Japanese phrase
___と聞きました。 ___ to ki ki ma shi ta
Meaning
I was told that ___.
When to use it
Passes along information received from another person. The wording is polite and often leaves open the possibility that the information may need confirmation.
Example dialogue
田中さんは来ないと聞きました。 ta naka sa n wa ko na i to ki ki ma shi ta
I was told that Tanaka is not coming.
えっ、そうですか。 e sō de su ka
Oh, really?