The dictionary definition of わかる is usually "to understand" or "to know." But
in everyday life it's sometimes used by service staff in some of the same
situations as the more formal かしこまる, e.g. "to obey respectfully." This isn't
too hard to understand.

But recently I encountered a JLPT N4 listening practice question that went
something like this:

Two people, a man and a woman, are in a car, arguing using informal language.
There seems to be some implication that the man is driving. The woman first
asks if they can stop at a restaurant, but the man says that they can't
because they need to get to the airport. She then reiterates that she's really
hungry and asks if she can get something at a conbini, and the man says that
she can, but they need to stop at a gas station first. It then ends like this:

> Woman: Refueling people is more important than refueling the car! (This line
> may have ended with an imperative to go to the combini first).
>
> Man: (in a very irritated voice) わかっている！

The audio then ends; the question is, where will they go first?

My feeling was that it was impossible to know, but given how annoyed the man
was, he probably wouldn't go to the combini first. To me, he was saying
something like "I heard you the first time!" and in the absence of further
explanation, I had no reason to believe that his plans had changed at all. I
guessed that he would go to the gas station first.

This is apparently the wrong answer. According to the test, they go to the
combini first.

As an American speaker of English, I would never end a conversation with this
kind of ambiguity. I would feel obligated to either say "I understand [that
you're hungry], but we have to get gas first" or "I understand, we'll go there
first." I think this is normal for English, although I can't be sure.

Does わかる always carry with it an implication of assent or obedience? If so, is
there another term that would mean "I understand," but doesn't carry that
extra implication?
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2019-10-29T12:52:57.033
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question
meaning
Does わかる carry more implication of assent or agreement than the English equivalents?
In this context, 分かったよ is similar to "fine!", so indeed it can be used to
agree to something. 分かってるよ would mean "I know", so it would mean something
like "I know refueling people is more important than refueling the car" and
implies they will stop at the combini.
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2019-10-31T14:02:28.860
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answer