分かる vs. 知る

[Tomii515]

皆さん、こんばんは！
お元気ですか。
ぼくは、元気ですよね！

OK. So this is an issue I really didn't wanna bring here, but this has been confusing me for a while. So.

分かる - to understand
知る - to get to know

Mmk. I understand that.

BUT! What about "to know"?

Like, for example, "I know", "I don't know", "I know Mary", "I don't know what to say", etc.

From what I've seen and read, I saw these:

分かります - I know
知っています - I know
分かりません - I don't know
知りません - I don't know

So, as you can see, this really confuses me. When can you know when to use which?

よろしくお願いします

 

[Elizabeth]

These are the first definitions from goo dictionary. Help at all ??

知る＝それについての知識を有する。 (In short, to have something in one's mind from already having learned/experienced/reasoned through it)

分かる＝(1)物事の意味・価値などが理解できる。
「意味が―・る」「音楽が―・らない人」「英語の―・る人」
(2)はっきりしなかった物事が明らかになる。(To recognize, understand, figure out, appreciate etc a meaning, intent, or nature of something that is already in the mind as factual knowledge)

 

[Tomii515]

Hmmm...
I think I get it.
Thanks

 

[Elizabeth]

Hmmm...
I think I get it.

A little mome more stuff from my textbook just in case...
Basically, if it's a situation you have no idea which is better, you can use わかりません anytime.



While わかる/wakaru means to figure out the content of something or to be clear or to be understandable, 知る/shiru means to find out something or to become acquainted with something/someone.

* スペイン語がわかりますか?
Supeingo ga wakarimasu ka?
(Do you understand Spanish?)
* スペイン語を知っていますか?
Supeingo wo shitte-imasu ka?
(Do you know Spanish?)



知る/Shiru, with its basic meaning of to find out or to be acquianted, is translated as know when it appears in its ている/-te-iru form (lit., is in the state of having found out or having become acquainted). This is why you use 知っている/shitte-iru for knowing people and being familiar with places and ideas.

―カワムラさんの住所を知っていますか?
Kawamura-san no jyuusho wo shitte-imasu ka?
(Do you know Mr. Kawamura's address?)

―いいえ、知りません。でも、調べれば、わかりますよ。
Iie, shirimasen. Demo, shirabereba, wakarimasu yo.
(No, I don't. But I'll know (lit., it will be clear) if I check it.)



Both わかりません/wakarimasen and 知りません/shirimasen can be used for I don't know, but the nuance is quite different. 知りません/Shirimasen can imply I don't know and have no reason to, so it can sound a bit rude if the question is one that you could be expected to know the answer to. That is why, when you ask a store clerk a question about the merchandise, he or she answers with わかりませんね/wakarimasen ne instead of 知りません/shirimasen. (The ね/ne makes it clear that the meaning is I don't know, not I don't understand you.)

In fact, saying 知らない/shiranai directly to another person's face is a way of saying I disapprove of what you are doing and want nothing to do with you. Furthermore, since 知る/shiru refers to finding out something that you didn't have any reason to know, it sounds odd to use 知りません/shirimasen in reference to something concerning yourself, such as your own future plans or your own wants.

However, 知りません/shirimasen is a perfectly acceptable response when you don't know a person, are unfamiliar with a place or idea, or have no expertise in a certain subject area.

 

[Tomii515]

Thanks so much!
That cleared up basically all of it~!

 

[Elizabeth]

Don't say that you know someone off the Internet, though...that would be 「インターネットで知り合った友達」。

Also, 理解する (understanding, comprehension, appreciation) often can have a slightly deeper nuance than 分かる but is still very common.