Why is it 日本語がわかります instead of 日本語をわかります?

Question

From what I understand, `は` is the topic marker, `が` is the subject marker, and `を` is the object marker. One of the first sentences I learned doesn't seem to fit the rules I described above. The sentence is: > わたしは日本語がわかります. watashi wa　nihongo　ga　　 wakarimasu I　　　topic Japanese subject understand 'I understand Japanese.' In this sentence, why does `日本語` have the subject marker attached to it? Shouldn't `日本語` be the object of the sentence?

Answer 1

Oh boy, you've asked a great question that leads to one of the more confusing aspects of Japanese verbs and their relationship to particles. To answer you question simply, it is not a direct object in the Japanese language. You cannot actively "understand"; rather it's something that just "happens" (through your hard work of course, but it is a result, not an active action).

To get more in depth, this is the difference between what are called "transitive" and "intransitive" verbs. Transitive verbs, overall, take the particle を and have a direct object, while intransitive verbs, overall, take the particle が. Let me use an easy example:

"To start" has one pair: 始まる（はじまる）(intransitive) and 始める（はじめる） (transitive).

The first more or less means "something starts" while the second means "to start."

For example:

先生はクラスを始めました。

The teacher started the class. (Here, "teacher" is the subject and "class" is the direct object.)

クラスが始まりました。

The class started. (Here, there is no object--rather, "class" is the subject.)

Let me know if you want a more thorough explanation! This is a great question to be asking.