saprast

From sa- +‎ prast (“to know how, to be able to”). The meaning of this word stabilized during the 19th century; before that, it could often mean the same as prast: “to know how,” “to be able to.”^[1]

saprast (transitive, 1st conjugation, present saprotu, saproti, saprot, past sapratu)

1. to understand (to perceive something by using concepts, notions, judgments in one's mind)

   saprast mākslas darbus ― to understand works of art

   saprast drauga pārdzīvojumus ― to understand a friend's experiences

   saprast sabiedrības attistības virzību ― to understand the development path of society

2. to understand (to know, to grasp the meaning of something, what someone means)

   saprast dažus vārdus angļu valodā ― to understand a few words in English

   saprast žestu ― to understand a gesture

   Eiropa mūs nesapratīs ― Europe won't understand us

   viņš sveicināja un sacīja kaut ko, bet neviens viņa nesaprata, jo viņš nerunā latviski ― he saluted and said something, but nobody understood him, because he doesn't speak Latvian

   ar vārdu “zeme” saprotam mēs daudz ― by (lit. with) the word “earth” we understand (= mean) a lot