Translation guide
The English verb "understand" covers a wide range of meanings, from basic comprehension to empathy and agreement. Japanese uses different words and structures depending on the nuance. This guide breaks down the most common uses for learners.
Expressing that you grasp the content or meaning of something, such as a language, explanation, or situation.
The most common and versatile verb for 'understand'. It is intransitive and often used with the particle が. It can mean 'to be clear', 'to comprehend', or 'to grasp'.
Do you understand Japanese?
After listening to the explanation, I finally understood.
A more formal and transitive verb meaning 'to comprehend' or 'to understand deeply'. Often used in academic or serious contexts.
It's difficult to understand his theory.
Means 'to grasp' or 'to have a firm understanding of a situation or facts'. Often used in business or when talking about understanding the big picture.
Do you understand the situation?
Expressing that you sympathize with or grasp someone's emotional state or personal circumstances.
Also used for emotional understanding. Often with the particle が and a phrase like 気持ち (feeling).
I understand how you feel.
I can understand why he gets angry.
A more explicit way to say 'understand someone's feelings'. Slightly more formal than わかる.
Means 'to empathize' or 'to sympathize'. Stronger than just understanding; implies sharing the feeling.
I empathized with her sadness.
Specifically referring to linguistic comprehension, such as understanding spoken or written language.
The default verb for understanding language. Use with が.
Do you understand English?
I don't understand what he's saying.
Means 'to catch' or 'to make out' what someone says, focusing on auditory comprehension. Often used when you can't hear clearly.
Means 'to read and understand', often implying reading between the lines or deciphering written information.
Expressing a thorough or intellectual grasp of a subject, theory, or abstract idea.
The standard verb for deep understanding. Transitive, takes を.
It took time to understand this concept.
Can also be used for deep understanding, but 理解する is more precise for intellectual comprehension.
Used when you have a firm grasp of the overall structure or key points of a complex topic.
I understand the overall picture of the project.
Comprehending a process, method, or set of directions.
Works for understanding instructions or methods. Often used with やり方 (way of doing) or 方法 (method).
I don't understand how to use it.
Even after reading the manual, I didn't understand.
More formal, suitable for written instructions or complex procedures.
Grasping why something happened or why someone acted a certain way.
Showing that you have received and processed information, often in conversation.
An interjection meaning 'I see' or 'I understand'. Used when you learn something new or realize something.
I see, so that's how it was.
Polite past form of わかる, used to acknowledge instructions or information. Equivalent to 'Understood' or 'I understand'.
Please submit it by tomorrow. — Understood.
Means 'Roger' or 'Understood'. Common in casual and business settings, but can sound blunt if used with superiors.
Can be too casual for formal situations. Use 承知しました (しょうちしました) for very polite business contexts.
Indicating that you are already aware of something, not just comprehending it.
Means 'I know' in the sense of having knowledge or being aware. Not exactly 'understand', but often used where English speakers might say 'I understand' to mean 'I am aware'.
Do not use わかる for factual knowledge. わかる is about comprehension, 知っている is about knowledge.
I know (I understand) that he's busy.
わかる means 'to understand' through reasoning or intuition. 知っている means 'to know' as a fact. If you say 日本語がわかる, it means you can comprehend Japanese. If you say 日本語を知っている, it means you know about the Japanese language (but may not understand it).
Do you know his phone number?
Do you understand the answer to this problem?
English speakers often say 'I understand' to show empathy or acknowledgment. In Japanese, directly translating to 私は理解する can sound unnatural or overly formal. Use わかる or set phrases like なるほど or わかりました depending on context.
わかる is intransitive and typically takes が. However, in some cases を is used when the object is a nominalized phrase or when emphasizing the object of understanding. For beginners, sticking with が is safer.
I don't understand what you mean.
She understands my feelings.
Do you understand the instructions?
It's important to understand the other person's feelings.
His English was too fast and I couldn't understand (catch) it.
この文章から作者の意図を読み取るのは難しい。
It's difficult to understand the author's intention from this text.
I want to be able to understand calculus.
Please understand the procedure before starting the work.
It's hard to understand the reason for his actions.
We meet at 5. — Got it!