understanding

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʌndəˈstandɪŋ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: un‧der‧stand‧ing
• Rhymes: -ændɪŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English understandinge, understondinge, from Old English understanding (“intelligence, understanding”), from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandingu, from Proto-Germanic *understandingō, equivalent to understand +‎ -ing (gerund ending). Cognate with Middle Dutch onderstaninge, Middle Low German understandinge, Middle High German understandunge.

Noun

understanding (countable and uncountable, plural understandings) (with of, but with for in sense of "sympathy")

1. (gerund, uncountable) The act of one that understands or comprehends; comprehension; knowledge; discernment.
2. (countable) Reason or intelligence; ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge; ability to infer.
   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:

     The Ways of Heav’n are dark and intricate,
     Puzzled in Mazes, and perplext with Errors;
     Our Underſtanding traces ’em in vain,
     Loſt and bewilder’d in the fruitleſs Search; […]

3. (countable) Opinion, judgement, or outlook.
   • 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

     The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.

   According to my understanding, the situation is quite perilous. I wonder if you see it this way, too.

5. (countable) An agreement of minds; harmony; something mutually understood or agreed upon.
   1. An informal contract; a mutual agreement.

      I thought we had an understanding - you do the dishes, and I throw the trash.

   2. A reconciliation of differences.

      The parties of the negotiation have managed to come to an understanding.

6. (uncountable) Sympathy.

   He showed much understanding for my problems when he heard about my past.

Derived terms

• according to one's understanding
• innerstanding
• memorandum of understanding
• natural language understanding
• peace that passeth understanding

 

Translations

understanding — see grasp

mental process of comprehension, assimilation of knowledge, subjective by its nature

• Arabic: فَهْم (ar) m (fahm)
• Armenian: հասկացողություն (hy) (haskacʻoġutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: fəhm, anlayış (az)
• Belarusian: разуме́нне n (razumjénnje)
• Bulgarian: разби́ране (bg) n (razbírane), споразуме́ние (bg) n (sporazuménie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 理解 (zh) (lǐjiě), 了解 (zh) (liǎojiě), 明白 (zh) (míngbai)

• Czech: porozumění (cs) n
• Danish: forståelse (da) c
• Dutch: begrip (nl) n
• Esperanto: intelekto
• Estonian: mõistmine
• Finnish: ymmärrys (fi), ymmärtäminen (fi), käsittäminen (fi)
• French: compréhension (fr) f
• Galician: comprensión (gl) f
• Georgian: გაგება (gageba)
• German: Verstehen n, Verständnis (de) n, Begreifen n
• Greek: κατανόηση (el) f (katanóisi)
• Hebrew: הֲבָנָה (he) f (havaná)
• Hindi: समझ (hi) f (samajh)
• Hungarian: megértés (hu), belátás (hu), felfogás (hu)
• Icelandic: skilningur (is) m
• Indonesian: pengertian (id)
• Ingrian: arvo, äly
• Italian: comprensione (it)
• Japanese: 理解 (ja) (りかい, rikai)
• Kazakh: түсіну (kk) (tüsınu)
• Korean: 이해(理解) (ko) (ihae), 리해(理解) (ko) (rihae) (North Korea), 요해(了解) (ko) (yohae), 료해(了解) (ko) (ryohae) (North Korea)
• Kyrgyz: түшүнүү (ky) (tüşünüü)
• Latvian: izpratne f
• Lithuanian: supratimas m
• Macedonian: разбирање n (razbiranje)
• Maori: māramatanga
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: ойлголт (mn) (ojlgolt)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forståelse (no) m

• Old English: witt n
• Ottoman Turkish: هوش (huş), ادراك (idrak)
• Persian: فَهم (fa) (fahm), دَرک (fa) (dark)
• Polish: zrozumienie (pl) n, pojmowanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: compreensão (pt) f, entendimento (pt) m
• Romanian: comprehensiune (ro) f
• Russian: понима́ние (ru) n (ponimánije), разуме́ние (ru) n (razuménije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: разумевање n

  Roman: razumevanje (sh) n

• Slovak: porozumenie n
• Slovene: razumevanje n
• Spanish: comprensión (es) f
• Swedish: förståelse (sv) c
• Tajik: фаҳм (tg) (fahm), дарк (tg) (dark)
• Thai: ความเข้าใจ (th) (kwaam-kâo-jai)
• Tok Pisin: save
• Turkish: anlayış (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎁𐎊𐎐𐎚 (bynt)
• Ukrainian: розумі́ння (uk) n (rozumínnja), зрозумі́ння n (zrozumínnja)
• Urdu: سَمَجھ f (samajh)
• Uyghur: چۈشىنىش (chüshinish)
• Uzbek: tushunish (uz), fahm (uz)
• Vietnamese: sự hiểu (vi)

ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge, ability to infer

• Bulgarian: разби́ране (bg) n (razbírane)
• Danish: forstand c, forståelse (da) c
• Finnish: käsityskyky (fi) (ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge); päättelykyky (ability to infer)
• French: compréhension (fr) f
• Galician: entendemento (gl) m
• Georgian: გაგება (gageba), ჩაწვდომა (čac̣vdoma)
• Greek: κατανόηση (el) f (katanóisi), νοημοσύνη (el) f (noïmosýni)
• Ottoman Turkish: عقل (ʼakl, ʼakıl)
• Portuguese: compreensão (pt) f
• Russian: понима́ние (ru) n (ponimánije)
• Spanish: comprensión (es) f
• Swedish: förståelse (sv) c

opinion, judgement or outlook

• Arabic: رُؤْيَة f (ruʔya)
• Bulgarian: схва́щане (bg) n (shváštane)
• Danish: forståelse (da) c
• Finnish: näkökulma (fi), näkemys (fi), käsitys (fi)
• German: Verständnis (de) n
• Hungarian: megítélés (hu)
• Portuguese: entendimento (pt) m
• Spanish: comprensión (es) f

informal contract, mutual agreement

• Arabic: تَفَاهُم m (tafāhum)
• Bulgarian: съгла́сие (bg) n (sǎglásie)
• Czech: dohoda (cs) f
• Danish: aftale (da) c, forståelse (da) c
• Dutch: overeenkomst (nl), verstandhouding (nl)
• Finnish: yhteisymmärrys (fi)
• German: Vereinbarung (de) f
• Greek: συνεννόηση (el) f (synennóisi)
• Hungarian: megállapodás (hu), megegyezés (hu), egyezség (hu)
• Luhya: kamasikisano
• Portuguese: entendimento (pt) m
• Russian: взаимопонима́ние (ru) n (vzaimoponimánije), согла́сие (ru) n (soglásije)
• Scottish Gaelic: còrdadh m, aontachadh m
• Spanish: compromiso (es) m
• Swahili: masikizano
• Swedish: överenskommelse (sv) c
• Tocharian B: plāksar

reconciliation of differences

• Finnish: sovinto (fi)
• German: Einigung (de) f
• Greek: συνεννόηση (el) f (synennóisi)
• Scottish Gaelic: aontachadh m, còrdadh m
• Spanish: avenimiento m

sympathy

• Czech: pochopení (cs) n, porozumění (cs) n
• Danish: forståelse (da) c
• Finnish: myötätunto (fi), ymmärrys (fi)
• French: compréhension (fr) f
• German: Verständnis (de) n
• Greek: κατανόηση (el) f (katanóisi)
• Hungarian: megértés (hu), együttérzés (hu)
• Polish: wyrozumiałość (pl) f, zrozumienie (pl) n
• Spanish: comprensión (es) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} begrijpen (nl) f
• French: ^{(please verify)} compréhension (fr) f
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} تێگەیشتن (têgeyiştin)

See also

• intellection

Etymology 2

From Middle English understandyng, understondynge, understondinde, undirstondend, understandande, from Old English understandende, from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandandī, from Proto-Germanic *understandandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *understandaną (“to stand between, intercede, understand”), equivalent to understand +‎ -ing (present participle ending).

Adjective

understanding (comparative more understanding, superlative most understanding)

1. Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance; sympathetically aware.
2. (dated) Knowing; skilful.

Translations

showing compassion

• Arabic: فهم (ar)
• Bulgarian: отзивчив (bg) (otzivčiv)
• Catalan: comprensiu (ca)
• Danish: forstående
• Dutch: begripvol (nl)
• Finnish: ymmärtäväinen (fi), myötätuntoinen (fi)
• French: compréhensif (fr)
• German: verständnisvoll (de)
• Gujarati: સમજદાર (samajdār)
• Hebrew: מגלה הבנה (megale/megala havana)
• Hungarian: megértő (hu)
• Ingrian: arvolliin
• Japanese: 納得 (ja) (なっとく, nattoku)
• Latin: sciens (la), intellegens, videns (la), capiens (la)
• Polish: wyrozumiały (pl)
• Portuguese: compreensivo (pt)
• Romanian: înțelegător (ro)
• Spanish: comprensivo (es)
• Swedish: förstående (sv)

knowing, skilful

• Bulgarian: схватлив (bg) (shvatliv)
• Maori: aweko

Verb

understanding

1. present participle and gerund of understand
   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

     It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […];  […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.

Old English

The spelling of this entry has been normalized according to the principles established by Wiktionary's editor community or recent spelling standards of the language.

Alternative forms

• understandincg

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *undarstandingu, equivalent to understandan +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌun.derˈstɑn.dinɡ/, [ˌun.derˈstɑn.diŋɡ]

Noun

understanding f

1. intelligence
2. perception, understanding

Declension

Declension of understanding (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	understanding	understandinga, understandinge
accusative	understandinge	understandinga, understandinge
genitive	understandinge	understandinga
dative	understandinge	understandingum

Synonyms

• andġiet
• andġiete
• ferhþġewit
• ġearuwita
• ġeþanc

Descendants

• Middle English: understandinge, understondinge
  • English: understanding
  • Scots: understanding