明白 (míng bai) as a verb means 'to understand, to realize' — it often implies a sudden clarity or grasping a point, while 懂 (dǒng) is more general 'to understand (a fact, language)' and 了解 (liǎo jiě) means 'to understand a situation or person in depth'. As an adjective, 明白 means 'clear, obvious' (of reasoning), while 清楚 (qīng chu) means 'clear, distinct' (of perception or handwriting).