Word
明日 は 雨 が 降る そう です。ashita wa ame ga furu sou desu.
Meaning
I hear it will rain tomorrow.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of ashita wa ame ga furu sou desu.
はwa
topic particle
がga
subject particle
明日ashita
tomorrow
雨ame
rain
降るfuru
to fall
そう ですsou desu
hearsay
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Questions & Answers about ashita wa ame ga furu sou desu.
Why is 明日 followed by は and 雨 followed by が?
は marks the topic (“as for tomorrow”), while が marks the subject (“rain” as the thing that falls). In Japanese, particles show grammatical roles: here 明日 is what we’re talking about, and 雨 is the subject performing the verb 降る.
What does そうです mean here, and how can I tell it’s the hearsay そう?
This そうです is the hearsay (reported speech) form, meaning “I heard that…”. It attaches to the dictionary form of verbs (here 降る). You can distinguish it from the appearance-based そうです (which follows a verb or adjective stem; e.g. 降りそうです for “it looks like it will rain”).
Why is the verb 降る in plain form instead of the polite 降ります?
The hearsay そう must attach to the plain (dictionary) form of a verb or adjective. You can’t say 降りますそうです. To keep the sentence polite, です comes after そう, giving 降るそうです. In casual speech you might drop です and say 降るそうだ.
Why isn’t there an explicit subject like “it” or “the sky” in this sentence?
Japanese often omits subjects when they’re clear from context. Weather expressions like 雨が降る inherently mean “it will rain,” so adding “it” or “the sky” is unnecessary in Japanese.
Can I omit the topic particle は and simply say 明日 雨が降るそうです?
Dropping particles happens in headlines or very casual chat, but it sounds odd in a normal sentence. Including は—明日は雨が降るそうです—is grammatically proper and clear.
How would I express “It looks like it’s going to rain tomorrow” based on what I see?
Use the appearance-based そう pattern: verb stem + そうです. For 降る, the stem is 降り, so you say 明日は雨が降りそうです, meaning “It looks like it will rain tomorrow.”
What’s the difference between 明日は雨が降ります and 明日は雨が降るそうです?
明日は雨が降ります is a direct statement or forecast (“It will rain tomorrow”).
明日は雨が降るそうです indicates you’re relaying someone else’s information (“I heard it will rain tomorrow”).
How does using でしょう differ from そうです in this context?
でしょう expresses the speaker’s own conjecture or probability: 明日は雨が降るでしょう means “It will probably rain tomorrow.”
そうです here reports information you’ve heard, not your personal guess.