～んだって
〜n datte
JLPT N3 Casual
Formation
Verb-casual + んだって, い-Adjective + んだって, な-Adjective + なんだって, Noun + なんだって
Conveys information heard from someone else; 'I heard', 'They said'.
When to use
Casual, spoken hearsay - "I heard (that)...", conversational tone.
Explanation
The ～んだって grammar point is used to relay information the speaker has heard from someone else. It's a casual way of quoting what was said, effectively combining explanatory のだ (んだ) with the informal quoting particle って. It can be translated as 'I heard...' or 'They said...'.
Example sentences
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I heard he's going to Tokyo.
Kare wa Toukyou ni iku n datte.
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They said this movie is interesting.
Kono eiga, omoshiroi n datte.
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I heard she's a famous singer.
Kanojo wa yuumei na kashu na n datte.
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They said the night view at that restaurant is beautiful.
Ano resutoran, yakei ga kirei na n datte.
Inference (It Seems / Probably)
- ～だろう〜darouN4Express probability, likelihood or certainty; 'probably'…
- ～ようだ〜you daN4Expresses appearance, similarity or inference; 'it seems'…
- ～らしい〜rashiiN3Expresses hearsay; 'I heard', 'it seems', 'apparently'.
- ～ということだ〜to iu koto daN3Express a conclusion or hearsay; 'I heard', 'it means'…
- ～かもしれない〜kamoshirenaiN4Express uncertainty; 'maybe', 'might', 'possibly'.
- もしかすると〜かもしれないmoshikasuru to 〜kamoshirenaiN3Express the possibility of something; 'maybe', 'perhaps'…
- ～とのことだ〜to no koto daN1Expresses something that the speaker heard; 'I've heard…
- ～とみえて〜to mieteN1It seems that; apparently
- ～まい〜maiN2Express a negative conjecture or determination; 'probably…
- ～そうだ〜sou daN4Express the appearance, seeming, or feeling of something…
- ～に決まっている〜ni kimatte iruN2Express certainty; 'it is obvious', 'it must be', 'no…
Corpus examples (60)
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Apparently in this library are precious books that money can't buy.
お金はいらないんだって。
They say they don't need money.
あいつ、進路相談があるんだってさ。だから今日は俺とお前だけだよ。
He's got a career guidance meeting. So today it's just me and you.
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I heard that you're also collecting stamps.
ここのテレビ局、以前放送した番組でやらせがあったんだってね。
I've heard that this TV station has used a staged event in one of its previous shows.
トムが言うには、フランス語を話せる人を誰も知らなかったんだって。
Tom said he didn't know anyone who could speak French.
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Tom said he wanted to study French.
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Tom said he's studying French now.
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The thing is, it was said their condition was bad.
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I heard you were sick yesterday.
絶対音感のある人は、耳で聞いただけでどの音かがわかるんだって。
They say that a person who has perfect pitch can tell just by listening what pitch a note is.
今日届くはずだった荷物、運送中のトラブルで明日以降になるんだって。
They said the package that was supposed to be delivered today will now arrive tomorrow or later because of problems during shipping.
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Obviously that's different for men and women.
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Tom says he's going to grow more vegetables this year.
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Tom said he would be thirteen next month.
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Tom said he needed a dozen eggs.
オーストラリアにある「エア・ハイウェイ」って、一回もカーブがない世界一長くてまっすぐな道なんだって。
The "Air Highway" in Australia is the longest road in the world without any curves.
今週の土曜日、白山神社でお祭りがあるんだって。浴衣着て一緒に行かない？
This Sunday, there's a festival at the Hakusan shrine. How about going together in our yukatas?
ガイドブックによれば、ここがここいらで一番美味しい店なんだって。
According to the guidebook, this is the best restaurant around here.
課長の奥さん、今旅行中なんだって。それで、鬼のいぬ間の洗濯とばかり、毎日飲み歩いているんだ。
I heard the manager's wife is on vacation. And, well, when the cat's away, the mice play. Now he's out partying every night.
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Tom said that he thought Mary was lying.
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Tom says he likes horror movies.
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Tom is back with his ex.
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Tom said that he didn't want to eat anything.
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Tom said that he isn't planning on buying anything.