…こと / …ということ Meaning & Usage: “the fact that [Sentence]” in Japanese

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to express “the fact that [Sentence]” in Japanese?

For example:

• How do you say “Do you know that earthquakes happen every day in Japan?”
• How do you say “I was surprised that my son said he wants to study abroad”?

When you want to nominalize a whole sentence and treat it like “the fact that [Sentence]”, Japanese often uses …こと or …ということ.

1. Meaning: What do …こと / …ということ mean?

…こと and …ということ are used to turn a sentence into a noun-like expression.

They often mean: (the fact) that…

This grammar is often used with verbs such as:

• 知しる / 知しっている = know
• わかる = understand / realize
• 覚おぼえている = remember
• 信しんじる = believe / cannot believe

Core idea

This pattern lets you take a full sentence and use it as:

• the object of a verb
• the subject of a sentence
• the topic of discussion

For example:

来月らいげつ、ジョンが結婚けっこんすることを知しっていますか。
Did you know that John is getting married next month?

Here, “来月らいげつ、ジョンが結婚けっこんする” is a full sentence, and こと turns it into something that can be the object of 知っている.

Difference between ～こと and ～ということ

Both ～こと and ～ということ can nominalize a clause, but the nuance is slightly different.

～こと refers more directly to the event, action, or state itself. It sounds more neutral and is often natural for concrete actions, habits, or experiences.

• 毎朝走まいあさはしることが習慣しゅうかんだ。
  Running every morning is my habit.

～ということ adds an extra layer of quoted or conceptualized content. It often treats the clause as information, an idea, a proposition, or a concept rather than just the event itself.

• 彼かれが来くるということを知しっていますか。
  Do you know the fact / information that he is coming?

Because of this, ～ということ is often more natural when:

• the clause is long,
• the content is being treated as information,
• you are explaining a concept or definition,
• or the sentence is expressing hearsay, conclusion, or interpretation.

By contrast, for direct actions or everyday habits, ～こと is usually more natural:

• 泳およぐことが好すきだ。
  I like swimming.
• 泳ぐということが好きだ。
  → This sounds too abstract in normal conversation.

So, in short:

• ～こと = the fact/event/action itself
• ～ということ = the content as information, an idea, or a concept

In many everyday sentences, both are possible, but ～ということ sounds a little more conceptual and less direct.

2. Formation

Basic pattern

Plain-form sentence + （という）こと

Once the sentence is nominalized, it can be followed by particles such as:

• を
• が
• は
• に
• について

By part of speech

Verb

• 午後ごごに雨あめが降ふる（という）こと
• 彼かれが結婚けっこんした（という）こと

い-adjective

• あのレストランの料理りょうりがおいしい（という）こと
• 今回こんかいのJLPTが難むずかしかった（という）こと

な-adjective

When a な-adjective is used as the predicate of a clause, である（という）こと or だということ is common.

• 家族かぞくが大切たいせつである（という）こと
• このプロジェクトが大変たいへんだということ

Note: You can also use 〜なこと like 家族が大切なこと in casual conversation, but you cannot use ❌だこと (e.g., 大切だこと). When in doubt, だということ is the safest and most natural choice for expressing facts.

Noun

When a noun is the predicate, use であること or だということ.

• ジョンさんが医者いしゃである（という）こと
• ナディさんが留学生りゅうがくせいだということ

Note: Do not use ❌だこと (e.g., 医者だこと) with nouns either.

3. Useful Examples

山田先生やまだせんせいが結婚けっこんしたことを知しっていますか。
Do you know that Yamada-sensei got married?

リモートワークをする人ひとが増ふえていることについて、どう思おもいますか。
What do you think about the fact that more people are working remotely?

Nについて: “About / regarding” in Japanese

一人暮ひとりぐらしを始はじめて、家事かじが大変たいへんであることがわかった。
After starting to live alone, I realized that housework is hard.

弟おとうとは医者いしゃだということを今日きょう知しった。
I found out today that my younger brother had become a doctor.

4. Related grammar (comparison)

Verb + ことは / ことが / ことを

Do not confuse “～（という）こと” with the simpler Verb + こと meaning “V-ing / to V.”

For example: 運動うんどうすることは体からだにいい。= Exercising is good for your body.

…というN

…というN modifies a noun such as ニュース, うわさ, ルール.

• 子こどもの数かずがへっているというニュース
  the news that the number of children is decreasing

By contrast:

• 子こどもの数かずがへっていることを知しっていますか
  Do you know the fact that the number of children is decreasing

So:

• …というN = the noun that has that content
• …ということ = the content itself as a noun-like unit

…ということだ

This looks similar, but it means “I heard that…” or “that means…”

• 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。
  According to the weather forecast, it will rain tomorrow.

That is different from:

• 明日あしたは雨あめだということを知しっていますか。バーベキューは延期えんきしたほうがいいです。
  Do you know it’s going to rain tomorrow? You should probably postpone the barbecue.

5. Practice

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

FAQ

Conclusion

In this article, you learned how to use …こと and …ということ to express “the fact that [Sentence]” in Japanese.

With this grammar, you can now:

• turn whole sentences into noun-like expressions,
• say naturally that you know, remember, believe, or were surprised by something,
• and understand when longer content is often expressed more clearly with ということ.