…ということだ Meaning & Usage: “I heard that…” / “So that means…” in Japanese

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to say “I heard that it will rain tomorrow” or “So you mean the person in charge is changing, right?” in Japanese?

For example:

• How do you report information from a weather forecast, a doctor, or a coworker?
• How do you confirm what someone just said in a polite business conversation?
• What expression sounds more natural in formal speech than casual conversation?

When you want to report information or confirm someone’s message in a formal way, Japanese often uses …ということだ.

1. Meaning: What does …ということだ mean?

…ということだ has two main meanings.

It is often used in formal speech, especially in:

• business conversations
• announcements
• reports
• explanations
• customer service

Meaning 1: reported speech / hearsay

This use means:

• I heard that…
• according to…

It is used when you are passing on information you heard from another source.

This meaning is often similar to ～そうだ (I heard that ～ / They say that ～).

For example:

• 天気予報てんきよほうによると、明日あしたは雨あめだということです（＝明日は雨だそうです）。
  According to the weather forecast, I heard that it will rain tomorrow.

Meaning 2: confirmation of what someone said

This use means:

• So you mean…
• So that means…

It is used at the end of a sentence with ね, especially when confirming instructions, requests, or important information.

For example: John is calling his boss to let her know he’ll be late.

John

すみません、会議かいぎに五分ごふんほど遅おくれます。事故じこで電車でんしゃが止とまったんです。
Sorry, I’ll be about five minutes late for the meeting. The trains have stopped because of an accident.

Saori

五分ごふんほど遅おくれるということですね。わかりました。
So that means you’ll be about five minutes late, correct? Got it.

This use is common in polite and business-like communication.

2. Formation

Meaning 1: hearsay / reported information

(Source + では / によると +) Plain-form sentence + ということだ

E.g., （専門家せんもんかによると）物価ぶっかは上あがるということです。= (According to experts,) prices are set to rise.

The sentence before ということだ must be in the plain form, so 上がりますということです is unnatural.

Meaning 2: confirmation

Plain-form sentence + ということです＋ね

E.g., 五分ごふんほど遅おくれるということですね。= So that means you’ll be about five minutes late, correct?

The sentence before ということだ must be in the plain form, so 遅れますということですね is unnatural.

Grammar breakdown

• と (particle)
  quotation particle; it marks the content being reported or confirmed
• いう (verb)
  literally means “to say”
• こと (noun)
  means “thing / matter” and turns the quoted content into a concept

So …ということだ literally has the feeling of: “the matter is that …”

In practice, it is best to learn it as a fixed pattern.

Casual Speech: ～ってこと (tte koto)

In casual conversations with friends or family, ということだ is often shortened to ってことだ (tte koto da) or just ってこと (tte koto).

• Friend A: ごめん、今日行きょういけなくなった！
  Sorry, I can’t make it today!
• Friend B: え、つまり今日きょうのパーティーはキャンセルってこと？
  Wait, so you mean today’s party is canceled?

3. Useful Examples

A. Hearsay / reported information

天気予報てんきよほうによると、明日あしたは雪ゆきが降ふるということです。
According to the weather forecast, it’s supposed to snow tomorrow.

専門家せんもんかの話はなしでは、来年らいねんも物価ぶっかは上あがるということです。
According to experts, prices will go up again next year.

医者いしゃの説明せつめいでは、お酒さけとたばこは控ひかえたほうがいいということです。
According to the doctor’s explanation, it is better to avoid alcohol and cigarettes.

ABC商事しょうじのジョンさんから連絡れんらくがあり、あさってのオンライン会議かいぎを延期えんきしたいということです。
John from ABC Trading contacted us and said he would like to postpone the online meeting the day after tomorrow.

B. Confirmation of what someone said

Situation: Ema is going to be about 10 minutes late for a meeting, so she calls the client’s office and asks the person who answers to tell Mr. Yamada.

Ema

山田様やまださまに、十分じゅっぷんほど遅おくれると伝つたえてもらえますか。
Could you tell Mr. Yamada that I will be about 10 minutes late?

Koki

はい、十分じゅっぷんほど遅おくれるということですね。伝つたえておきます。
Yes, so you mean you will be about 10 minutes late. I will let him know.

Situation: Because of a personnel transfer, the person in charge of the joint project on John’s company’s side is changing.

John

担当者たんとうしゃが変かわることを田中部長たなかぶちょうにお伝つたえいただけますか。
Could you let Manager Tanaka know that the person in charge is changing?

Saori

担当者たんとうしゃが変かわるということですね。承知しょうちしました。
So you mean the person in charge is changing. Understood.

Situation: Koki is telling the company president that the weekend meeting will start at 7:00 p.m.

Koki

社長しゃちょう、週末しゅうまつの打うち合あわせは、少すこし遅おそいですが7時じからです。
President, the meeting this weekend starts at 7:00 p.m., which is a little later than usual.

Mr. Tanaka

19時開始じかいしということですね。わかりました。
So, it starts at 7:00 p.m., right? Understood.

Situation: Ken tells Yumi that he has caught a cold. Yumi understands that this means he will not be able to join the graduation trip.

Ken

ごめん、風邪かぜをひいてしまって…。
Sorry, I’ve come down with a cold…

Yumi

卒業旅行そつぎょうりょこうに来こられないってこと？残念ざんねんだけど、お大事だいじに。
You mean you can’t come on the graduation trip? That’s a shame, but get well soon.

＊ In casual conversations, ということだ is often shortened to ってことだ (tte koto da) or just ってこと (tte koto).

4. Related grammar (comparison)

～そうだ

～そうだ (I heard that ～ / They say that ～) is the closest grammar to …ということだ in the hearsay meaning.

E.g., I heard it will rain tomorrow.

• 明日あしたは雨あめだそうです。
• 明日あしたは雨あめだということです。

Both are natural, but …ということだ often sounds more formal and is common in business, reports, and careful explanations.

So:

• ～そうだ → shorter, common, more neutral
• …ということだ → more formal, more explanatory

～とのことだ

This is another formal hearsay expression.

E.g., I heard the manager will be a little late.

• 部長ぶちょうは少すこし遅おくれるとのことです。
• 部長ぶちょうは少すこし遅おくれるということです。

XというのはYのことだ

XというのはYのことだ / Yということだ (X is Y, X means Y) looks similar, but the meaning is completely different.

禁煙きんえんというのは、たばこを吸すってはいけないということです。
Kinen means that you must not smoke.

Here, ということです is part of a definition, not hearsay or confirmation.

So do not confuse:

• …ということだ = hearsay / confirmation
• XというのはYということだ = defining the meaning of a word

（…という）わけだ

…というわけだ has two meanings:

1. that’s why / no wonder
2. so you mean

Examples:

1. 今日きょう、花火大会はなびたいかいがあるそうです。- それで、こんなに人ひとが多おおいわけですね。
   I hear there’s a fireworks show today. – So that’s why there are so many people here.
2. 来年らいねんから始業時間しぎょうじかんが十五分じゅうごふんはやくなるそうです。- 今いまは九時開始くじかいしですから、八時四十五分はちじよんじゅうごふんになるわけですね。
   I hear that starting next year, the start of the workday will be moved up by fifteen minutes. – Since it currently starts at 9:00, that means it will be 8:45.

5. Practice

Translate the following English into Japanese using …ということだ.

FAQ

Conclusion

In this article, you learned that …ということだ has two main meanings: reporting information you heard, and confirming what someone said.

With this grammar, you can now:

• report information in a more formal and natural way,
• confirm instructions or messages politely in business situations,
• and distinguish …ということだ from similar expressions like ～そうだ.