わかります
わかります
wakarimasu
= to understand / to know (polite form of wakaru)
Wakarimasu is one of the first polite verbs a beginner memorizes, usually tucked into a question like nihongo ga wakarimasu ka — but the moment a teacher hands out an instruction, the correct reply isn’t wakarimasu at all, and that tense switch trips learners up for months.
Wakarimasu is the polite (-masu) form of the verb wakaru (分かる), meaning to understand or to know, and it describes an ongoing state of comprehension rather than a one-time action — “I understand [this concept]” as a current state. Its past-tense counterpart, wakarimashita, means “understood” or “got it,” and is what you say to acknowledge that you’ve received and processed an instruction, not to claim a permanent grasp of the topic. The negative, wakarimasen, means “I don’t understand” or “I don’t know,” and often doubles as a polite way to admit you have no information on something. Grammatically, wakaru is one of the verbs where the thing being understood is marked with ga rather than wo, because it behaves like a state-of-being verb: you say nihongo ga wakarimasu (I understand Japanese), never nihongo wo wakarimasu.
Three mix-ups come up constantly with this word. First, when someone gives an instruction — “Please submit this by Friday” — the natural reply is wakarimashita (got it, will do), not wakarimasu; using wakarimasu there sounds like you’re describing your general comprehension ability rather than confirming the task, which reads as oddly detached. Second, learners often say watashi wa nihongo wo wakarimasu by analogy with other verbs, but wakaru takes ga for its object, not wo — the correct form is nihongo ga wakarimasu (with watashi wa usually dropped entirely). Third, in customer service and other business settings, staff rarely say wakarimashita to a customer at all; they reach for the more humble kashikomarimashita or shouchi shimashita instead, so hearing plain wakarimashita from a clerk can actually sound a touch too casual for the context.
Everyday use
先生の説明で、受け身形の使い方がよく分かりました。
Sensei no setsumei de, ukemikei no tsukaikata ga yoku wakarimashita.
Thanks to the teacher’s explanation, I understood how to use the passive form well.
Casual / Social Media
「今日また電車が遅れた…」「わかる、それ本当につらいよね。」
‘Kyou mata densha ga okureta…’ ‘Wakaru, sore hontou ni tsurai yo ne.’
“The train was late again today…” “I know, right? That’s really rough.”
Formal / Cultural context
「お荷物を明日の午前中にお届けください。」「かしこまりました。」
‘Onimotsu wo ashita no gozenchuu ni otodoke kudasai.’ ‘Kashikomarimashita.’
“Please deliver the package tomorrow morning.” “Certainly, understood.”
In casual texting and social media, wakaru has drifted into a role many textbooks never mention: pure empathy. Replying just wakaru to a friend’s complaint or relatable post doesn’t mean “I comprehend your words” — it means “I feel you” or “same,” a one-word show of solidarity that has nothing to do with understanding facts and everything to do with sharing an emotion.
The word also traces a small map of Japanese social hierarchy through its politeness levels. Wakatta is what you say to a close friend or family member; wakarimashita is the standard polite acknowledgment between colleagues or to a teacher; and shouchi shimashita or kashikomarimashita are the humble forms reserved for serving a customer or addressing someone clearly above you. Choosing the right rung of that ladder signals, instantly, how the speaker sees their position relative to the listener.