समझना
samajhnā/sə.məd͡ʒʱ.nɑː/
The Hindi verb for understand is समझना (samajhnā). It is the common, versatile word for grasping the meaning of something.
Use समझना for understanding words, a reason, a person or a situation. To say I got it, a man says समझ गया and a woman says समझ गई. The phrase समझ आया means something came to one's understanding, or made sense.
Meaning: to grasp the meaning of (verb)
Which one should you use?
जानना (Janna) primarily means to know, but it is also used to express understanding. समझना is the word to use when the meaning itself is what you grasp.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb agrees with the subject's gender and number. In the present tense a man says समझता हूँ and a woman says समझती हूँ for I understand. For the past, as in I understood, the forms are समझ गया and समझ गई.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as samajhnā, IPA /sə.mədʒʱ.nɑː/, in three syllables. The jh is a j followed by a breath of air.
Did you know?
- In India, a common non-verbal way to signal समझ गया (I understand) is a subtle, quick tilt or side-to-side wiggle of the head, often called the 'Indian head bob'.
- Hindi has a specific nuance where समझना can be used to mean 'to consider' or 'to mistake someone for something', such as 'you understood me to be a doctor'.
- The root of समझना can be traced back to the Sanskrit word सम्बुध्यते (sambudhyate), which is the same ancestor for the word 'understanding' in several Indo-Aryan languages.
Examples in context
- मैं आपकी बात नहीं समझा।I don't understand what you're talking about.नहीं समझा is the male speaker's way to say I did not understand.
- उसके दिए गए कारण को समझना मुश्किल है।The reason which he gave is hard to understand.समझना मुश्किल है means it is hard to understand.Tatoeba #459431 by minshirui, translation #284256 by CM
- वह मेरा मतलब समझता है।He understands what I mean.
- कृपया मुझे समझाएं।Please explain it to me.
- समझो! यह काफी आसान है।Understand! It's quite easy.
- तुम कैसे नहीं समझोगे?How won't you understand?
- तुम पक्का समझ जाओगे।You will surely understand.
Example conversation
Aditya and Priya are discussing a difficult lesson at school.
- आदित्य Adityaक्या तुम्हें यह पाठ समझ आया?Kya tumhe yeh paath samajh aaya?Did you understand this lesson?
- प्रिया Priyaनहीं, मुझे यह समझना बहुत कठिन लग रहा है।Nahi, mujhe yeh samajhna bahut kathin lag raha hai.No, I am finding it very difficult to understand this.
- आदित्य Adityaमैं तुम्हारी मदद कर सकता हूँ।Main tumhari madad kar sakta hoon.I can help you.
- प्रिया Priyaधन्यवाद, आदित्य।Dhanyavaad, Aditya.Thank you, Aditya.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “understand” translations and entries समझना, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries समझना, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
