分かる

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 日本語が分かりますか。▶ —
   Do you understand Japanese?
2. はい、分かりました。▶ —
   Yes, I understand.

Collocations

Mnemonic

分かる wakaru — a godan verb, yet a rare intransitive that travels with が. 日本語が分かる — not を but が; understanding is something that happens to me. If 知る is "coming to know for the first time," 分かる is "the inside opening into view." "Wakarimashita" overlaps the social reply of having received it with the mind. Kanji-reading kin: 分 reads Korean 'bun', Mandarin fēn.

Quick check

1. Which particle is correct: "I don't know this kanji"?

   • この漢字が分かりません (correct: が)
   • この漢字を (wrong: 分かる takes が)
   • この漢字に (wrong)
   • この漢字で (wrong)