〜とか［伝聞］ (~toka [hearsay]) — I hear that ~ (vague)

'I heard, but don't hold me to it' — the vague spoken 'they say'; less sure than そうだ.

Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)

Verb V普通形 + とか

い-adj い-adj + とか

な-adj な-adj + だ + とか

N N + だ + とか

Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)

When to use it

A colleague in the break room: 「店長、来月からシフトが変わるとか言ってたよ」— 'I think the manager was saying the shifts change next month'.
It lives with friends, in light office chat, on the phone.

Meaning

The 'they say' 「とか」= the haze of 'I heard, but not exactly / not for certain'.
It is used so you are not blamed if it turns out wrong, or just to soften things.

How to attach

Plain form + とか: 来る・熱がある・中止だ — nouns and な-adjectives keep 「だ」.
「言っていた」or 「聞いた」follows.
You can also drop 「言っていた」and end on 「とか。」: 「今夜の花火は雨で中止だとか。」

Versus what you know

N3You met the 'they say' 「とか」; the listing 「りんごとかバナナとか」came even earlier — this page is the 'they say' one only.
N4「〜そうだ」(hearsay) says 'I heard it for sure'; 「とか」adds the haze.

Watch out

For definite, official information (a company notice, the news, a report to the manager) use 「〜そうだ」, 「〜ということだ」or 「〜とのことだ」(N3).
Written 「とか」sounds like 'even this person isn't sure'.

Examples (उदाहरणहरू)

店長が、来月からシフトが変わるとか言っていたよ。

てんちょうが、らいげつからシフトがかわるとかいっていたよ。

The manager was saying something about the shifts changing from next month.

How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) シフトが変わる = the shifts change (普通形) → 「とか」 = a vague "something like that, I hear" → then 「言っていた」 = was saying → 「よ」 to a friend.

天気予報によると、週末は台風が来るとか。

てんきよほうによると、しゅうまつはたいふうがくるとか。

According to the weather forecast, I hear a typhoon is coming this weekend.

How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 台風が来る = a typhoon is coming → we attach 「とか」 → we drop 「言っていた」 and end the sentence right at 「とか。」 = spoken "I hear, but it's not certain".

田中さん、今日は熱があって休むとか。大丈夫かな。

たなかさん、きょうはねつがあってやすむとか。だいじょうぶかな。

I hear Tanaka-san is off today with a fever. I wonder if they're all right.

How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 熱があって休む = has a fever and is off → 「とか」 = heard from someone, not certain → then my own worry: 大丈夫かな.

Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)

Question: 1/3

「今夜の花火大会は、雨で中止＿とか。」— fill the blank.

💡 Hint: Does 「だ」stay after a noun?