JLPT N3 · Guessing & hearsay

んだって (ndatte)

～んだって — “I hear that ～” (casual)

In short · A casual way to pass on something you heard from someone else. It is the spoken equivalent of ～そうだ (hearsay). It follows the plain form and is used between friends and family.

A free study page from Mainichi JLPT — the app has 429+ grammar points, plus vocabulary and mock exams.See the app

Pattern

動詞・イ形容詞普通形＋んだって plain form + んだって (結婚するんだって)
ナ形容詞・名詞＋なんだって na-adjective or noun + なんだって (学生なんだって)

Where it comes from

It is the spoken explanatory んだ (from のだ) plus the quotation marker って. Like ～んだそうだ, it passes along what someone else said. Na-adjectives and nouns take なんだって.

When to use it

Use it in talk with friends and family. For a polite version, use 〜そうです or 〜ということです. With rising intonation, 〜なんだって？ can also be a question checking what you heard. Use it only for information you were told, not for facts you confirmed yourself.

Examples

彼（かれ）、来月（らいげつ）結婚（けっこん）するんだって。

Kare, raigetsu kekkon suru ndatte.

I heard he's getting married next month.

Verb plain form + んだって.
あの店（みせ）のラーメン、すごくおいしいんだって。

Ano mise no rāmen, sugoku oishii ndatte.

I hear the ramen at that shop is really delicious.

I-adjective plain form + んだって.
明日（あした）から、この道（みち）は工事（こうじ）で通（とお）れないんだって。

Ashita kara, kono michi wa kōji de tōrenai ndatte.

I hear this road will be closed for construction from tomorrow.

Negative plain form + んだって.

Common mistakes

With na-adjectives and nouns, だ becomes な: 学生なんだって, not 学生んだって.
It is casual. With superiors or in formal situations, use 〜そうです.

More grammar points

Practice this in the app

Mainichi JLPT turns these grammar points into daily quizzes and a readiness gauge — 100% free, no sign-up.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

See the app