Understanding and Knowing | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 이제 이해했어요.

   I understand now.

   이제

   now

   이해했어요

   understand

   More detail

   이제 means “now” in this sentence. It marks the present point as different from an earlier point: “now” or “by now.” Example: 이제 가요. — “I’m leaving now.” 이해했어요 is the polite 해요-style form of 이해하다, “to understand.” The ending -했어요 is the past form of 하다, but with verbs such as 이해하다 it can describe reaching a completed understanding, so the natural meaning here is “understand now” or “I’ve understood.” It is not the same form as the negative expression 이해하지 못해요, “I do not understand,” shown in the following context. 이해하다 is the positive verb; 이해하지 못하다 expresses being unable to understand. Together, 이제 + 이해했어요 means “I understand now.” The speaker presents understanding as something achieved by the present moment. The polite ending makes the sentence suitable for ordinary respectful conversation.

2. 이해하지 못해요.

   I do not understand.

   이해하지

   understand, then …

   못해요

   cannot; do not manage to

   More detail

   이해하지 comes from 이해하다, “to understand.” The verb stem is 이해하-; before -지, it becomes 이해하지. Here, -지 connects the verb to the following negative-ability expression. A useful complete example is 이해해요. — “I understand.” 못해요 is the polite present form of 못하다, “to be unable to” or “not manage to.” The ending -요 makes the form polite. In this sentence, 못해요 does not by itself identify what cannot be done; the preceding 이해하지 supplies that action. The pattern -지 못하다 expresses inability or failure to carry out an action. Thus, 이해하지 못해요 literally presents understanding as something the speaker cannot manage, and the fixed translation naturally gives the result as “I do not understand.” This differs from 몰라요, “I do not know”: 이해하지 못해요 concerns understanding, while 몰라요 concerns knowing. Together, 이해하지 and 못해요 form the polite statement “I do not understand.”

3. 몰라요.

   I do not know.

   몰라요

   I don't know

   More detail

   몰라요 means “I don’t know” here. Its base form is 모르다 (“to not know”). In the polite present style, 모르다 changes to 몰라요, rather than *모르어요*; this is a common 르-irregular change. The form itself does not identify a separate subject by gender or number; the fixed translation supplies “I” here. Example: 이 단어를 몰라요. — “I don’t know this word.” The object marked by 를 is the thing unknown. Together, the single phrase 몰라요. gives the polite statement “I don’t know.”

4. 무슨 뜻이에요?

   What do you mean?

   무슨

   what kind of

   뜻

   meaning

   이에요?

   is it?

   More detail

   무슨 comes before a noun and asks which kind or what sort of thing. In this sentence it asks about the meaning, not about an unspecified object by itself. Compare 무슨 말이에요? — “What do you mean?” or more literally “What words are those?” 뭐 can also mean “what,” but 무슨 normally modifies a following noun. 뜻 means “meaning” or “sense.” It is a noun, so it can be used in patterns such as 뜻을 알아요 — “I know the meaning” — and 뜻이 뭐예요? — “What is the meaning?” 이에요? is the polite present form of the copula after a noun ending in a consonant. The noun 뜻 ends in a consonant, so 뜻이에요? is used. After a vowel-ending noun, the corresponding form is 예요?, as in 의미예요? — “Is it the meaning?” The copula links the noun phrase to the question of what it is. Together, 무슨 뜻 means “what meaning,” and 무슨 뜻이에요? asks politely what the meaning is. With the fixed translation and context, its intended natural meaning is “What do you mean?”

5. 저를 이해해요?

   Do you understand me?

   저를

   me

   이해해요

   understand

   More detail

   저를 means “me” here. 저 is the humble first-person pronoun, and 를 marks it as the object of the verb. The speaker is therefore the person being understood. In Korean, the subject can be omitted when the context makes it clear; here the fixed translation supplies “you” as the understood subject. 이해해요 means “understand” here. Its base form is 이해하다 (“to understand”); 이해해요 is the polite present form. The ending -요 gives a polite conversational style. As a question, the same form is spoken with question intonation, so it means “Do you understand?” rather than a statement. A useful contrast is 알다 (“to know”), whose polite form is 알아요. The following example uses that different verb and is not part of the fixed utterance: 그 사람을 알아요? — “Do you know him?” This contrasts knowing a person with understanding something or someone’s meaning. The object marker 를 is also visible in both patterns: 저를 이해해요? (“Do you understand me?”) and 그 사람을 알아요? (“Do you know him?”). Together, 저를 (“me,” as the object) and 이해해요? (“understand?”) form the polite question “Do you understand me?”

6. 그 사람을 알아요?

   Do you know him?

   그

   that

   사람

   person

   알아요?

   know?

   More detail

   그 means “that” when it comes before a noun. It is a demonstrative modifier, so it specifies a noun rather than standing alone here. Korean demonstratives include 이 “this” and 저 “that over there”; the choice depends on the speaker’s distance or discourse context. 사람 means “person” or “people.” It is a noun and does not itself mark gender. In this sentence, 그 사람 means “that person.” The fixed translation identifies this person as “him,” but Korean 그 사람 does not encode that gender distinction. 알아요? comes from 알다, “to know.” 알아요 is the polite present form in the 해요 style: 알다 → 알아요. The question mark makes it a question, so here it means “Do you know…?” The object is marked by 을: the full object phrase is 그 사람을. For a different subject, the same verb form can still be 알아요; the subject is often understood from context. In another use, 알다 can mean being acquainted with or knowing information, but the fixed translation selects the person-related meaning here. The reusable pattern is [person or thing]을/를 알아요?, meaning “Do you know [person or thing]?” Use 을 after a consonant-ending noun and 를 after a vowel-ending noun. For example, 민지를 알아요? means “Do you know Minji?” Together, 그 사람 identifies “that person,” 을 marks that person as the object of knowing, and 알아요? asks politely whether the listener knows him. Thus the whole utterance means “Do you know him?”