Word
Kana: りかい Romaji: rikai Level: N3

理解

Meaning in English

understanding, comprehension

Stroke order

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Dictionary

Word context

What it means

Understanding or comprehension of information, ideas, or contexts; the core concept is a clear mental grasp of meaning and implications.

Main meanings

  • Understanding as the mental grasp of meaning or significance
  • Deep comprehension or insight into a subject, often with practical implications
  • Being understanding toward others, showing empathy or tolerance in interpersonal situations

How to use it

Used as a noun to denote understanding; in practice, it appears with suru-verb to form 理解する (to understand); common collocations include 理解が深い, 理解を示す, 理解を得る; appropriate in formal, academic, and business contexts; typical sentence patterns involve が marking the subject and を or を示す for actions related to understanding.

Variants and close terms

  • 把握 (haaku) — grasp, comprehension
  • 理解力 (rikiryoku) — ability to understand
  • 誤解 (gokai) — misunderstanding

Composition

  • 理 — logic, principle, reason
  • 解 — to solve, understand, untie
  • Combination: grasping the logic or meaning behind something leads to understanding

Etymology

on'yomi borrowing derived from Chinese, combining 理 and 解 to express grasp of meaning; used in formal and academic vocabulary.

Word class

noun (suru-verb)

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