restating/summarizing the upshot

Usage notes · 注意

  • Hearsay use often pairs with によると or によれば and cites a source.
  • Conclusion use often pairs with つまり ('in other words') to summarize.
  • For hearsay, ～そうだ is a common lighter alternative.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～ということだ is tested against.

vs～そうだ (hearsay)

～そうだ simply reports hearsay; ～ということだ can also mean 'that is to say / it means' as a conclusion, which ～そうだ cannot.

vs～というわけだ

～というわけだ stresses a logical consequence that follows from reasoning; ～ということだ more neutrally reports or restates information.

More hearsay & conjecture

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