Page 493 - Basic Japanese

tokorode by the way

jitsu wa the fact is, actually

Structure Notes

10.1. Hearsay sō desu

When you want to report something you haven’t actually

witnessed yourself, you usually end the sentence with sō
desu, which has the meaning ‘I hear’ or ‘I’m given to

understand’ or ‘what I’ve just said isn’t something I myself
observed.’ The part that goes in front of sō desu ends in

either the plain imperfect or the plain perfect. If the fact

reported were from one’s observation or knowledge, there
would be no sō desu and the sentence would end with a
polite form. Here are some examples:

Own Observation Heard from Someone Else

Asoko wa tenki ga ii desu. Asoko wa tenki ga ii sō desu.
The weather is good over The weather is good over

there. there, I hear.

Sō desu. Sō da sō desu ne.

That’s right. It’s so. So they say (they say it’s so).