Wakaru in Japanese: ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’, explained

How to say “understand” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “wakaru”. It is the Japanese verb for ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its origin. And also, I will explain its major conjugations which Japanese people often use. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “wakaru” properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “wakaru”
• Origin of “wakaru”
  • Example #1: how to use “wakaru”
• Definition and meanings of “wakarimasu”
  • Example #2: how to say “wakaru” politely in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “wakaranai”
  • Example #3: how to say “don’t understand” in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “wakatta”
  • Example #4: how to say “understood” in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “wakatte”
  • Example #5: how to say “understand and” in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “wakareba”
  • Example #6: how to say “if understand” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “wakaru”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “wakaru”.

• wakaru – 分かる (わかる) : a verb meaning ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ in Japanese.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its origin.

Origin of “wakaru”

“Wakaru” originally came from the similar verb, “wakeru”, which means ‘to divide’, ‘to separate’, or ‘to split’ in Japanese. These meanings seem to be a bit different from those of “wakaru”. In the old Japanese language, however, “to see” or “to understand” was considered as dividing things into the two parts: what people could understand and what they couldn’t. The Japanese language today is still based on this concept. Japanese people say “wakaru” when they can classify things into a group labeled as “understandable”.

When we meet new Japanese words, phrases, and expressions, we should check their origins. In many cases, their origins tell us a lot about their meanings. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “wakaru” through the check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “wakaru” through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to use “wakaru”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese. This can sound weird to the Japanese, so we need to be careful with this use. Learn why this sounds weird.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “anata” to make its possessive case, “anata no”.
• kimochi – 気持ち (きもち) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Leanr more about Japanese plural.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “anata no kimochi”, to make the object in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “wakaru”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “kimochi ga wakaru”, which means ‘to understand feelings’ in Japanese. When we want to say “to understand” in Japanese, anyway, this verb is a very good option.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain major conjugations of “wakaru”. The first one is “wakarimasu”.

Definition and meanings of “wakarimasu”

Below are the definition and meanings of “wakarimasu”.

• wakarimasu – 分かります (わかります) : the masu form of “wakaru”, which means ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ politely in Japanese.

Grammatically, “wakarimasu” consists of the following two parts:

• wakari – 分かり (わかり) : one conjugation of “wakaru”. This can have a smooth connection with “masu”.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of the Japanese masu form.

From these two components, we can understand that “wakarimasu” is literally the masu form of “wakaru” and means ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ politely in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this masu form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “wakaru” politely in Japanese

“Wakarimasu” takes over the role of “wakaru” in the last example. So, from the grammatical point of view, it can work in the same way as “wakaru” does. It just sounds more polite.

Definition and meanings of “wakaranai”

Next, then, let me explain “wakaranai”.

• wakaranai – 分からない (わからない) : the nai form of “wakaru”, meaning ‘not to see’ or ‘not to understand’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “wakaranai” consists of the following two parts:

• wakara – 分から (わから) : one conjugation of “wakaru”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.

From these two components, we can understand that “wakaranai” is literally the nai form of “wakaru” and means ‘not to see’ or ‘not to understand’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain this nai form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “don’t understand” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “wakaranai”. When we want to mean ‘not to see’ or ‘not to understand’ in Japanese, this nai form is very useful.

Definition and meanings of “wakatta”

Next, let me explain “wakatta”.

• wakatta – 分かった (わかった) : the ta form of “wakaru”, meaning ‘saw’ or ‘understood’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “wakatta” consists of the following two parts:

• wakat – 分かっ (わかっ) : one conjugation of “wakaru”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form.

From these two components, we can understand that “wakatta” is literally the ta form of “wakaru”. In Japanese, ta forms of words can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “wakatta” to mean ‘saw’ or ‘understood’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “understood” in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “wakatta”. When we want to say “saw” or “understood” in Japanese, this ta form is a very good choice.

Definition and meanings of “wakatte”

Next, let me explain “wakatte”.

• wakatte – 分かって (わかって) : the te form of “wakaru”, meaning ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “wakatte” consists of the following two parts:

• wakat – 分かっ (わかっ) : one conjugation of “wakaru”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two components, we can understand that “wakatte” is literally the te form of “wakaru”. In Japanese, te forms of words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. Actually, “wakatte” is very useful when we want to use “wakaru” before another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb with a smooth connection. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “understand and” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “kanojo no kimochi”, to make the object in the sentence.
• mushi suru – 無視する (むしする) : a verb meaning ‘to ignore’, ‘to neglect’, or ‘to dismiss’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “wakatte”. In this example, it has the smooth connection with the verb, “mushi suru”. When we want to use “wakaru” before another verb with a smooth connection, this te form is very useful.

Definition and meanings of “wakareba”

Lastly, let me explain “wakareba”.

• wakareba – 分かれば (わかれば) : the ba form of “wakaru”, working to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’.

Grammatically, “wakareba” consists of the following two parts:

• wakare – 分かれ (わかれ) : one conjugation of “wakaru”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two components, we can understand that “wakareba” is literally the ba form of “wakaru”. In Japanese, ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “wakareba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #6: how to say “if understand” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• oshie – 教え (おしえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “oshieru”, which means ‘to teach’, ‘to inform’, or just ‘to tell’ in Japanese.
• te – て : the same as used in “wakatte”. In this example, this is used after “oshie” to make its te form, “oshie te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : the command form of “kudasaru” which means ‘to give’ in Japanese. When this follows a te-formed verb, however, it can work as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’ to the preceding verb.

This is a typical usage of “wakareba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “kanojo no kimochi ga wakareba”, which means ‘if you understand her feelings’. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘to understand’, this ba form is very useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “wakaru” in detail based on its origin. And also, I’ve explained its major conjugations with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• wakaru – 分かる (わかる) : a verb meaning ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ in Japanese. This originally came from the similar verb, “wakeru”, which means ‘to divide’, ‘to separate’, or ‘to split’ in Japanese. These meanings seem to be a bit different from those of “wakaru”. In the old Japanese language, however, “to see” or “to understand” was considered as dividing things into the two parts: what people could understand and what they couldn’t. The Japanese language today is still based on this concept.
• wakarimasu – 分かります (わかります) : the masu form of “wakaru”, which means ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ politely in Japanese.
• wakaranai – 分からない (わからない) : the nai form of “wakaru”, meaning ‘not to see’ or ‘not to understand’ in Japanese.
• wakatta – 分かった (わかった) : the ta form of “wakaru”, meaning ‘saw’ or ‘understood’ in Japanese. So, this is the past tense form of “wakaru”.
• wakatte – 分かって (わかって) : the te form of “wakaru”, meaning ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ in Japanese. When we want to use “wakaru” before another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb with a smooth connection, this te form is useful.
• wakareba – 分かれば (わかれば) : the ba form of “wakaru”, working to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.