Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi hermana va entendiendo que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia. - My sister is gradually understanding that learning a language takes patience.

Mi hermana entiende…
= “My sister understands…”
→ A simple statement of fact. No idea of process or gradual change.
Mi hermana está entendiendo…
= “My sister is understanding / is starting to understand…”
→ Ongoing process right now or around now. Focus on the current action.
Mi hermana va entendiendo…
= Literally “My sister goes understanding…”, but really:
→ “My sister is gradually coming to understand…” / “My sister is slowly realizing…”
The structure ir + gerundio (here: ir + entendiendo) often adds the idea of gradual, step‑by‑step progress over time.

So va entendiendo emphasizes that her understanding is developing little by little, not something that suddenly appeared or is fully settled.

What exactly does the structure ir + gerundio mean in Spanish?

Ir + gerundio (like va entendiendo) is used when something develops progressively over time. It often translates naturally as:

“to gradually do something”
“to slowly start to do something more and more”

Examples:

Voy aprendiendo español.
→ “I’m gradually learning Spanish / I’m picking up Spanish little by little.”
Ellos van mejorando.
→ “They’re getting better (bit by bit).”

So in Mi hermana va entendiendo…, the idea is not just that she understands now, but that her understanding is growing with time and experience.

Why is it va entendiendo and not va a entender?

These two are completely different constructions:

va entendiendo = ir + gerundio
→ ongoing gradual process: “is gradually understanding”
va a entender = ir a + infinitivo
→ near future: “is going to understand (later)”

Compare:

Mi hermana va entendiendo que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia.
→ She is slowly realizing this now, over time.
Mi hermana va a entender que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia.
→ She does not understand it yet, but in the future she will come to understand it.

So va entendiendo describes an in‑progress change, while va a entender predicts a future change.

In aprender un idioma lleva paciencia, what does lleva mean? Why use llevar?

Here llevar has the meaning of “to require / to take (time, effort, patience, etc.)”.

aprender un idioma lleva paciencia
≈ “learning a language takes patience” / “learning a language requires patience.”

This is a common use of llevar in Spanish:

Este trabajo lleva mucho tiempo.
→ “This job takes a lot of time.”
Hacer bien este ejercicio lleva práctica.
→ “Doing this exercise well takes practice.”

So llevar + [time/effort/quality] is a natural way to say that something requires that thing.

Why is it just paciencia and not la paciencia or mucha paciencia?

In Spanish, abstract or “mass” nouns like paciencia, amor, tiempo, dinero can often be used without an article when you’re talking about them in a general, non‑specific way:

aprender un idioma lleva paciencia
→ “learning a language takes (some) patience in general.”

All of these are possible, with slight nuances:

lleva paciencia
→ neutral, general: “takes patience.”
lleva mucha paciencia
→ emphasizes the amount: “takes a lot of patience.”
lleva la paciencia necesaria
→ more specific: “takes the necessary patience.”

In everyday speech, lleva paciencia is perfectly natural and common.

Why is it aprender un idioma and not aprender un lenguaje?

In Spanish:

idioma = “language” as a system of communication (English, Spanish, Japanese, etc.)
lenguaje is broader:
- language as a general concept (human language, animal communication, etc.)
- specific types of language (body language = lenguaje corporal, sign language = lengua de señas / lenguaje de señas in some places)

When talking about learning a foreign language, people almost always say:

aprender un idioma
- aprender un idioma extranjero = “to learn a foreign language”

Aprender un lenguaje is grammatically possible, but would usually sound odd here and is much less common in this meaning. So aprender un idioma is the natural choice.

Why is it Mi hermana and not La mi hermana or La hermana mía?

Spanish possessives work differently from English:

Short possessives (mi, tu, su, nuestro, etc.) come before the noun and do not use an article:
- mi hermana = “my sister”
- tu amigo = “your friend”
- su casa = “his/her/their/your (formal) house”
You do not say: la mi hermana in standard modern Spanish.
Long possessives (mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, etc.) usually come after the noun and often need an article:
- la hermana mía = “my sister” (more emphatic / stylistic)
- un amigo mío = “a friend of mine”

In everyday speech, mi hermana is the normal, neutral way to say “my sister.”

Could I say Mi hermana entiende que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia instead? What changes?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct:

Mi hermana entiende que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia.
→ “My sister understands that learning a language takes patience.”

Difference in nuance:

va entendiendo = process, gradual change:
She used not to understand this very well, but little by little she’s realizing it.
entiende = simple state:
A fact: she understands it (now). No special focus on how she got there.

So va entendiendo adds a subtle storytelling element: you’re highlighting the evolution of her understanding.

Why is the verb after que in the indicative (lleva) and not the subjunctive (lleve)?

Use of indicative vs. subjunctive depends on what the main clause is doing.

Mi hermana va entendiendo que…
The verb entender expresses knowledge/belief of a fact.
After verbs of knowledge, certainty, and statement (saber, creer, pensar, entender, ver, notar, etc.) in affirmative sentences, Spanish normally uses the indicative for what is considered a real, factual situation.

So:

Mi hermana va entendiendo que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia.
→ The speaker is presenting “learning a language takes patience” as a fact that she is coming to recognize. Therefore: lleva (indicative).

We would only use subjunctive here if the structure changed to something that triggers it (doubt, desire, unreality, etc.), which is not the case in this sentence.

Could we change the word order to Aprender un idioma lleva paciencia or Lleva paciencia aprender un idioma?

Yes, both orders are correct; they are just slightly different in emphasis:

Aprender un idioma lleva paciencia.
- Very natural, neutral word order.
- Subject at the beginning (aprender un idioma), then verb (lleva), then “object” (paciencia).
Lleva paciencia aprender un idioma.
- Also correct, more stylistic.
- You put lleva paciencia first to emphasize the requirement (patience), then specify what requires it: aprender un idioma.
- Roughly: “It takes patience, learning a language.”

In the original full sentence, we could say:

Mi hermana va entendiendo que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia. (more common)
Mi hermana va entendiendo que lleva paciencia aprender un idioma. (possible, more rhetorical/emphatic)

Both are valid; the first is more usual in everyday speech.

Can I use comprender instead of entender here?

Yes, you can say:

Mi hermana va comprendiendo que aprender un idioma lleva paciencia.

In most everyday contexts, entender and comprender are near‑synonyms:

entender is slightly more colloquial and common in everyday speech.
comprender can sound a bit more formal or “deeper”, but many speakers use them interchangeably.

In Latin America, entender is extremely frequent in spoken language, so the original va entendiendo is very natural.