How to say "I don't understand" in Chinese

我 (wǒ) means 'I', 不 (bù) is the negation 'not', and 懂 (dǒng) means 'understand'. It's a simple subject-verb structure with a negative adverb.

Use 我不懂 when you don't understand something, whether it's a concept, a language, or a situation. It's neutral and common in everyday speech. For a more formal or polite tone, you might say 我不明白 (wǒ bù míngbai), which means 'I don't get it' but is slightly more formal. Don't overthink it; 不懂 is perfectly fine in most situations.