Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

Wakaru is one of the first verbs Japanese learners encounter and one of the most structurally interesting — in Japanese, understanding is something that happens to you, not something you do. Where English says ‘I understand,’ Japanese says ‘it is understood (by me).’ This grammatical difference reflects a broader Japanese tendency to frame knowledge and comprehension as something that arises, rather than something one exerts.

Wakaru (分かる) is an intransitive verb meaning ‘to understand,’ ‘to know,’ or ‘to become clear.’ The critical grammatical point is that wakaru is intransitive — it takes が (ga) not を (wo), and the speaker is not the agent but the experiencer. So: 日本語が分かります (Nihongo ga wakarimasu — ‘Japanese is understood [by me]’ / ‘I understand Japanese’), not 日本語を分かる (incorrect). This parallels how Japanese treats emotions and sensory experiences — they happen to a person rather than being actively experienced. Wakaru also means ‘to find out’ or ‘to become clear’: 原因が分かりました (gen’in ga wakarimashita — ‘the cause has become clear’).

How to Use It

The most common learner mistake: 私は日本語を分かります (incorrect) vs. 私は日本語が分かります (correct). The が marks what is understood, not a direct object. In casual speech, 分かった (wakatta) means ‘Got it’ / ‘Understood,’ and 分かった？ (wakatta?) asks ‘Got it?’ / ‘Do you understand?’ The phrase 分かりました (wakarimashita) is the polite past form used to confirm receipt of instructions — ‘I understand / understood / got it’ in formal contexts. In Kansai dialect, 分かった is often shortened to わかった or replaced by ほんまに (honmani, really?) in understanding-confirmations.

Kanji Breakdown

分かる uses 分 (bun/fun/waka, part/minute/understand), which shows a knife (刀) cutting an object (八 — divided), suggesting division and distinction — hence ‘to separate’ and by extension ‘to distinguish’ and ‘to understand.’ 分 is one of Japanese’s most versatile kanji: 分かる (wakaru, understand), 分ける (wakeru, separate), 分 (fun, minute of time), 部分 (bubun, part/portion), 自分 (jibun, oneself).

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

The structure of wakaru reflects a broader feature of Japanese grammar: many psychological and perceptual states are expressed with intransitive or passive-like constructions where the person is an experiencer rather than an agent. Other examples include 好きだ (suki da, to like — literally ‘is liked’), 欲しい (hoshii, to want — literally ‘is desired’), and 見える (mieru, to be visible / to be able to see). This grammatical tendency has been connected to cultural observations about Japanese communication style — an orientation toward receiving and perceiving rather than controlling and acting that some analysts connect to values of receptiveness, attentiveness, and group sensitivity.

The phrase 分かり合う (wakari-au, to understand each other / to reach mutual understanding) uses wakaru in a reciprocal form (合う, au, to mutually do) and is a common expression of interpersonal aspiration — to truly understand another person is valued as a deep form of connection in Japanese relationship culture. The difficulty of 分かり合う is also frequently acknowledged, particularly across cultural or generational divides. The compound 分かりやすい (wakariyasui, easy to understand / clear / accessible) is an important compliment in Japanese professional and educational contexts — a teacher, explainer, or writer who is 分かりやすい has achieved genuine communicative excellence.

📚 Learn More