ということだ — It Means That / I Heard That

Meaning & Usage

ということだ (to iu koto da) has two jobs: it reports what the speaker heard from someone else, and it spells out a logical conclusion from known facts. Get comfortable with both, and formal Japanese — news broadcasts in particular — becomes noticeably easier to follow.

Usage 1: Hearsay — Reporting What You Heard

The most common use of ということだ conveys information the speaker received indirectly — from a news broadcast, an official report, or a third party. Like そうだ, it signals hearsay, but ということだ sits at a slightly higher register and fits naturally in written reports and official announcements. The speaker is passing on information, not vouching for it from personal experience.

In English, this maps to phrases like "I heard that...", "They say that...", "According to reports...", or "It has been announced that...". The speaker learned the information indirectly — they were not there to see it.

Consider the differences among hearsay expressions:

• そうだ — casual, picked up informally (e.g., from a friend or overheard conversation)
• らしい — based on indirect evidence or strong impression; subjective feeling
• ということだ — slightly more formal, often tied to a clear source like a report, announcement, or named person

In practice, そうだ and ということだ often overlap, and ということだ is natural in everyday conversation as well. The distinction is more about register and source clarity than a strict grammatical rule.

Usage 2: Logical Conclusion — Explaining What Something Means

The second use of ということだ draws a logical conclusion from facts already on the table. When those facts point somewhere obvious, ということだ is what you use to say it out loud. In English: "That means...", "In other words...", or "What this amounts to is...".

This usage pairs naturally with connective expressions: つまり (tsumari, "in other words"), 要ようするに (yōsuru ni, "in short"), or the paired structure AということはBということだ ("the fact that A means that B"). Here, ということだ is not reporting something overheard — it is the speaker's own deduction or summary.

Think of ということ as a nominalizing wrapper. It takes an entire proposition — a verb phrase, adjective clause, or noun phrase — and turns it into a "thing" or "matter." The だ that follows simply asserts that this packaged matter is real. In both usages, you are claiming: "This thing — [proposition] — is the case."

The polite form is ということです, used in formal contexts, business settings, and news broadcasts. In very formal written Japanese, you may also encounter とのことだ / とのことです, which is an even more formal variant for hearsay reporting.

Structure & Formation

ということだ attaches to the plain (short) form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns with だ. The formation varies by word type:

Polite speech: Replace the final だ with です → ということです. The verb or adjective before ということ stays in plain form regardless.

Common paired structures:

• 〜によると、〜ということだ — "According to ~, it is said that ~"
• つまり / 要ようするに、〜ということだ — "In other words / In short, ~ means ~"
• 〜ということは、〜ということだ — "The fact that ~ means that ~"
• 〜という話はなしだ — informal variant, "I hear that ~"

Example Sentences

Hearsay from Official Sources

Casual Hearsay

Logical Conclusions

Summaries and Restatements

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Omitting だ After Nouns and な-Adjectives

❌ 彼かれは学生がくせいということだ。

✅ 彼かれは学生がくせいだということだ。

Nouns and な-adjectives need だ before ということだ — ということ requires a complete predicate, and without the copula, nouns and な-adjectives don't have one. い-adjectives and plain-form verbs are fine on their own. This trips up a lot of N3–N2 learners.

Mistake 2: Using the ます-Form Before ということだ

❌ 彼女かのじょは来月らいげつ結婚けっこんしますということだ。

✅ 彼女かのじょは来月らいげつ結婚けっこんするということだ。

ということだ attaches to the plain (short) form of verbs, not the polite ます-form. Even when the final form is ということです, the verb embedded before ということ must stay in plain form. Politeness is controlled by the final だ/です — not by what comes before ということ. This is a very common error among intermediate learners.

Mistake 3: Using ということだ for Direct Personal Experience

❌ 私わたしはその映画えいがを見みて、感動かんどうしたということだ。

✅ 私わたしはその映画えいがを見みて、感動かんどうした。

ということだ implies the information came from somewhere else — hearsay or external facts. It does not work for your own feelings, actions, or first-hand experiences. Used that way, it creates an odd detachment, as if you are narrating yourself from the outside. For direct personal experience, use plain or polite past tense.

Mistake 4: Confusing ということだ with ということは

❌ つまり、失敗しっぱいしたということは。（文ぶんが未完成みかんせい）

✅ つまり、失敗しっぱいしたということだ。

ということは is a topic marker meaning "given that ~ / the fact that ~" — it introduces a premise and waits for a consequence. ということだ ends the sentence by asserting the conclusion. The pattern AということはBということだ puts them both to work: A states the fact, B draws the implication. Using ということは where ということだ belongs leaves the sentence hanging.

Mistake 5: Overusing ということだ When そうだ or らしい Sounds More Natural

❌ 彼かれはかっこいいということだね。（友達との会話で）

✅ 彼かれはかっこいいらしいね。/ かっこいいそうだね。

ということだ is grammatically fine in casual speech, but it can sound stiff in relaxed conversation. Native speakers reach for そうだ or らしい for everyday hearsay. Save ということだ for contexts where the source is identifiable and the register is neutral to formal — relaying office announcements, discussing news, writing reports. Register fit matters as much as grammatical correctness.

Cultural Notes

ということだ saturates Japanese news media — learn to recognize it, and real broadcasts open up considerably. News anchors routinely end sentences with ということです when reporting events. This tells listeners the information came from reports, officials, or witnesses, not from the anchor's own knowledge. Train your ear to catch this ending and news comprehension sharpens fast.

In business Japanese, ということです is the standard way to relay decisions or information from above. A manager might say 社長しゃちょうからの連絡れんらくによると、今週こんしゅうは残業ざんぎょうなしということです ("According to a message from the president, there will be no overtime this week"). The phrasing distances the speaker from the decision itself — the message is passed along cleanly, without the speaker claiming it as their own judgment.

The logical-conclusion usage of ということだ turns up often in academic writing and formal argumentation. Essays and reports use it to mark the point where evidence leads to a conclusion. That makes ということだ essential for JLPT reading passages, where following chains of reasoning is half the battle.

Native speakers also use ということ emotionally — それはどういうことだ？ ("What does that mean? / What is that supposed to be?") is a natural, often charged expression when someone is confused or upset. Once you grasp ということ as a nominalizer that turns a clause into a "thing," a whole range of natural expressions starts to click.

JLPT Tips

On the JLPT N2 exam, ということだ shows up in all three sections. Here is how to read each one.

Grammar section (文法): Questions often ask you to choose among ということだ, そうだ, らしい, and わけだ. Focus on two things: the source of information and the type of assertion. If a named source appears — a news report, a person, an announcement — ということだ or とのことだ is usually right. If the speaker is drawing a conclusion from established facts, both ということだ and わけだ may fit. Pick ということだ when information is being summarized, and わけだ when the speaker is expressing that they now understand a reason or situation.

Reading section (読解): Long passages frequently use ということだ to introduce the author's main point or the conclusion of an argument. When you hit つまり〜ということだ or 要ようするに〜ということだ, those sentences are almost always the central thesis or key takeaway. Comprehension questions often target exactly these lines, so read them carefully.

Listening section (聴解): News-style listening passages end sentences with ということです constantly. Drilling your ear for this marker — especially at natural speaking speed — lets you catch the key fact even when other parts of the sentence blur. When a conversation is structured as AということはBということだ, the question is testing whether you can follow a two-step logical chain.

Memory tip: Link ということだ to two English words — HEARD (hearsay) and MEANS (conclusion). When you encounter it, ask: is the speaker passing on something they heard? That is HEARD. Are they stating what a fact implies? That is MEANS. This simple split handles most exam questions quickly.