understandably

understandably — 副詞

1. used to say that a feeling, reaction, or decision is normal and reasonable when

1.副詞C1
釋義

難怪；不意外

對某情況感到合理而不意外

used to say that a feeling, reaction, or decision is normal and reasonable when you think about the situation; what you would expect to happen

例句

Understandably, Léa was reluctant to lend her car to someone she barely knew.

難怪 Léa 不太願意把車借給幾乎不認識的人。

sentence-initial position for evaluative adverb

The residents were understandably nervous when a wildfire broke out near their homes.

野火在住家附近燒起來，居民們會緊張是可以理解的。

mid-sentence: be + understandably + adjective

同義詞
  • naturally

    overlaps in meaning but is more common in spoken English and less formal

  • predictably

    emphasises that the outcome was expected in advance, not just reasonable after the fact

  • not surprisingly

    very similar; slightly more informal and more common in conversation

  • understandable

    adjective form; used in 'it is understandable that…' instead of the adverb

反義詞
  • surprisingly

    opposite meaning — indicates the reaction goes against what you would expect

  • inexplicably

    opposite meaning — no reason can be found for the reaction

文法句型

Understandably, + [clause]

[Subject] + be + understandably + [adjective]

[Clause], understandably

用法筆記

Frequently appears at the start of a sentence (Understandably, ...) or after the verb 'be' or verbs of emotion (feel, seem, look). In this sense, understandably does NOT describe how an action is performed — it comments on the whole situation. Only this sense can appear before a comma at the start of a sentence. Distinguish from sense 2 (CLEARLY EXPLAINED), where understandably follows a verb of communication and describes clarity of expression.

常見錯誤

❌He spoke understandably' (intending to mean 'it makes sense that he spoke').
✅Understandably, he spoke about the incident at the meeting.
💡When expressing that something is reasonable, use the sentence-adverb position, not after an action verb.
❌Understandably, she wrote the report' (intending to mean 'clearly').
✅She wrote the report clearly and understandably.
💡For describing clarity of expression, place understandably after the verb, not at sentence start with a comma.

2. in a way that is easy to understand; with clear structure or expression, so that

2.副詞C1
釋義

易懂地；清楚

以容易理解的方式表達

in a way that is easy to understand; with clear structure or expression, so that the meaning is not confusing

例句

The teacher explained the grammar points clearly and understandably, so even the beginners could follow.

老師把文法重點解釋得清楚易懂，連初學者都能聽懂。

manner adverb: verb + clearly and understandably

Mizuki wrote the instructions in a way that was simple and understandably organised.

Mizuki 把說明寫得簡單明瞭，條理清晰。

同義詞
  • clearly

    more common and less formal; can also mean 'obviously', which understandably does not

  • intelligibly

    more formal and less frequent; focuses on being able to be understood by the ear

  • coherently

    emphasises logical connections between ideas, not just clarity

反義詞

文法句型

[Verb] + (clearly and) understandably

[Verb] + [object] + understandably

用法筆記

Always appears after the verb it modifies or after the object of the verb. In this sense, understandably cannot appear at the start of a sentence with a comma. It is often paired with 'clearly' (clearly and understandably). This sense is much less common than sense 1 (NOT SURPRISING) and is somewhat formal.

常見錯誤

❌Understandably, the manual was written' (intending to praise clarity).
✅The manual was written clearly and understandably.
💡The manner sense follows the verb, not a sentence-initial comma position.