How to Say ‘I understand.’ in Japanese
わかりました。
wakari mashi ta
[wah-kah-ree mah-shee tah]
💬 Usage Tip: [わかりました] is the polite past form of [わかる], but in practice it means "understood" or "I got it." Think of it as completed understanding.
🇯🇵 In Japan: In workplaces, [わかりました] is a very common acknowledgment. It sounds more professional than a simple [はい] alone.
Phrase Breakdown
わかり
wakari
[wah-kah-ree]
understood; got it
わかり is the stem of わかる, meaning to understand.
説明がわかりました。
I understood the explanation.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite past marker part
まし is part of the polite past ending ました used in formal speech.
先生に話しましの形を習いました。
I learned the form mashi used when speaking politely.
た
ta
[tah]
past ending part
た is the past marker here, part of ました, showing the action is completed.
昨日、たを使う文を勉強しました。
Yesterday, I studied sentences that use ta.
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