Overview of Reporting Speech
Japanese has several ways to report what others have said or conveyed information. The main methods use と with various verbs like 言う (say), 聞く (hear), 伝える (convey), and そうだ (I heard).
Direct: 彼は「行く」と言った
"He said 'I'll go'"
Indirect: 彼は行くと言った
"He said he'd go"
Hearsay: 雨が降るそうだ
"I heard it will rain"
Direct Quotation
Using quotation marks
彼は「疲れた」と言った
"He said 'I'm tired'"
先生は「勉強しなさい」と言いました
"The teacher said 'Study!'"
母は「気をつけてね」と言った
"Mom said 'Be careful'"
Keeps exact words
Uses 「 」quotation marks
Indirect Quotation
Removing quotation marks
Direct: 彼は「行く」と言った
Indirect: 彼は行くと言った
"He said he'd go"
Direct: 彼女は「忙しい」と言った
Indirect: 彼女は忙しいと言った
"She said she's busy"
Reports content, not exact words
Main Reporting Verbs
と言う (say/said)
彼は来ると言った
"He said he'd come"
みんな楽しいと言っていた
"Everyone said it was fun"
Most common reporting verb
と聞く/聞いた (hear/heard)
彼は来ると聞いた
"I heard he's coming"
雨だと聞きました
"I heard it's rain"
Reporting what you heard
と伝える (convey/tell)
よろしくと伝えてください
"Please tell them my regards"
彼に会議のことを伝えた
"I told him about the meeting"
Passing on messages
と教える (teach/tell/inform)
彼は道を教えてくれた
"He told me the way"
先生が答えを教えた
"The teacher told us the answer"
そうだ (I heard/Apparently)
Hearsay marker
明日雨が降るそうだ
"I heard it will rain tomorrow"
彼は来ないそうです
"Apparently he's not coming"
田中さんが結婚したそうだ
"I heard Tanaka got married"
Based on information from others
Formation Patterns
Plain form + と + Verb
Verbs: 行く + と言う
い-adjectives: 高い + と言う
な-adjectives: 便利だ + と言う
Nouns: 学生だ + と言う
そうだ pattern
Verb plain + そうだ
い-adjective + そうだ
な-adjective + だそうだ
Noun + だそうだ
Tense in Reported Speech
Present reporting
彼は来ると言っている
"He says he'll come" (still saying)
彼女は忙しいと言っています
"She says she's busy"
Past reporting
彼は来ると言った
"He said he'd come"
みんな難しいと言っていた
"Everyone was saying it was difficult"
Common Conversations
Example 1: Reporting News
A: 何か聞いた？
"Did you hear anything?"
B: 明日、会議があるそうだよ
"I heard there's a meeting tomorrow"
A: 本当？知らなかった
"Really? I didn't know"
Example 2: Conveying Messages
A: 田中さんに会ったら、何て伝える？
"What should I tell Tanaka when I see him?"
B: よろしくって伝えてください
"Please tell him my regards"
Example 3: Reporting Conversation
A: 彼、何て言ってた？
"What did he say?"
B: 行けないって言ってたよ
"He said he can't go"
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Forgetting と
Wrong: 彼は行く言った ❌
Right: 彼は行くと言った ✓
"He said he'd go"
と is necessary!
Mistake 2: Wrong tense with そうだ
Wrong: 来たそうだ ❌ (for future)
Right: 来るそうだ ✓
"I heard he'll come"
Use appropriate tense
Mistake 3: Confusing そうだ types
Hearsay: 雨が降るそうだ
"I heard it will rain"
Appearance: 雨が降りそうだ
"It looks like it will rain"
Different meanings!
って (Casual Quotation)
Very casual reporting
彼、来るって
"He says he's coming"
明日雨だって
"They say it's rain tomorrow"
忙しいって言ってた
"He said he's busy"
Common in conversation
Adjusting Pronouns
First person changes
Original: 私は行く
"I'll go"
Reported: 彼は行くと言った
"He said he'd go"
Pronouns adjust to perspective
Questions in Reported Speech
か for questions
彼は「行くか」と聞いた
"He asked 'Will you go?'"
どこに行くか聞かれた
"I was asked where I'm going"
Use か for question quotes
Commands in Reported Speech
Quoting imperatives
彼は「来い」と言った
"He said 'Come!'"
母は「勉強しなさい」と言った
"Mom said 'Study!'"
先生は早く来るように言った
"The teacher said to come early"
らしい (It seems/I heard)
Similar to そうだ
彼は来ないらしい
"It seems he's not coming" / "I heard he's not coming"
雨が降るらしいよ
"It seems it will rain"
More casual than そうだ
Multiple Levels of Hearsay
Reporting reports
田中さんが、山田さんが来ると言っていた
"Tanaka said that Yamada said he'd come"
Can nest reports
Formal Reporting
In business/formal
社長は来週出張すると申しておりました
"The president said he would go on a business trip next week"
Use humble/honorific forms
によると (According to)
Citing sources
天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうだ
"According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow"
新聞によると、事故があったそうだ
"According to the newspaper, there was an accident"
Negative Reporting
Reporting negatives
彼は来ないと言った
"He said he won't come"
できないと聞いた
"I heard he can't do it"
嘘じゃないそうだ
"I heard it's not a lie"
Past Events in Reported Speech
たそうだ (I heard...did)
彼は昨日来たそうだ
"I heard he came yesterday"
事故があったそうです
"I heard there was an accident"
だって (Because he said/I heard)
Casual reason
A: なんで知ってるの？
"How do you know?"
B: 田中さんが言ってたんだって
"Because Tanaka said so"
って聞いた (I heard that)
Casual hearsay
明日休みだって聞いた
"I heard tomorrow is a holiday"
彼、結婚するんだって
"I heard he's getting married"
Reporting with ように
Indirect commands
先生は早く来るように言った
"The teacher told me to come early"
彼は気をつけるように言ってくれた
"He told me to be careful"
More indirect than direct quote
Practice Sentences
Basic
彼は来ると言った
"He said he'd come"
明日雨が降るそうだ
"I heard it will rain tomorrow"
先生は「勉強しなさい」と言った
"The teacher said 'Study!'"
Intermediate
田中さんが、明日の会議は中止だと言っていました
"Tanaka was saying tomorrow's meeting is cancelled"
天気予報によると、週末は晴れるそうです
"According to the weather forecast, it will be sunny this weekend"
彼は忙しいから来られないって言ってたよ
"He said he can't come because he's busy"
Advanced
新聞によると、経済状況が悪化しているそうだ。
専門家は、この状況はしばらく続くだろうと
言っているらしい。
"According to the newspaper, the economic situation is worsening.
Experts apparently say this situation
will likely continue for a while."
彼は「もう二度と会わない」と言って出て行った。
しかし、友達から聞いた話では、
後悔しているそうだ。
"He said 'I'll never see you again' and left.
However, from what I heard from a friend,
apparently he regrets it."
Related Grammar Points
- と言う - Say/quotation
- そうだ - I heard/hearsay
- らしい - It seems/apparently
- って - Casual quotation
- によると - According to
- Indirect speech - Reported speech patterns