Ask for Clarification About One Detail
Specific clarification is easier to answer than a general no entiendo. Identify the unclear word, time, person, or instruction and ask a focused question about that detail.
Learning objective
Request targeted clarification that tells another speaker exactly what remains unclear.
A focused clarification request identifies exactly what is unclear: a word, time, person, place, or step. Instead of only saying No entiendo, repeat the understood part and ask about the missing detail. This gives the other speaker a small question they can answer directly.
Use ¿Qué significa X? for an unfamiliar expression, ¿A qué hora exactamente? for timing, and ¿Te refieres a Ana o a Marta? for a person. ¿Puedes repetir la última parte? narrows a repetition request to one section rather than asking the speaker to restart everything.
Respectful forms change the verb and pronoun together: ¿Puede repetirlo, por favor? addresses usted, while ¿Puedes repetirlo? addresses tú. Neither choice is automatically polite everywhere; tone, relationship, workplace practice, and local expectations all contribute to how the request is received.
After the answer, confirm the repaired detail: Ah, entonces nos vemos en la entrada norte. This closes the gap and shows what you now understand. Specific clarification is a normal conversation skill, not proof that your listening has failed or a reason to abandon the exchange.
Examples
Entiendo la dirección, pero ¿qué significa ‘al fondo’ aquí?
I understand the directions, but what does ‘al fondo’ mean here?
The speaker isolates one unfamiliar phrase.
¿Dijiste a las seis o a las siete?
Did you say six or seven?
Two possible times make the repair easy to answer.
¿Te refieres a la entrada del parque?
Do you mean the park entrance?
The question checks one possible location.
¿Puede repetir el nombre de la persona, por favor?
Could you repeat the person's name, please?
The respectful request identifies only the missing information.
Common mistake
- Instead of
- No entiendo. Repite todo.
- Try
- Entiendo el primer paso. ¿Puedes repetir qué autobús tomo después?
The corrected request preserves what is already understood and names the exact missing step. The informal puedes matches the chosen relationship; a respectful interaction would use puede instead.
Practice
Try it yourself
During a phone call, you understand that a delivery arrives on Friday but miss the time, the caller's name, and one word in the address instruction. Write three separate clarification questions, each targeting only one detail, then confirm the repaired information.