How to Say ‘Was hard to understand’ in Japanese
分かりにくかった
wakari nikukatsu ta
[wah-kah-REE nee-koo-KAHT TAH]
💬 Usage Tip: [分かりにくい] = hard to understand (literally “hard to ‘understand’”). Past: [分かりにくかった].
🇯🇵 In Japan: Instead of saying “You explained badly,” Japanese often say “It was hard to understand,” focusing on the message, not the person.
Phrase Breakdown
分かり
wakari
[wah-kah-REE]
easy to understand (stem)
From 分かる (to understand). 分かり is the stem used to build expressions like 分かりやすい / 分かりにくい.
説明が分かりにくかった。
The explanation was hard to understand.
にくかっ
nikukatsu
[nee-koo-KAHT]
hard to (do/understand) (stem)
にくい means “hard to …”. With 分かり, 分かりにくい = “hard to understand.” にくかっ is the past-form stem before た.
この漢字は分かりにくかった。
This kanji was hard to understand.
た
ta
[TAH]
past (casual)
Past ending. 分かりにくかった = “was hard to understand.”
どこが分かりにくかった？
Which part was hard to understand?
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