Understanding and Knowledge | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 今、わかりました。

   I understand now.

   今

   now

   わかりました

   I understand

   More detail

   今 means “now,” locating the understanding at the present moment. It can also be used in other time expressions, such as 今朝 (“this morning”), but here it specifically means “now.” わかりました is the polite past form of わかる, “to understand” or “to realize.” In this utterance, the past form presents the understanding as something that has just been reached, so “I understand now” is the natural meaning. Japanese does not require an overt subject here; the fixed translation identifies the understood subject as “I.” A useful contrast from the supplied context is わかりません, the polite nonpast negative form of わかる: “I do not understand.” Thus, わかりました expresses reached understanding, while わかりません expresses the absence of understanding in the relevant situation. Together, 今 + わかりました means “Now I understand.”

2. わかりません。

   I do not understand.

   わかりません

   I do not understand

   More detail

   わかりません is the polite nonpast negative form of わかる, meaning “to understand” here. The ending ません makes the statement negative in a polite way; the subject is omitted in Japanese, and the fixed translation supplies “I” for this utterance. Useful form chain: わかる “understand” → わかります “understand” (polite) → わかりません “do not understand” (polite negative). The nonpast form can describe the speaker’s current state, so this means “I do not understand” rather than necessarily a permanent inability. Example: この説明がわかりません。 — “I do not understand this explanation.” Here わかりません keeps the same polite negative pattern, while この説明 identifies what is not understood. This form is different from 知りません, which means “I do not know”; わかりません is the form used for the intended meaning “I do not understand.” In the preceding context, わかりました means “I understood” or “I understand now,” using the polite past affirmative form of the same verb. Together, わかりません。 is a complete polite statement: the speaker says that they do not understand.

3. 知りません。

   I do not know.

   知りません

   I don't know

   More detail

   知りません means “I don’t know” here. It is the polite negative form of 知る (“to know”): 知る → 知りません (“do not know”). The form is non-past, so it can describe not knowing something now; it does not by itself specify whether the speaker may learn it later. The polite ending makes the utterance suitable for respectful or neutral conversation. Example: その人を知りません。 — “I don’t know that person.” This uses the same negative form with a stated object. By contrast, the nearby わかりません means “I don’t understand” in the supplied context; 知りません concerns knowledge of information or familiarity rather than comprehension of meaning. Together, the single utterance 知りません。 politely states that the speaker does not know the relevant information. Japanese commonly leaves the subject and the thing known unstated when the context makes them clear.

4. どういう意味ですか。

   What do you mean?

   どういう

   what kind of; what

   意味

   meaning

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   どういう asks what kind or what sort of something, and it comes before the noun it describes. In this utterance, どういう + noun asks for the kind or content of the meaning. Example: どういう本ですか。 — “What kind of book is it?” 意味 is the noun “meaning.” It can refer to the meaning or intended sense of words, expressions, or actions. Example: この言葉の意味がわかりません。 — “I don’t understand the meaning of this word.” ですか consists of the polite copula です and the question particle か. Together, they make a polite question equivalent to “is it?” or, after a noun phrase, “what is it?” The か marks the utterance as a question; it does not itself mean “what.” Putting the parts together, どういう意味 means “what meaning” or, naturally in this context, “what do you mean?” The polite question ending ですか asks the listener to clarify the meaning intended by the other person. Thus the complete utterance is a polite request for clarification: “What do you mean?”

5. 私の言っていることがわかりますか。

   Do you understand me?

   私の

   my

   言っている

   saying

   こと

   content; thing

   わかりますか

   do you understand?

   More detail

   私の means “my” here and marks the speaker as the person associated with the following content. The possessive form の links one noun or pronoun to another: 私の本 means “my book.” In this sentence, 私の modifies the larger expression 言っていること, not only the word immediately after it. 言っている comes from 言う (“to say”). The form 〜ている presents an action as ongoing or currently relevant, so 言っている means “am saying” here. The same pattern can describe a continuing state or a regularly repeated action depending on context; here it identifies the content the speaker is saying. こと is an abstract noun meaning “thing,” “matter,” or “content.” After a clause, it turns that clause into a noun-like expression: 私が言っていること is “the thing/content that I am saying,” or more naturally, “what I am saying.” This is different from もの, which more typically refers to a concrete thing, although the distinction depends on context. わかりますか uses the polite nonpast form of わかる, “to understand” or “to be clear,” followed by か to make a question. わかる is an intransitive verb: Japanese commonly presents the understood content as what “becomes understandable,” rather than using a direct-object construction equivalent to English “understand me.” The polite negative form is わかりません, “do not understand” or “it is not clear.” Together, 私の言っていること means “what I am saying,” and わかりますか asks whether it is understood. The complete utterance therefore means “Do you understand me?”; more literally, it asks, “Do you understand what I am saying?” It is a polite question.

6. 彼を知っていますか。

   Do you know him?

   彼

   him

   知っています

   know

   か

   question marker

   More detail

   彼 means “he” or “him,” with the form staying the same whether it is a subject or an object. Here, を marks 彼 as the object, so the intended meaning is “him.” Example: 彼を知っています。—“I know him.” 知っています is the polite nonpast form of 知っている, from 知る “to come to know” or “to learn.” In this sentence, 知っている expresses the continuing state of knowing or being acquainted with someone; it is not best understood as “am learning.” The polite form is useful in questions and statements such as: その人を知っています。—“I know that person.” か is a sentence-final question marker. It turns the preceding polite statement into a question. Example: 彼女を知っていますか。—“Do you know her?” Together, 彼を知っていますか。 has the pattern [person]を知っていますか and means “Do you know [person]?” The pronoun 彼 is understood as “him” here because it is the object marked by を, and the whole sentence asks whether the listener knows him.