wakaranai tokoro ha sensei ni kikimasu.

Because 分からないところ is a noun-modifying clause in Japanese.

It works like:

• 分からない = I don’t understand
• ところ = part / place / point

So together:

• 分からないところ = the part(s) I don’t understand

Japanese often puts descriptive information before the noun, unlike English.

Examples:

• 買った本 = the book I bought
• 行きたい店 = the shop I want to go to
• 分からないところ = the part I don’t understand

Not exactly. ところ can literally mean place, but in this sentence it means something like:

• part
• point
• section
• bit

So 分からないところ does not mean a physical place. It means the part(s) that are unclear to me, such as in a lesson, book, homework assignment, or explanation.

A very natural English gloss would be:

• the parts I don’t understand
• anything I don’t understand

Because Japanese normally uses the plain form before a noun.

So:

• 分からないところ = correct
• 分かりませんところ = unnatural / incorrect in standard grammar

This is a very important pattern:

• 読む本 = the book I read / will read
• 食べたいもの = the thing I want to eat
• 知らない人 = a person I don’t know

Even though the sentence ends politely with 聞きます, the modifier before the noun stays plain:

• 分からないところは先生に聞きます。

This mixture is completely normal:

• plain form inside the sentence
• polite form at the end

は marks 分からないところ as the topic.

So the sentence structure is roughly:

• As for the parts I don’t understand, I ask the teacher.

This gives a slight sense of:

• when it comes to things I don’t understand...
• for the parts I don’t understand...

It can also feel a little contrastive, as if implying:

• The parts I understand, I don’t need to ask about.
• The parts I don’t understand, those are what I ask the teacher about.

Usually は is more natural in this exact sentence.

• 分からないところは先生に聞きます。
  = As for the parts I don’t understand, I ask the teacher.

If you used が, it would sound less natural here because が marks the grammatical subject, and 聞きます does not really make 分からないところ the subject in the same way.

In practice, は is the normal choice for this pattern.

A different sentence with が could work if the structure changes, for example:

• 分からないところがあれば、先生に聞きます。
  = If there’s something I don’t understand, I ask the teacher.

With 聞く when it means to ask someone, the person being asked is commonly marked with に.

So:

• 先生に聞きます = ask the teacher

This is a very common pattern:

• 友だちに聞く = ask a friend
• 母に聞く = ask my mother
• 店員さんに聞く = ask the store clerk

Here, に marks the target/person you direct the question to.

It can mean both, depending on context.

聞く can mean:

• to hear / listen
• to ask

In this sentence, because it is 先生に聞きます, the meaning is clearly:

• ask the teacher

Compare:

• 先生の話を聞きます。
  = I listen to the teacher’s talk.

• 先生に聞きます。
  = I ask the teacher.

So the particle and context help tell you which meaning is intended.

Yes, in a sense. Japanese often leaves things unstated if they are obvious from context.

In English, we might say:

• I ask the teacher about the parts I don’t understand.

In Japanese, the sentence simply says:

• 分からないところは先生に聞きます。

The idea of about them is understood naturally.

You could think of it as:

• As for the parts I don’t understand, I ask the teacher (about them).

Japanese often omits repeated or obvious elements that English would state explicitly.

It can be either. Japanese nouns usually do not show singular/plural the way English does.

So 分からないところ can mean:

• the part I don’t understand
• the parts I don’t understand

The context tells you which is meant.

In many learning situations, English translation often uses the plural:

• the parts I don’t understand

because that sounds natural in English.

Both can sometimes work, but they are not exactly the same.

• 分からないところ focuses on a part/point/section
• 分からないこと focuses more on a thing/matter/question

So:

• 分からないところは先生に聞きます。
  = I ask the teacher about the parts/points I don’t understand.

• 分からないことは先生に聞きます。
  = I ask the teacher about things I don’t understand.

Both are natural, but ところ is especially common when talking about:

• a textbook
• homework
• a lecture
• grammar points
• a passage of text

Yes.

• 分かる = to understand
• 分からない = do not understand

This is the plain negative form.

The polite negative is:

• 分かりません

A small point learners often notice: the verb changes a bit irregularly in form, so you get:

• 分かる
• 分からない not 分かない

This is normal for verbs of this type.

A useful breakdown is:

• 分からないところ = the parts I don’t understand
• は = topic marker
• 先生に = to the teacher
• 聞きます = ask

So literally:

• As for the parts I don’t understand, I ask the teacher.

This is a very common Japanese pattern:

[noun-modifying clause] + noun + は + person に + 聞きます

For example:

• 知らない言葉は友だちに聞きます。
  = I ask my friend about words I don’t know.

Yes, it is natural and very common, especially in beginner or classroom contexts.

It sounds like something a student would say:

• about study habits
• in a self-introduction
• in class
• in response to What do you do when you don’t understand something?

Very natural variations include:

• 分からないところは先生に聞きます。
• 分からないことは先生に聞きます。
• 分からないところがあったら、先生に聞きます。
  = If there’s something I don’t understand, I ask the teacher.

Yes, possibly.

は often gives a light contrastive feeling, even when the main job is just marking the topic.

So this sentence can suggest:

• For the parts I don’t understand, I ask the teacher.
• maybe implying other parts I handle myself
• or other people might do something else

The contrast is usually mild, not dramatic. In many cases, it simply sounds natural and organized rather than strongly contrastive.

No. Even though ところ can mean place, that is not how it is understood here.

Because 分からない is about understanding, 分からないところ is interpreted as:

• the point/part that is unclear

So native speakers understand this as referring to:

• parts of an explanation
• parts of homework
• unclear content

not a physical location.