分かる・わかる (understand)

Japanese Grammar Basic Japanese ★★★★★ 5/5 neutral わかるwakaru
読み わかる
ローマ字 wakaru
形 (Person + に/は +) Thing + が + 分かる
漢字の分解 分 (bun/wa) = divide, understand

意味

Expresses that something becomes clear, understandable, or known to someone spontaneously. The thing understood is marked with が, and the person who understands is marked with に or は. It describes a natural, involuntary process of comprehension.

Unlike English 'understand,' 分かる focuses on the spontaneous emergence of understanding rather than active effort. The subject is the thing being understood (marked with が), not the person doing the understanding. This is why you say 日本語が分かる (Japanese is understandable to me) rather than treating it like a transitive verb. 分かる also covers 'to find out' or 'to turn out' when new information comes to light. Common confusion arises between 分かる and 知る: 分かる emphasises comprehension and grasping meaning, while 知る focuses on acquiring factual knowledge. The te-form 分かっている means 'I understand' as an ongoing state.

例文

  1. 彼女の気持ちがよく分かる。
  2. この問題の答えが分かりますか。
  3. 日本語が少し分かります。

使い方ガイド

場面: spoken, written, everyday

トーン: descriptive

正しい言い方

  • その説明で意味が分かりました。
  • 地図を見れば道が分かる。
  • 先生の話が分かりましたか。
  • やっと理由が分かった。

避ける言い方

  • 日本語を分かる。(Using を instead of が — the thing understood takes が because 分かる is intransitive) → 日本語が分かる。
  • 私が日本語が分かる。(Using が for the person — the person takes は or に, not が) → 私は日本語が分かる。

起源と歴史

From the verb 分く (to divide, to distinguish), reflecting the idea that understanding involves mentally separating and distinguishing concepts.

文化的背景

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal

関連フレーズ

ある (existence of inanimate things) Indicates that an inanimate object exists or is located somewhere. It is the counterpart of いる, which is used for animate beings. ある is one of the most fundamental verbs in Japanese and is essential for describing the presence or location of things. いる (existence of animate things) Indicates that an animate being — a person, animal, or other living creature — exists or is located somewhere. It is the animate counterpart of ある and is one of the first verbs learners must master for describing who or what is present. いる (progressive / ongoing state) Used after the て-form of a verb to indicate that an action is currently in progress or that a state resulting from a past action continues. This is the most common way to express the English present progressive ('is doing') in Japanese. する (causing a state or action) The verb する is used to indicate that someone or something causes a state or action to take place. It is the most basic and widely used verb in Japanese, functioning as 'to do' and forming the basis of hundreds of compound verbs with nouns. 好きだ・すきだ (like) A na-adjective that expresses liking or fondness for something or someone. The liked object is marked with が, and the person who likes is marked with は. It functions as an adjective describing a state of preference, not a verb. 知る・しる (come to know) Describes acquiring information or knowledge from an external source. The basic form 知る indicates the moment of learning something new, while the te-form 知っている expresses the resulting state of knowing. ある (resultant state) Used after the て-form of a transitive verb to indicate that something has been done and the resulting state remains. This pattern emphasises the current condition that resulted from a completed action, rather than the action itself. する (cost or duration) する is used to express how much something costs or how long something takes. The amount or duration is typically marked with が, and する indicates the price or time required. This is an idiomatic use distinct from the action-performing する.
WordLociで練習する

フラッシュカード、クイズ、音声発音、間隔反復