What do you say if you don't understand

Torsten · February 2, 2020, 9:31am

What do you usually say when you don’t understand what the other person has just said and you want them to repeat the word?

Do you say ‘pardon’, ‘sorry?’ or ‘come again?’

Many thanks.

Alan · February 2, 2020, 10:51am

All those are fine but if you want to be extra polite, you could say - Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.

Andrea · February 2, 2020, 5:15pm

Yes, I agree with all of those.

I’ve got another one.

Sorry, I didn’t get that.

msn · February 6, 2020, 4:36am

In India, we use (sequence below is based on usage trends):

Mona_Rmzi · February 6, 2020, 4:38pm

Hello @ Sir Torsten,

I will say " Ich verstehe nicht. Sprechen Sie langsam, bitte. Wiederholen Sie bitte"

Anglophile · February 7, 2020, 5:09am

What about ‘Sorry. I couldn’t get you.’?

Alan · February 10, 2020, 11:49am

Hi Lawrence,

Don’t think that works here.
That really suggests to me that you couldn’t get in touch with someone, possibly by phone.
Alan

Anglophile · February 12, 2020, 4:17am

Thank you, Alan. Then, why should we do away with ‘I beg your pardon’ (Beg your pardon/Pardon) though it might be a cliche now?