reports something you heard: "I heard that". The quotation particle
follows what you heard, in the plain form, and
is the past of
. A noun or a な-adjective takes だ before と. Politeness goes on 聞いた, which becomes
.
。
I heard that Japan is safe.
。
I heard that restaurant is good.
。
I heard he isn't coming.
。
I heard the exam was hard.
The part before と stays plain even in a polite sentence.
- × 来月値段が上がりますと聞きました → 来月値段が上がると聞きました
Who you heard it from
The person you heard it from takes or .
、。
A friend told me that summers in Japan are hot.
、。
My mother told me there used to be no trains in this town.
と聞いた or そうだ
Hearsay passes on the information itself. と聞いた puts you in the sentence as the one who heard it, so it suits a question about whether it's true.
。
Apparently it's going to rain tomorrow.
、。
I heard tomorrow's meeting was cancelled – is that true?
Usage notes
These go beyond reporting news.
と聞いています
With ている, the information was passed on to you and you are acting on it: "I understand that", "I've been told". It is common in work settings.
。
I understand the new manager is a very kind person.
Asking, not hearing
also means "ask". When a question ending in
goes before と, と聞いた means "asked".
。
I asked where the station was.
Lingaku