明白 and 了解

[Zhende ma?]

Hey, thanks for all the great responses to my last posts. 明白 and 了解. Is there a difference between these two types of saying "to understand."? I've seen 了解 written a lot in articles, especially academic ones.

[39degN]

Hey, thanks for all the great responses to my last posts. 明白 and 了解. Is there a difference between these two types of saying "to understand."? I've seen 了解 written a lot in articles, especially academic ones.

depends on context, commonly,

我明白了=i got it, i see, i understood.

我了解...=我知道=i knew it, i know.

just my two cents, let's wait the responses of others.

[confucius]

"Mingbai" is usually used regarding something that has been said or demonstrated. (shuo de hua, zuo de shiqing)

"Liaojie" is generally used regarding a situation (qingkuang).

I'll give 2 common examples for each:

1. Ni mingbai wo de yisi ma? Do you know what I mean?

2. Wo bu mingbai wei shenme Beijing bu shi Hebei sheng de chengshi. I don't understand why Beijing isn't a city in Hebei province.

1. Ni tai liaojie wo! You know me too well!

2. Wo xiang liaojie Zhongguo xi yifu de qingkuang. I would like to gain an understanding of the laundry situation in China.

Ruguo ni hai bu mingbai, qing tongzhi wo yi sheng!

If you are still not clear, please let me know!

[Quest]

I've seen 了解 used in many Japanese dramas in situations where 明白 would have been used instead in Chinese.

[trien27]

了 is a common end particle of phrases in ancient Chinese (From 1750BC-200AD?, Shang to Han dynasties?). 明白 is rather modern(18-20th century?). Because the Japanese took more from the ancient Chinese language than the modern, it's likely that they used 了解 and never thought of changing it.

[Nephand]

I would like to gain an understanding of the laundry situation in China

Ahh, that made me laugh. I'm going to remember that one now too... nicely done confucius ;)