to understand

[jctgf]

hi,
is there a verb in English with a meaning very similar to "understand" that could be used as a substitute for it?
I am looking for a informal one.
thanks.

 

[stuartnz]

I'm not a teacher, but "get" fits your requirement quite nicely. "I don't understand" = "I don't get it". "Do you get it?" ="Do you understand?" "My wife doesn't get my jokes" = "my wife doesn't understand my jokes".

 

[jctgf]

I'm not a teacher, but "get" fits your requirement quite nicely. "I don't understand" = "I don't get it". "Do you get it?" ="Do you understand?" "My wife doesn't get my jokes" = "my wife doesn't understand my jokes".

hi,
thanks.
isn't "to get it" too informal? isn't it almost a slang?
i am looking for a synonym that keeps up to "understand" in terms of formality.
is there any?
thanks again.

 

[stuartnz]

Sorry. In your first post you asked for an informal verb that could be used in place of "understand". "Get" fits that description. It is not slang, but I cannot think of a verb which comes between "understand" and "get" in terms of a level of formality.

 

[Offroad]

I think there are lots of synonyms, however, it depends on the meaning you are looking for. It works on the same way as you do in Portuguese.

What word would you use on this case you are thinking of/wondering?

Search 'understand' on any web dictionary and you'll get what you want.

 

[stuartnz]

I'd second marciobarbalho's recommendation. Here's a list of synonyms for "comprehend" from Merriam-Webster's online thesaurus:

appreciate, apprehend, catch, catch on (to), dig [slang], get, grasp, make, make out, perceive, see, seize, tumble (to), understand

 

[jctgf]

hi,

a teacher from this forum told me that "to get it" is quite informal. since then, I have been wondering if there is a synonym that equals it in terms of formality.

by the way, "look up the dictionary" is the worst answer I could get from anyone... and, of course, I already did it ...

regards.

 

[stuartnz]

I'm just a little confused as to what it is you're looking for. Initially you said that you wanted an informal synonym for "understand". Now you say that "get it" is too informal, but that you want something equal to it in formality. Could you clarify what it is you're needing?

 

[jctgf]

I'm just a little confused as to what it is you're looking for. Initially you said that you wanted an informal synonym for "understand". Now you say that "get it" is too informal, but that you want something equal to it in formality. Could you clarify what it is you're needing?

hi,

I was told that I shouldn't say "I didn't get it" on a memo to my boss and I am not sure about using "I don't comprehend" given that I don't see people using it very often.
English is a powerful language (with more than twice the number of words of my native one) and I just want to improve my vocabulary.
I think what I need is "to realize".

thanks.

 

[stuartnz]

hi,

I was told that I shouldn't say "I didn't get it" on a memo to my boss and I am not sure about using "I don't comprehend" given that I don't see people using it very often.
English is a powerful language (with more than twice the number of words of my native one) and I just want to improve my vocabulary.
I think what I need is "to realize".

thanks.

Thanks for the clarification. In that setting, you could use "grasp" as in "I did not grasp what was required of me", or "I was not certain about ...", or "I was unsure about ...". These all convey the idea of a difficulty in understanding. Personally, I would not consider a memo to my boss to be an informal register. As you were told, I would not say "I didn't get it" in a memo to my boss either.