idioms to express understanding
After some angry expressions, we will try to help you express understanding with the idioms of this section.
In English, there are several ways to say you understand something:
Shed light
When you “shed light” on a topic, it is clearer to understand. For example: “The teacher explained again and shed light on the process.” (The teacher explained again and made the process clearer.)
Get someone’s drift
Did you understand what a friend said? Then you could say that you “got his drift.”
Get it
This expression is very similar to “get someone’s drift,” while being even more direct. It can be used as a complete sentence, with an object, or as a phrase: “I get it, you need to rest.” (I understand that you need to rest.) “Get it?” (Did you understand?)
Get the message/picture
This is another way of saying that you understand. For example: “Did you get the message?” (Did you understand?)
Hammer home
If you want to be really sure someone understands what you’re saying, then you need to “hammer your point home.” For instance, “She repeated her point three times to really hammer it home.”
Wrap your brain around
To understand something that is going to require more concentration and effort, you’ll need to “wrap your brain around it.”
Get wise to
When you discover that someone is trying to trick or deceive you, you could say that you “got wise to” their intentions. For example: “I thought she was paying me a compliment, but I soon got wise to the fact she was really teasing me.”
Take a hint
This means to understand an indirect suggestion. “Take a hint!” can also be used as a command or an exclamation.
Figure someone/something out
This expression means to make sense of something. When you “figure something out,” you finally understand it. This expression can also be used for people: “I can’t figure him out, he is confusing!” (I can’t understand him, he confuses me!)
