How to Say "people say" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “people say” is “dicen” — A2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
Dicen que va a llover mañana.
They say it's going to rain tomorrow.
En Italia, dicen que no se debe beber capuchino después del mediodía.
In Italy, they say you shouldn't drink cappuccino after noon.
Dicen que la risa es la mejor medicina.
They say that laughter is the best medicine.
The Impersonal 'They'
Just like in English, Spanish uses 'dicen' to talk about general knowledge, rumors, or what 'people' say without naming anyone specific. The 'they' isn't a real group of people.
Asking 'Who?'
Mistake: “When hearing 'Dicen que va a llover,' a learner might ask '¿Quiénes lo dicen?' (Who says so?).”
Correction: While you can ask this, usually the point of using 'dicen' this way is that the source is unknown or unimportant. It just means 'this is a common belief'.
Related Translations
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