How to Say ‘I understand.’ in Japanese
わかりました。
wakari mashi ta
[wah-kah-ree mah-shee]
💬 Usage Tip: [わかりました] literally means something like "it became understood," and it's the standard polite past form used for "got it" or "I understand." You can swap in other verbs the same way: [見ました] "I saw it," [聞きました] "I heard it."
Phrase Breakdown
わかり
wakari
[wah-kah-ree]
understood
From わかる, meaning to understand; this part shows the stem used in the polite past form.
説明がわかりました。
I understood the explanation.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite verb ending
Part of the polite verb form used in formal speech.
案内を聞きまし た。
I listened to the guidance.
た
ta
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