によると (and its slightly more formal twin によれば) is how Japanese says "according to..." — it names the source of a piece of information you are passing along rather than vouching for yourself. 天気予報によると, "according to the forecast"; ニュースによると, "according to the news"; 田中さんによれば, "according to Tanaka."
But here is the thing English speakers keep missing: によると is not a standalone phrase. It is the opening half of a two-part frame. When you say "here is my source," Japanese expects the sentence to close by marking the whole report as hearsay — with そうだ, らしい, or ということだ. によると raises a flag at the front; a hearsay ending lowers it at the back. Leave the ending off and the sentence feels unfinished, as if you started to attribute a claim and then forgot to. Learn によると and the hearsay enders as a single unit and you will sound like someone reporting the news rather than inventing it.
The matched pair: によると … そうだ
The prototypical shape is: [source] によると、[content] そうだ. The content sits in the middle in plain (dictionary/short) form, and the sentence ends on そうだ, "I hear / they say."
天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうだ。
tenki yohō ni yoru to, ashita wa ame da sō da
According to the weather forecast, it'll rain tomorrow.
ニュースによると、事故で三人が怪我をしたそうだ。
nyūsu ni yoru to, jiko de sannin ga kega o shita sō da
According to the news, three people were injured in the accident.
友達の話によると、あの店はもう閉まったそうだ。
tomodachi no hanashi ni yoru to, ano mise wa mō shimatta sō da
According to my friend, that shop has already closed down.
Notice the plain forms feeding into そうだ: 雨だ, 怪我をした, 閉まった. This is the hearsay そうだ, and it attaches to the plain form of a full clause. Don't confuse it with the appearance そう (雨が降りそうだ, "it looks like rain"), which attaches to a verb stem and reports what your own eyes tell you — see そうだ for hearsay for the full contrast.
The enders that close the frame
そうだ is the default, but the frame accepts a small family of reported-speech markers, each with its own flavor:
| Ender | Nuance | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 〜そうだ | plain relay — "I hear that…" | neutral |
| 〜らしい | relay with a touch of "apparently / it seems" | neutral / conversational |
| 〜ということだ / 〜とのことだ | relaying an official or received message | formal / business |
| 〜という | literary relay (books, narration) | written / literary |
新聞によると、来月から電気代が上がるらしい。
shinbun ni yoru to, raigetsu kara denkidai ga agaru rashii
According to the newspaper, electricity bills are apparently going up from next month.
医者によると、二週間ほどで治るということだ。
isha ni yoru to, nishūkan hodo de naoru to iu koto da
According to the doctor, it'll heal in about two weeks.
担当者によると、商品は明日届くとのことです。
tantōsha ni yoru to, shōhin wa ashita todoku to no koto desu
According to the person in charge, the product will arrive tomorrow. (polite/business)
らしい adds a slight "so it seems," which is why gossip loves it. ということだ／とのことだ are the choice when you are relaying an official message intact — a doctor's verdict, a company's notice — and they carry a faintly professional tone.
によると vs によれば
The two are near-identical in meaning; the difference is register and feel.
- によると — the everyday default. Fine in speech and writing alike.
- によれば — a shade more formal and bookish (the ば conditional gives it a "if we go by X" flavor). Common in writing, essays, and careful speech.
- によりますと — the newsreader's form; you will hear it constantly on TV bulletins.
田中さんによれば、会議は来週に延期になったらしい。
Tanaka-san ni yoreba, kaigi wa raishū ni enki ni natta rashii
According to Tanaka, the meeting has apparently been postponed to next week.
専門家によれば、地震の予測は極めて難しいとのことだ。
senmonka ni yoreba, jishin no yosoku wa kiwamete muzukashii to no koto da
According to experts, predicting earthquakes is extremely difficult.
For everyday conversation, reach for によると; when you want to sound measured or are writing, によれば is the more polished choice.
What kind of source can it take?
Anything that can be a source of information: media (ニュース, 新聞, 天気予報), people (田中さん, 先生, 母), documents and studies (調査, 報告書), and — very idiomatically — 噂 ("rumor").
最近の調査によると、若者の読書時間が減っているそうだ。
saikin no chōsa ni yoru to, wakamono no dokusho jikan ga hetteiru sō da
According to a recent survey, young people's reading time is decreasing.
噂によると、あの二人は付き合っているらしい。
uwasa ni yoru to, ano futari wa tsukiatteiru rashii
Rumor has it those two are dating.
The one source that does not work is yourself. You do not cite your own head as a source; 私によると is odd. For your own view, use 私の考えでは or simply 〜と思う.
Where it sits, and what it covers
によると almost always opens the sentence, or at least the clause, and it scopes over everything up to the hearsay marker — the whole stretch in between is understood as "what the source said." That front position is doing real work: it warns the listener before the content arrives that none of what follows is your own claim. Think of it as a quotation mark you place at the start.
市の発表によると、来年から水道料金が値上げされるということだ。
shi no happyō ni yoru to, rainen kara suidō ryōkin ga neage sareru to iu koto da
According to the city's announcement, water rates will be raised starting next year.
Because によると frames reported fact, it does not sit comfortably with a first-person emotion or intention in its scope — you can report what someone said or what happened, but not "according to the news, I want to go." Keep the content third-person and factual, and let そうだ / らしい carry the "so I hear."
There is also a common lighter cousin worth recognizing: 〜の話では ("from what X says") and 〜の話によると, which do the same reporting job in a softer, more conversational key.
母の話では、祖母は昔ピアノの先生だったらしい。
haha no hanashi de wa, sobo wa mukashi piano no sensei datta rashii
From what my mother says, my grandmother used to be a piano teacher.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping the hearsay ender. This is the signature error. によると commits you to marking the report; ending on a flat だ presents someone else's claim as your own asserted fact.
❌ 天気予報によると、明日は雨だ。
tenki yohō ni yoru to, ashita wa ame da
Incomplete — によると opened a report but nothing closed it; add そうだ.
✅ 天気予報によると、明日は雨だそうだ。
tenki yohō ni yoru to, ashita wa ame da sō da
According to the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow.
2. Confusing によると (source) with によって (agent/means). They are different jobs entirely — one cites where information came from, the other marks who/what did something. See によって.
❌ ニュースによって、台風が近づいているそうだ。
nyūsu ni yotte, taifū ga chikazuiteiru sō da
Incorrect — a source of information takes によると, not によって.
✅ ニュースによると、台風が近づいているそうだ。
nyūsu ni yoru to, taifū ga chikazuiteiru sō da
According to the news, a typhoon is approaching.
3. Citing yourself. によると is for information received from elsewhere; you can't be your own source.
❌ 私によると、この店が一番おいしい。
watashi ni yoru to, kono mise ga ichiban oishii
Wrong — for your own opinion use 私の考えでは or 〜と思う.
✅ 私の考えでは、この店が一番おいしいと思う。
watashi no kangae de wa, kono mise ga ichiban oishii to omou
In my view, this shop is the tastiest.
4. Using the appearance そう instead of the hearsay そうだ. 降りそう ("looks about to rain," from your eyes) is the wrong ending for a report; you need the plain form + そうだ.
❌ 天気予報によると、明日は雨が降りそうだ。
tenki yohō ni yoru to, ashita wa ame ga furisō da
Mismatched — 降りそう is 'looks like it'll rain' (your own guess), but によると reports a source, so use 降るそうだ.
✅ 天気予報によると、明日は雨が降るそうだ。
tenki yohō ni yoru to, ashita wa ame ga furu sō da
According to the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow.
5. Following によると with your own inference (みたい／よう). みたい and ようだ mark a conclusion you drew yourself; they clash with によると, which explicitly hands the claim to someone else. Keep to そうだ／らしい／ということだ.
Key Takeaways
- によると／によれば = "according to [a source]" — it flags information you are passing along, not asserting.
- It is one half of a frame: the clause must close with a hearsay marker — そうだ, らしい, ということだ／とのことだ.
- によれば is a shade more formal than によると; によりますと is the newsreader's form.
- Use the plain-form + そうだ (hearsay), not the stem + そう (appearance); don't cite yourself; don't confuse it with によって.
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- によって・による: By, Due To, Depending OnN3 — One compound particle for four jobs — the agent of a formal passive, the means of an action, the cause of an event, and the everyday 'it varies depending on X' (人によって, 場合による).
- 〜そうだ: Hearsay ('I hear that')N3 — The reported-information そうだ that attaches to a full plain clause (降るそうだ, 高いそうだ, 学生だそうだ) to mean 'I hear / they say,' kept distinct from the looks-like そう by what precedes it.