I don't understand in Spanish is no entiendo (noh ehn-TYEHN-doh). Follow it with what would help: ¿puede hablar más despacio? (could you speak more slowly?) or ¿me lo repite? (could you say it again?). No comprendo means the same but sounds more formal. In Spain, no te he entendido means I didn't catch what you just said.
- I don't understand
- no entiendo
- Formal
- no comprendo
- I didn't catch that (Spain)
- no te he entendido
- More slowly, please
- más despacio, por favor
- Level
- A1
No entiendo or no comprendo?
Both are correct. Entender is the everyday verb in Spain; comprender is a shade more formal or thoughtful, closer to "comprehend". Adding a pronoun makes the sentence more precise: lo for a thing, te for the person you are talking to.
| Spanish | English | Use |
|---|---|---|
| No entiendo. | I don't understand. | Neutral; the default |
| No lo entiendo. | I don't understand it. | A word, a rule, a situation |
| No te entiendo. | I can't understand you. | Words, accent or reasoning (tú) |
| No te he entendido. | I didn't catch that. | Spain; about something just said |
| No comprendo. | I don't understand. | More formal |
| No me entero. | I'm not following. | Spain; casual |
| No lo pillo. | I don't get it. | Spain; slang, between friends |
How do you ask someone to repeat or slow down?
Native speakers are usually happy to help once they know you are learning. Saying so up front changes the pace of the whole conversation.
Estoy aprendiendo español.
I'm learning Spanish.
¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?
Could you speak more slowly, please?
Usted; ¿puedes…? with tú.
¿Me lo repites?
Can you say that again?
Tú; ¿me lo repite? with usted.
¿Qué significa «despacio»?
What does "despacio" mean?
¿Cómo se dice «receipt» en español?
How do you say "receipt" in Spanish?
¿Me lo puede escribir?
Could you write it down for me?
If the problem is the language itself, you can also ask whether they speak English.
How is entender used in real Spanish?
Stories use it constantly in the third person, for a character who is puzzled. In this A1 chapter a mother questions the family robot about a note it denies writing:
Consuelo no entiende. La nota tiene letra humana, pero la letra es muy ordenada, muy perfecta.Entender changes its stem from e to ie when stressed: entiendo, entiendes, entiende, but entendemos. The same verb with lo shows progress. An auctioneer's nephew finds an old letter stuck to the bottom of a trunk and is proud he can almost read it:
Casi lo entiendo entero.What mistakes do learners make with no entiendo?
Confusing it with no sé. No entiendo is about meaning: the words did not get through. No sé is I don't know: you understood the question but have no answer. Saying no entiendo to a question you simply cannot answer sends the conversation back to the start.
The other trap is realizar, which does not mean realise. To say "now I realise", Spanish uses darse cuenta: ahora me doy cuenta. And when the penny drops, the natural line is ¡ah, vale, ya lo entiendo!, oh, right, now I get it.
Read A1 Spanish stories and tap any word you don't understand to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
Is it rude to say no entiendo?
Not at all. It is a normal, neutral phrase. Adding perdone or perdona before it, and a request like más despacio, por favor, makes it sound friendly.
How do you say I don't speak Spanish?
No hablo español. More useful in practice is hablo un poco de español (I speak a little Spanish), which invites people to slow down rather than switch language.
What does no me entero mean?
In Spain, no me entero means I'm not following or I haven't a clue what's going on. It is casual and very common: no me entero de nada, I don't get any of it.
How do you say what does that mean?
¿Qué significa eso? or ¿qué quiere decir eso? Both are neutral. To ask about a specific word, put it in: ¿qué significa «mercado»?
How do you say I understand?
Entiendo, or ya entiendo (now I understand). Vale, entendido (OK, understood) is common in Spain at work.