Он понял это буквально.

Понял is the past tense of понять, which means to understand or to realize.

In this sentence, понял means understood.
The form понял tells you three things:

• it is past tense
• it is masculine singular
• it comes from a perfective verb

So Он понял это буквально is literally something like He understood it literally / He took it literally.

Because the subject is он (he), the past tense verb takes the masculine form понял.

This is an aspect question.

• понять → понял = perfective: he came to an understanding, he understood it
• понимать → понимал = imperfective: he was understanding it, used to understand it, or understood in a more ongoing/general sense

In this sentence, the idea is that at some point he interpreted the statement in a literal way. That completed result fits понял much better.

Compare:

• Он понял это буквально. = He took it literally.
• Он понимал всё буквально. = He tended to take everything literally.

So понял is used because it refers to a specific completed act of understanding.

Here это is the direct object of понял, so functionally it is in the accusative case.

However, это is one of those words whose nominative and accusative forms look the same, so you do not see any visible change.

So in this sentence:

• Он = subject
• понял = verb
• это = object, it/this

Even though the form is still это, its role in the sentence is accusative.

It can correspond to either this or it in English, depending on context.

In a sentence like Он понял это буквально, English often translates it as:

• He took it literally
• He understood this literally

Russian это is very flexible and often refers back to something already mentioned.

So the exact English choice depends on what came before:

• if someone just said a phrase, это may feel like it
• if you are pointing to a statement or idea, it may feel like this

Буквально is an adverb meaning literally, in a literal sense, or word-for-word depending on context.

In this sentence, it means that he did not interpret the statement figuratively, jokingly, or metaphorically. He interpreted it in its direct, literal sense.

So:

• Он понял это буквально. = He understood it literally.
• idiomatically: He took it literally.

Russian word order is flexible, and adverbs like буквально can often move around.

The neutral order here is:

• Он понял это буквально.

Putting буквально at the end gives it a natural sentence-final emphasis.

Other possibilities are also possible:

• Он буквально понял это.
• Он это понял буквально.

These versions are not wrong, but they can shift the focus slightly.

Roughly speaking:

• Он понял это буквально. = neutral, very natural
• Он буквально понял это. = stronger emphasis on literally
• Он это понял буквально. = stronger emphasis on это

So the final position is normal and natural.

Yes, sometimes.

Russian often omits subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context. So you could say:

• Понял это буквально.

This can mean He took it literally if the context already makes it obvious who is being talked about.

However, including он is also very normal, especially when:

• you are introducing the subject
• you want contrast or clarity
• you do not want any ambiguity

So both are possible, but Он понял это буквально is a full, clear sentence.

The stress is:

• Он
• по́нял
• э́то
• буква́льно

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Он ≈ on
• по́нял ≈ PO-nyal
• э́то ≈ EH-ta
• буква́льно ≈ book-VAL-na

The most important stress points are:

• по́нял — stress on the first syllable
• буква́льно — stress on -ва́ль-

Yes. In the past tense, Russian verbs change for gender and number.

Compare:

• Он понял это буквально. = He took it literally.
• Она поняла это буквально. = She took it literally.
• Оно поняло это буквально. = It took it literally.
• Они поняли это буквально. = They took it literally.

So понял is specifically the masculine singular past form.

Yes, it is very natural.

Он понял это буквально is a straightforward and idiomatic way to express that idea.

Another very common option is:

• Он воспринял это буквально.

That can also mean He took it literally, with a slight nuance of perceived/interpreted.

Very roughly:

• понял = understood
• воспринял = took/interpreted/perceived

Both can work, but Он понял это буквально is completely natural and common.

Yes, in modern Russian буквально can sometimes be used for emphasis, similar to English literally, though context matters.

For example, in casual speech someone might use it to intensify a statement. But in Он понял это буквально, the meaning is the true literal one: in a literal sense.

So here there is no exaggerating/emphatic meaning. It really means that he interpreted something non-figuratively.

Because Russian and English package meaning differently.

English often says:

• He took it literally

Russian commonly expresses the same idea with understand:

• Он понял это буквально

So even though the English translation uses took, the Russian verb is simply understood.

This is very common in language learning: the most natural translation is often not word-for-word, but idea-for-idea.