Wakaru is the Japanese verb for ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’

What does “wakaru” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “wakaru” to mean ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’ in Japanese. Perhaps, many Japanese learners know this verb as it is often used in Japanese textbooks. In this blog post, however, I will explain this verb with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “wakaru” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “wakaru”
• Origin of “wakaru”
  • Example #1: how to use “wakaru”
• Wakarimasu: the masu form of “wakaru”
  • Example #2: how to say “understand” politely in Japanese
• Wakaranai: the nai form of “wakaru”
  • Example #3: how to say “doesn’t understand” in Japanese
• Wakatta: the ta form of “wakaru”
  • Example #4: how to say “understood” in Japanese
• Wakatte: the te form of “wakaru”
  • Example #5: how to say “understand and” in Japanese
• Wakareba: the ba form of “wakaru”
  • 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 understand’ or ‘to see’ in Japanese.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this verb 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, understanding was considered as dividing things into the two parts: what people could understand and what they couldn’t. The modern Japanese language still uses this concept. Japanese people say “wakaru” when they can classify things into a group labeled as “understandable”.

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.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
• anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese. This could sound weird to native speakers, 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”, which means ‘your’ in Japanese.
• kimochi – 気持ち (きもち) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn 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”.

Wakarimasu: the masu form of “wakaru”

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

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• mo – も : a binding particle making the subject word or the object word in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘also’, ‘as well’, or ‘too’. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject in the sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’.

This is a typical usage of “wakarimasu”. Its politeness has not been reflected in the English sentence, but the Japanese sentence sounds polite thanks to the masu form. When we want to say “understand” politely in Japanese, this form is very useful.

Wakaranai: the nai form of “wakaru”

Next, let me explain the definition and meanings of “wakaranai”.

• wakaranai – 分からない (わからない) : the nai form of “wakaru”, which means ‘not to understand’ or ‘not to see’ 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 parts, we can understand that “wakaranai” is literally the nai form of “wakaru” and means ‘not to understand’ or ‘not to see’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.

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

Wakatta: the ta form of “wakaru”

Next, let me explain the definition and meanings of “wakatta”.

• wakatta – 分かった (わかった) : the ta form of “wakaru”, which means ‘understood’ or ‘saw’ 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 past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “wakatta” is literally the ta form of “wakaru” and means ‘understood’ or ‘saw’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

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

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.

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

Wakatte: the te form of “wakaru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “wakatte”.

• wakatte – 分かって (わかって) : the te form of “wakaru”, which means ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’ 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 parts, we can understand that “wakatte” is literally the te form of “wakaru”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “wakatte” is very useful when we want to use “wakaru” in front of another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb. 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” in front of another verb, this te form is very useful.

Wakareba: the ba form of “wakaru”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “wakareba”.

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

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 parts, we can understand that “wakareba” is literaly the ba form of “wakaru”. In Japanese, ba-formed words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “wakareba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’. 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 : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can work as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this works as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’.

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 adding the meaning of ‘to understand’, this ba form is very useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “wakaru” in detail with 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 understand’ or ‘to see’ 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, understanding was considered as dividing things into the two parts: what people could understand and what they couldn’t. The modern Japanese language still uses this concept.
• wakarimasu – 分かります (わかります) : the masu form of “wakaru”, which means ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’ politely in Japanese.
• wakaranai – 分からない (わからない) : the nai form of “wakaru”, which means ‘not to understand’ or ‘not to see’ in Japanese.
• wakatta – 分かった (わかった) : the ta form of “wakaru”, which means ‘understood’ or ‘saw’ in Japanese. This is the past tense form of “wakaru”.
• wakatte – 分かって (わかって) : the te form of “wakaru”, which means ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’ in Japanese. When we want to use “wakaru” in front of 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”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to understand’ or ‘to see’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.