Entendi o Entiendo?

Question

Entendi vs. Entiendo - Is it more common to say 'yo entendi' than 'yo entiendo' when expressing reassurance to a speaker that you understand what they are trying to convey? In English we almost always use the present tense of understand, eg., 'I understand what you're saying.' But I often hear Spanish speakers using the past tense to express the same concept.

Answer 1

I don't hear the past tense of entender as often as the present tense.

I understand what you're saying. Entiendo lo que estás diciendo.

Answer 2

Antes no entendí, ahora entiendo.

Answer 3

It may be different in Latin American Spanish, but in peninsular Spanish we typically say exactly what you would say in English: "entiendo" if we're talking about the present, and "entendi" if we're talking about something having understood something in the past.

Answer 4

entendi is preterite as in past- entiendo is right now