I do not understand.
A polite way to say that the meaning is unclear.
FREE BEGINNER LESSON 6 · JAPANESE
Japanese: When you do not understand
Ask for English, a slower pace or a repetition.
Polite · asking for language help. Learn the meaning, listen to the pronunciation, then practise in the interactive lesson.
Practise this lessonOpening vocabulary referenceUseful Japanese phrases and their meanings
Once more, please.
もう一度 asks for a repetition.
Please speak slowly.
話してください politely asks someone to speak.
Can you speak in English?
で marks the language; 話せます asks about ability.
How the sentence works
分かりません is the polite negative of understand. もう一度 means once more. ゆっくり means slowly. English is 英語; で can mark the language used. These requests are useful throughout the course.
A short conversation in Japanese
Sorry. I do not understand.
I will say it once more.
Thank you. Slowly, please.
Words to recognise
to understand
once more
slowly
English
Listen to the whole phrase before focusing on each word. You can replay as often as you like, and the interactive lesson uses pictures and a short exchange to put the meaning in context.
Open the interactive lessonThe opening six teaching lessons are free, including the mini-tests after lessons three and six. A test accepts any answer and shows the score and corrections at the end. No typing or speaking aloud is required.
Keep learning Japanese
Free five-minute audio lesson and MP3 · Language learning games
The pronunciation uses prepared synthetic voices. Credits and licences explain the free voice models. Independent native-speaker certification is not claimed.