分かる
Japanese
Kanji in this term |
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分 |
わ Grade: 2 |
kun’yomi |
Alternative forms
- (to understand): 解る
- (to distinguish): 判る
Etymology
From Old Japanese. Derived as the passive or intransitive conjugation of Old Japanese root verb 分く (waku, “to separate, to break into pieces; to be separable or distinguishable”).
Verb
分かる (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana わかる, rōmaji wakaru)
- to understand
- はい、わかりました。
- Hai, wakarimashita.
- Yes. I understood.
- はい、わかりました。
- to tell (one thing from another), to distinguish
- to recognize, to realize
- わかった!
- Wakatta!
- I've got it! / I know!
- わかった!
- to become known, to turn out
Usage notes
The Japanese verb wakaru is most often glossed as to understand. However, wakaru is intransitive, and it takes the thing that is understood, distinguished, or recognized as the subject (usually marked by particle が (ga)), and not the object (usually marked by particle を (o)). Strictly speaking, wakaru is thus closer to English to be understandable, as the verb wakaru describes the thing itself, unlike English to understand, which describes the action of the person doing the understanding, distinguishing, or recognizing.
Wakaru can take an agent (what would be the subject of the English verb to understand) marked by the particle に (ni).
- 複雑でも、(私に)この事情が分かる。
- Fukuzatsu de mo, (watashi ni) kono jijō ga wakaru.
- Although it's complicated, this situation is understandable (to me).
Compare the difference in usage of transitive verb 知る (shiru, “to know”).
Conjugation
Stem forms | |||
---|---|---|---|
Imperfective (未然形) | 分から | わから | wakara |
Continuative (連用形) | 分かり | わかり | wakari |
Terminal (終止形) | 分かる | わかる | wakaru |
Attributive (連体形) | 分かる | わかる | wakaru |
Hypothetical (仮定形) | 分かれ | わかれ | wakare |
Imperative (命令形) | 分かれ | わかれ | wakare |
Key constructions | |||
Passive | 分かられる | わかられる | wakarareru |
Causative | 分からせる 分からす |
わからせる わからす |
wakaraseru wakarasu |
Potential | 分かれる | わかれる | wakareru |
Volitional | 分かろう | わかろう | wakarō |
Negative | 分からない | わからない | wakaranai |
Negative continuative | 分からず | わからず | wakarazu |
Formal | 分かります | わかります | wakarimasu |
Perfective | 分かった | わかった | wakatta |
Conjunctive | 分かって | わかって | wakatte |
Hypothetical conditional | 分かれば | わかれば | wakareba |
Derived terms
- 分かり切る (wakarikiru): to be fully understandable, to be completely clear