“I don’t understand” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
I don’t understand
“I don’t understand” in Chinese is 我听不懂, wǒ tīngbudǒng — roughly “waw ting-boo-doong”. Literally it is “I listen — don’t understand”: Chinese says straight away how you failed to understand, by ear or by eye. It is the first phrase you will need in China.
How to pronounce 我听不懂
wǒ is third tone, low. tīng is first tone, high and level; the -ng is nasal, as in “sing”, with no “g” at the end. bu in the middle is light: short and toneless. dǒng is third tone again, low, and its -ong is closer to “oong” (the “oo” of “book”) than to the “o” of “long”. The syllables to lean on are tīng and dǒng. How the other syllables read is in the pinyin chart.
How to write 我听不懂
- 我wǒI, me
- 听tīngto listen
- 不bùnot
- 懂dǒngto understand
Four characters. 听 has the “mouth” 口 on the left; 懂 has the “heart” radical 忄, which often shows up in words about thoughts and feelings. The negative 不 does not stand before the verb, as English “don’t” does, but between the action and its result: “listen — not — understand”, meaning “I listen, but understanding doesn’t happen”. It works like English “can’t”: 听不懂 is “can’t understand by listening”. You can trace the phrase stroke by stroke in the writing worksheets.
听不懂, 看不懂 and 不明白: what’s the difference
- 我听不懂wǒtīngbudǒngI don’t understand (what I hear)
- 我看不懂wǒkànbudǒngI can’t read / understand this (text)
- 我不明白wǒbùmíngbaiI don’t get it
我听不懂 is for when someone is talking to you and you can’t follow: too fast, unknown words, a different dialect. 我看不懂 is the same about something written: a menu, a sign, a message. 看 means “to look, to read”.
我不明白 is about meaning, not language: you caught the words but don’t see what the person means or why. 明白 literally is “bright and clear”. To a teacher in class you say 我不明白; to a seller at the market, 我听不懂.
- 他说得太快，我听不懂。tāshuōdetàikuài,wǒtīngbudǒnghe speaks too fast, I can’t understand
How to say “I don’t speak Chinese” and ask someone to repeat
- 我不会说中文。wǒbúhuìshuōZhōngwénI don’t speak Chinese
- 我会说一点儿中文。wǒhuìshuōyìdiǎnrZhōngwénI speak a little Chinese
- 请再说一遍。qǐngzàishuōyíbiànplease say it again
- 请说慢一点。qǐngshuōmànyìdiǎnplease speak a little slower
我不会说中文 uses : “I can’t speak” in the sense of a skill you don’t have, not that you don’t want to. Before a fourth tone, 不 changes to a second tone, which is why it is bú huì here. The two requests below are the ones that save you most often: 再 “again” + , and 慢一点 “a bit slower”. The question you will hear first is probably . More phrases like these are in “Chinese phrases for travelers”, and how to say “excuse me” before asking is on the page “Sorry” in Chinese.
How to say “I see” or “got it” in Chinese
- 明白了míngbaileI see, got it
- 懂了dǒnglegot itshorter and more casual
The particle 了 marks a change: you didn’t understand, and now you do. Without it you get not “got it!” but a flat “I understand”. You will most likely be asked:
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “I don’t understand” in Chinese?
“I don’t understand” in Chinese is 我听不懂, in pinyin wǒ tīngbudǒng.
How do you pronounce 我听不懂?
我听不懂 is read wǒ tīngbudǒng. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “I don’t understand” in Chinese characters?
我听不懂 is 4 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 我听不懂 mean?
我听不懂 (wǒ tīngbudǒng) means “I don’t understand”.
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