наводно / изгледа / се чини

Наводно: I was told. Наводно (allegedly, supposedly) is an adverb that marks a claim as someone else's. It fits naturally with the reported l-form (see reported forms): Наводно, тој заминал во Германија. In a mocking tone it turns into open disbelief, as in doubting a claim.

Изгледа дека: the evidence suggests. Use it when you work something out from what you see. The verb stays in the "it" form изгледа, because the subject is the whole clause after дека (see saying that):

• Изгледа дека заминале. (It seems they have left.) The l-form adds "I did not see it".
• Изгледа дека ќе врне. (It looks like it will rain.) Any tense works.

In speech, дека is often dropped: Изгледа, заборавил. (It seems he forgot.) Do not confuse this with the personal verb "to look": Тие изгледаат уморни. (They look tired.)

Се чини: it appears. Се чини дека... sounds a little more careful and formal; with a short pronoun it becomes personal: Ми се чини дека те знам од некаде. (I feel like I know you from somewhere.) It can also be slipped into the middle of a sentence: Времето, се чини, ќе се расипе.

How sure are you? These words sit between a plain statement and a guess. For how likely something is, see degrees of certainty and must for guessing.