Translating "I hear (that)..."

Question

How do you translate the phrase "I hear (that)..." as in:

I hear that you just got back from your vacation.
I hear that it rained all last week in Seattle.
I hear you got an A on your history final.
So I hear you finally got a job.

I'm pretty sure I've heard this just translated word-for word... "Oigo que..." or "He oido que..." — Flimzy, Nov 24 '11 at 08:14

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 29 '11 at 17:54

6

It should be translated as

(Yo) he oído que...

So sentences would be:

He oído que acabas de volver de tus vacaciones.
(I hear that you just got back from your vacation.)
He oído que llovió toda la semana pasada en Seattle.
(I hear that it rained all last week in Seattle.)
He oído que obtuviste un sobresaliente en tu examen final de historia.
(I hear you got an A on your history final.)
Así que he oído que finalmente obtuviste un trabajo.
(So I hear you finally got a job.)

You can also use "enterarse de" instead so it would be

(Yo) me he enterado de que...

edited Nov 29 '11 at 17:54

Alenanno

3,229
2
27
30

answered Nov 24 '11 at 08:25

Javi

7,727
36
37

1

me he enterado is more accurate to the original intention in english. me han dicho is a contextual translation that also works. – David Lay Nov 24 '11 at 13:20
Enterarse de means "to realize", not "to hear that...", doesn't it? – Alenanno Nov 24 '11 at 13:20
@Alenanno not always "enterarse de" means "to realize" it depends on the context. – Laura Nov 24 '11 at 13:34
@LauraMoyàAlcover Oh, I didn't know that... :) – Alenanno Nov 24 '11 at 13:36

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 24 '11 at 13:41

It really depends on the phrase that you are trying to translate and its proper context.

Here are some examples of translations but in the end there is no definite formula, you have to get the feeling of the language and translate accordingly.

Examples:

I hear that you just got back from your vacation.

Escuché que acabas de llegar de tus vacaciones.

I hear that it rained all last week in Seattle.

He oído que llovió toda la semana pasada en Seattle.

I hear you got an A on your history final.

Supe que tuviste una A en tu final de historia.

So I hear you finally got a job

Supe/(Me enteré) de que finalmente obtuviste un trabajo.

There are many alternatives, but don't try to translate I hear punctually into he oído, play around with the alternatives like escuché or supe. Supe is slightly different, but it is usually interpreted the same way with a good context.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 24 '11 at 17:38

2

All with subtle differences:

Me he enterado que....

Me dijeron que ....

Alguien me dijo que ...

Escuché que ...

Me comentaron que ...

Se dice que ... (not exactly, but used when you want to make clear that you reserve the origin of your information)

Se comenta que ... (same as above)

answered Nov 24 '11 at 17:38

Dr. belisarius

1,949
1
11
13

Me he enterado de que... – MikMik Dec 27 '11 at 12:04

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 01 '11 at 02:04

Some informal ways to use it are:

I hear that you just got back from your vacation. => Oí que acabas de regresar de vacaciones
I hear that it rained all last week in Seattle. => ¿Que llovió toda la semana en Seattle? (note that it's not a literal translation, and asked as a question instead a statement)
I hear you got an A on your history final. => Supe que sacaste un ...
So I hear you finally got a job. => Me dijo un pajarito que ... (this is more like the equivalent to 'A little birdie told me...')

You can also say the last one as "Un pajarito me contó que..." — dusan, Dec 01 '11 at 02:11

Translating "I hear (that)..."

4 Answers4