わかる

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 分(わ)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".

• (Tokyo) わか​る [wàkáꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [2])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠ka̠ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

わかる • (wakaru) intransitive 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、分(わ)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
   • 2011, Barack Obama, 中東と北アフリカに関するバラク・オバマの演説, translation of "Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa":

     これがどれほど困難(こんなん)であるかは判(わか)っている。

     Kore ga dore hodo konnan de aru ka wa wakatte iru.

     I recognize how hard this will be.

4. 分かる: to become known, to turn out

   分(わ)かった！

   Wakatta!

   I've got it! / I know!

In recent usage, this term may be more commonly spelt in hiragana.

The Japanese verb wakaru is most often glossed as to understand. However, wakaru is intransitive, and it takes the thing that is understood, distinguished, or recognized as the subject (usually marked by particle が (ga)), and not the object (usually marked by particle を (o)). Strictly speaking, wakaru is thus closer to English to be understandable, as the verb wakaru describes the thing itself, unlike English to understand, which describes the action of the person doing the understanding, distinguishing, or recognizing.

Despite the above, the form with を and transitive usage also exists, although this may be proscribed, and is not reflected in some dictionaries.

Wakaru can take an agent (what would be the subject of the English verb to understand) marked by the particle に (ni) or a topic marker.

• *私が分かる (incorrect, ❌)
• 私に分かる (correct, ✔)
• 複雑(ふくざつ)でも、（私(わたし)に）この事情(じじょう)が分(わ)かる。

  Fukuzatsu de mo, (watashi ni) kono jijō ga wakaru.

  Although it's complicated, this situation is understandable (to me).

Compare the difference in usage of transitive verb 知る (shiru, “to know”).

• IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠ka̠ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

わかる • (wakaru) ^†nidan

1. Classical Japanese form of わかれる (wakareru): to split, to fork, to branch off

• 分(わ)かれる (wakareru)
• 別(わか)れる (wakareru)

• 分(わ)ける (wakeru)