12

I've heard people say "понимаешь" when they clearly intend to mean "I understand", such as in this line from the Serebro song Не Время:

Я понимаешь, я это чувствую потом мы всё наверстаем, я предчувствую

Why is it "Я понимаешь" and not "Я понимаю"? Does this have some sort of rhetorical effect?

Also, in everyday conversation: I've heard people respond to my question "Понимаешь?" with: "Понимаешь". This has happened more than once with multiple people.

Isa
  • 453
  • 2
  • 11
  • 15
    The понимаешь was Yeltsin's favorite filler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYz6TkaRjIg – Elena Aug 30 '21 at 20:29

4 Answers4

27

Right punctuation is

Я, понимаешь, я это чувствую, потом мы всё наверстаем, я предчувствую

The translation is

I, you know, I'm feeling it, we will catch all then, I forefeel it.

"Понимаешь" in this case isn't a really the verb, but acts as a filler. The full phrase would look like "понимаешь ли ты?" (do you understand?)

David42
  • 1,096
  • 7
  • 8
artptr
  • 1,158
  • 7
  • 16
  • A better translation for "всё наверстаем" would be "[we'll] catch up completely". – Seva Alekseyev Aug 31 '21 at 20:36
  • Still doesn't explain why I've heard people respond to my question "Понимаешь?" then they say: "Понимаешь". This has happened more than once with multiple people. – Isa Sep 15 '21 at 17:11
  • @Isa Am I right (just for clarity) that you've expected to hear "[Да], понимаю"? – artptr Sep 15 '21 at 17:56
  • Yes, I expect to hear "Да, понимаю" but instead the speaker answers "Понимаешь" – Isa Sep 16 '21 at 18:57
  • It's ungrammatical and perceived as throwing the question back. – artptr Sep 16 '21 at 22:24
  • By the way such kind of answer can mean positive or ironical response. – artptr Sep 16 '21 at 22:33
2

You should say: "Я, понимаешь, ...", or: "Я понимаю". In the first case, "понимаешь" is related to "ты" - not "я".

Dmitry
  • 137
  • 1
  • Please provide additional details in your answer. As it's currently written, it's hard to understand your solution. – Community Sep 01 '21 at 06:55
0

As a native speaker I do this too when talking to someone. Let’s look at понимать and its present tense conjugations to understand.

Я понимаю

Ты понимаешь

Он, она, оно понимает

Они понимают

Вы понимаете

Мы понимаем

So saying я понимаешь looks like it makes no sense, but it is like saying, I, you know, or “I, as you know.”

:)

Iroda Urazova
  • 194
  • 3
-3

Я понимаю = I understand

Ты понимаешь = You understand

Я понимаешь = "wrong",

Я, понимаешь (что-то) = I, you know (something)

WKND
  • 1
  • 1