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わかる

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Alternative spellings
分かる
分る (dated)
解る
判る
理解る (uncommon)

From Old Japanese. Derived as the passive or intransitive conjugation of Old Japanese root verb 分く (waku, to separate, to break into pieces; to be separable or distinguishable). Compare transitive ()ける (wakeru).

As the passive or spontaneous conjugation of waku, the verb wakaru could be translated more directly as something like "it comes apart [for me / he / she / etc.]", roughly analogous to English "I can see how it comes apart" → "I can see how it is put together".

Pronunciation

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  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「わかる
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形)
わかる [wàkáꜜrù]
Imperative (命令形) わかれ [wàkáꜜrè]
Key constructions
Passive わかられる かられ [wàkáráréꜜrù]
Causative わからせる からせ [wàkáráséꜜrù]
Potential - - -
Volitional わかろう かろ [wàkáróꜜò]
Negative わからない からない [wàkáráꜜnàì]
Negative perfective わからなかった からなかった [wàkáráꜜnàkàttà]
Formal わかります かりま [wàkárímáꜜsù]
Perfective わかった った [wàkáꜜttà]
Conjunctive わかって って [wàkáꜜttè]
Hypothetical conditional わかれば れば [wàkáꜜrèbà]

Verb

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わかる (wakaruintransitive godan (stem わかり (wakari), past わかった (wakatta))

  1. 分かる, 解る: to be understandable, to understand
    はい()かりました
    Hai, wakarimashita.
    Yes. I understood.
  2. 分かる: to tell (one thing from another), to distinguish
  3. 分かる, 判る: to be recognized, to be realized
  4. 分かる: to become known, to turn out
    ()かった
    Wakatta!
    I've got it! / I know!
Usage notes
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In recent usage, this term may be more commonly spelt in hiragana.

The Japanese verb wakaru shows characteristics that are similar to verbs in potential form, and like such verbs, the target of "understanding" is commonly marked by the particle (ga). However, just like with other verbs in potential form, it is not uncommon to see it used with the particle (o) as well. This is more acceptable in relative clauses or longer and more complicated sentences.

Just like with other potential verbs, the agent of wakaru can also be marked not only by (ga), but also with the particle (ni) or a topic marker. It is possible in some sentences to have a "double (ga)" situation where (ga) marks both the agent of the action and the target of the understanding.

  • それ分かる (correct)
  • にはそれ分かる (correct)
  • それ分かる (slightly unnatural)
  • それ分かるはずがない (correct)
  • (ふく)(ざつ)でも、((わたし))この()(じょう)()かる
    Fukuzatsu de mo, (watashi ni) kono jijō ga wakaru.
    Although it's complicated, I can understand this situation.

Due to this quirk of (ga) and (o) targets of wakaru, it is often considered both transitive and intransitive, depending on the perspective of the speaker. This is because the usage of wakaru with (o) closely resembles the related verb 理解する (rikaisuru, to understand) which presents clear transitive characteristics.

Also, compare the difference in usage with another purely transitive verb like 知る (shiru, to know).

Conjugation
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Alternative spellings
分かる
別る
分る (dated)

Pronunciation

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Verb

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わかる (wakarunidan

  1. Classical Japanese form of わかれる (wakareru): to split, to fork, to branch off
Conjugation
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Derived terms
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN