I Don't Understand in Spanish: No Entiendo + Repair Phrases

Say No entiendo for a direct “I don’t understand” in Spanish. In a real conversation, add the specific repair you need: ¿Puede repetirlo? asks someone formally to repeat it, ¿Puedes hablar más despacio? asks a familiar person to speak more slowly, and ¿Qué significa [palabra]? asks what a word means.

The Real Academia Española entry for entender covers grasping the meaning of something. Its entry for comprender includes understanding or mentally containing an idea. Both verbs can express non-understanding, but a dictionary does not determine which repair request will be polite in every service, classroom, workplace, or regional setting.

Pick the repair phrase for the actual problem

No entiendo identifies the difficulty; the next sentence moves the exchange forward. A specific request is usually more useful than repeating no entiendo at a louder volume.

No entiendo or no entendí?

Use no entiendo when the problem is current or general: “I don’t understand this.” Use no entendí when you refer to a completed moment: “I didn’t understand what you just said.” In rapid conversation, either can introduce a repair, but the time perspective differs.

Compare:

No entiendo esta palabra. ¿Qué significa?

I don’t understand this word. What does it mean?

Perdón, no entendí la dirección. ¿Puede repetirla?

Sorry, I didn’t understand the address. Can you repeat it?

No comprendo is also grammatical and understandable. Learn both forms for recognition, use no entiendo as the simple default in this guide, and mirror the wording you hear from the people around you.

Formal and informal requests

Spanish marks the relationship inside the verb. Use the tú forms puedes, habla, and repite with one familiar person where that address is normal. Use usted forms puede, hable, and repita with one formal addressee.

• ¿Puedes repetirlo? — informal singular
• ¿Puede repetirlo? — formal singular
• ¿Pueden repetirlo? — plural, or formal plural in many regions
• Repítelo, por favor — direct informal request
• Repítalo, por favor — direct formal request

Questions with puede or puedes often give a beginner more room to sound cooperative. Adding por favor helps, but tone, eye contact, and local address norms also matter. The separate guide to please in Spanish explains where the courtesy phrase fits.

Use a problem, request, confirmation sequence

A reliable repair has three turns:

1. Name the problem: Perdón, no entendí el número.
2. Ask for one action: ¿Puede repetirlo más despacio?
3. Confirm what you heard: ¿Dijo treinta y cinco?

This sequence prevents a common loop where the other person repeats the same fast sentence and the learner still does not know which detail to catch. Practice changing the target: the price, platform, room number, surname, date, or meeting time.

Opening with perdón or the appropriate excuse-me phrase in Spanish can soften the interruption. It is not a confession that your language skills are inadequate; it simply signals that you need to repair the message.

Dialogues for travel, class, and work

At a station:

Perdón, no entendí el andén. ¿Puede repetirlo? — El tren sale del andén seis.

Sorry, I didn’t understand the platform. Can you repeat it? — The train leaves from platform six.

In class:

No comprendo este ejemplo. ¿Puede explicarlo de otra manera? — Claro. Vamos a usar un dibujo.

I don’t understand this example. Can you explain it another way? — Of course. Let’s use a drawing.

At a hotel:

No entendí dónde está el baño. ¿Puede señalarlo en el mapa? — Sí, está aquí.

I didn’t understand where the bathroom is. Can you point it out on the map? — Yes, it is here.

The full where-is-the-bathroom guide helps you rehearse the question before you need it under pressure.

At work:

No entendí el último paso. Entonces, ¿primero envío el archivo y después llamo al cliente? — Exactamente.

I didn’t understand the last step. So, do I send the file first and then call the client? — Exactly.

Repair individual words and sounds

Sometimes you understand the sentence structure but not one item. Point to the gap rather than abandoning the entire exchange:

• ¿Qué significa “turno”? — What does “turno” mean?
• ¿Cómo se escribe? — How is it spelled?
• ¿Puede deletrearlo? — Can you spell it?
• ¿Dijo “quince” o “cincuenta”? — Did you say fifteen or fifty?
• Entendí hasta “mañana”, pero no el final — I understood up to “tomorrow,” but not the end.

If the missing detail is a name, code, or address, use the Spanish alphabet chart and spelling routine. For number contrasts such as quince and cincuenta, verify the form with the Spanish numbers 1–100 reference before repeating it back.

This is the core approach in the longer guide to conversation-repair strategies: isolate the breakdown, request the smallest useful change, and verify the result.

A short practice routine

1. Play or imagine one everyday sentence and identify the missing detail.
2. Say no entendí plus one precise request without switching to English.
3. Repeat the answer back as a question to confirm it.

Rotate through a noisy café, online meeting, pharmacy, classroom, taxi, and phone call. A tool can simulate these scenes; the AI Spanish speaking-practice guide includes a reusable structure. Automated speech recognition may mishear the same details you are trying to practise, so review important information with a person or written source.

Limits, safety, and disclosure

These phrases do not guarantee that an addressee will slow down, understand your accent, or provide correct information. In medical, legal, financial, or emergency situations, request a qualified interpreter or verified written translation instead of relying on a memorised phrase set. Formality also varies by country, age, institution, and relationship.

LinguaLive sells AI-based speaking practice and may gain commercially from readers who follow its practice links. The examples are editorial language support, not a claim that AI can reliably resolve high-stakes communication.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say I don't understand in Spanish?

Say No entiendo. If you mean a specific completed moment, No entendí means “I didn’t understand.” Add a request for repetition, slower speech, or a new explanation.

Is no comprendo correct?

Yes. No comprendo is grammatical, though no entiendo is often the more useful conversational starting point. Frequency and tone vary by context.

How do I ask someone to speak slowly in Spanish?

Say ¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor? formally, or ¿Puedes hablar más despacio, por favor? to one familiar person.

How do I politely ask someone to repeat in Spanish?

Use Perdón, ¿puede repetirlo, por favor? with usted. For tú, change puede to puedes.

Sources and editorial review

This guide was checked against its primary official or academic reference on 28 August 2026. Language usage can vary by region, relationship, and situation. Review the primary source.