# Hindi: I don't get it



## flamboyant lad

In Ice Age 4 Hollywood movie, Captain Gutt says: But that's not how I got my name. These got me my name. Sid says: I don't get it. I think Sid should have said: "I'm not getting it" in place of "I don't get it", but there is a rule in English grammar that you can't use continuous with verbs of thinking, e.g. understand, think, suppose, believe etc.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2795630


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## Dib

And the question is ... ?


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## Wolverine9

Based on the other thread, the OP wants to know how you say "I don't get it" in Hindi.  The closest phrase I can think of would be "I don't understand": _mujhe samajh nahiiN aayaa_.


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## Qureshpor

flamboyant lad said:


> In Ice Age 4 Hollywood movie, Captain Gutt says: But that's not how I got my name. These got me my name. Sid says: I don't get it. I think Sid should have said: "I'm not getting it" in place of "I don't get it", but there is a rule in English grammar that you can't use continuous with verbs of thinking, e.g. understand, think, suppose, believe etc.
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2795630


I don't get it would normally be conveyed as "maiN nahiiN samjhaa"...which back translates as  "I have n't understood". If one says, "maiN nahiiN samajhtaa huuN", this would mean I don't understand as a matter of course. On the other hand if one used the continuous tense..maiN nahiiN samajh rahaa huuN...this would translate as I am not understanding it.


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## Dib

@QP:

For the last part: "I am not understanding it" sounds horrible in English, doesn't it? I am not sure how exactly to translate it into idiomatic English though. But well, that's not important in this thread, anyway, I guess.


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## flamboyant lad

Yeah that's what baffles me Mr. Qureshpor. "I don't get it" would normally be conveyed as "maiN nahiiN samjhaa hoan" but if we retranslate it in English, it would be  "I haven't understood".   Why is it so?


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## Dib

Well, "(I) didn't get it"/"I didn't understand" are also perfectly idiomatic everyday English usable in pretty similar contexts. The past tense emphasizes the (non-)entry into the state of understanding, and the present (not) being in the state of understanding. Otherwise, they describe the same situation, that presently I am in the state of (not) understanding.


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## flamboyant lad

Its' a difference in tense. 

"I didn't get it," would mean you didn't understand something in the past. As in: 
"I used to be terrible at algebra, at that age I didn't get it. But after three years I got much better with it." 

"I don't get it," would mean you don't understand and are confused right now. 
"So therefore x equals five." 
"I don't get it." So i don't think we can use past perfect here.

I guess, "I haven't gotten/got it" is correct English phrase here. But I'm not sure. It would be good if anyone clarifies it.


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## Dib

Your examples are valid. But you missed one situation, that I was referring to.

"I didn't get it" is perfectly acceptable in response to an *explanation* given a split-second ago by someone you are talking to, e.g. in the last sentence of your dialogue. In fact, I suspect, the past is even preferred in this situation. The present seems to be preferable to me as a response to a *nonexplicatory* statement:
- Tanya stood first in our class!
- I don't get it! She is so lazy!

 But this probably belongs to the English community thread.  Plus, I am not a native English speaker. So ... take it with a grain of salt.


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## tonyspeed

I'm not sure where this rule is coming from. Continuous in English sounds perfectly fine to me. In Hindi couldn't one also say "samajh nahiiN aa rahaa hai".

maiN nahiiN samjhaa is not "I have not understood". It is "I did not understand". The difference here is use of perfect rather that present perfect forms.


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## flamboyant lad

So, you mean we can say "I'm not understanding"?


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## tonyspeed

flamboyant lad said:


> so you mean, we can say "I'm not understanding"



It's not common, but it's not completely wrong either. It has a different conotation that "I don't understand" (nahiiN samajhtaa) and "I didn't understand" (nahiiN samjhaa).
It implies you are trying hard to understand at this very moment and cannot.


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## Qureshpor

Dib said:


> @QP:
> 
> For the last part: "I am not understanding it" sounds horrible in English, doesn't it? I am not sure how exactly to translate it into idiomatic English though. But well, that's not important in this thread, anyway, I guess.


You will find that in Queen's English the continuous tense of "to understand" is fine.


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## littlepond

Coming back to "I don't get it" from discussions on understanding, a near-perfect way to translate it into Hindi will be "baat (mere) palle nahiN paRi". Idiomatic and popular usage, just like "I don't get it". A more dull affair would be "baat samajh nahiN aayi".


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## littlepond

And also "kuchh palle nahiN paRaa".


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