N3Grammar

んだって

I heard that, He or She said that

Structure

Verb + んだって
［い］Adjective + んだって
［な］Adjective + な + んだって
Noun + な + んだって

Explanation

Placed at a sentence's conclusion, だって is often used to relay information the speaker has learned from another source. In this usage, だって will always follow either ん or なん.

Since だって is a combination of the auxiliary verb だ and the adverbial particle って, the phrase なんだって breaks down as follows:

なん - Adds an explanatory tone.

だ - Affirms that something is the case.

って - A contraction of と言(い)って, meaning 'it is said', or と思(おも)って, meaning 'it is thought'.

This structure literally means something like 'it is the case that (A) was said/thought'. In natural conversation, however, it functions just like 'I heard that (A)' or 'apparently (A)'.

田中(たなか)さん、来月(らいげつ)大阪(おおさか)に引(ひ)っ越(こ)すんだって。寂(さび)しくなるね。
I heard Tanaka-san is moving to Osaka next month. That's going to be lonely, isn't it?
妹(いもうと)が動物園(どうぶつえん)に行(い)きたいんだって。じゃあ、週末(しゅうまつ)に連(つ)れていこうか？
My little sister says she wants to go to the zoo. Well then, shall we take her this weekend?
あのレストラン、いつも行列(ぎょうれつ)ができているけど、味(あじ)はそんなに美味(おい)しくないんだって。
There's always a line for that restaurant, but I've heard the food isn't actually that good.
山田(やまだ)先生(せんせい)は見(み)た目(め)は怖(こわ)いけど、実(じつ)は子猫(こねこ)が大好(だいす)きなんだって。
Yamada-sensei looks scary, but apparently he really loves kittens.

Caution

なんだって has a distinctly informal feel, so it is best reserved for casual conversations with friends and family.

Examples

あの二人(ふたり)、来月(らいげつ)結婚(けっこん)するんだって。

(I heard that) those two are getting married next month.

駅(えき)の前(まえ)にできたパン屋(や)さん、すごくおいしいんだって。

(They) say that the new bakery in front of the station is delicious.

田中(たなか)さんは、犬(いぬ)アレルギーなんだって。

(Someone) said that Tanaka is allergic to dogs.

彼女(かのじょ)は料理(りょうり)が得意(とくい)なんだって。

(They) say that she's very good at cooking.

昨日(きのう)の試験(しけん)、すごく難(むずか)しかったんだって。

(I heard that) yesterday's exam was really difficult.

山田(やまだ)さん、宝(たから)くじに当(あ)たったんだって。すごいね！

(Someone) said that Yamada won the lottery. That's amazing!

このアプリ、もう使(つか)えないんだって。古(ふる)いから。

(They) said that (you) can't use this app anymore. Because it's old.

鈴木(すずき)さんはパーティーに来(こ)ないんだって。忙(いそが)しいみたい。

(Someone) said that Suzuki isn't coming to the party. It seems she's busy.

あそこのレストラン、予約(よやく)がないと入(はい)れないんだって。

(They) said that you can't get into that restaurant without a reservation.

彼(かれ)は来年(らいねん)から海外(かいがい)で働(はたら)くんだって。

(I heard that) he's going to be working abroad starting next year.

明日(あした)のフライト、台風(たいふう)でキャンセルになった(なった)んだって。

(They) said that tomorrow's flight was canceled because of the typhoon.

この映画(えいが)は、あまり面白(おもしろ)くないんだって。

(Someone) said that this movie isn't very interesting.