Abstract: The purpose of this study is to present the process of understanding in communication according to the paradigm of cognitive linguistics. The views of modern linguists on the understanding as a heuristic and predetermined specific work in the on-line mode of communication are summarized. The difference with the structuralist views on the essence of this process is pointed out. The role of the words as the activators of the understanding and as a cultural frame of our experience in the semantics of the language is mentioned. The mechanism of verbalization in the language, which is culturally defined and is relevant to intercultural communication, is presented by its different traits, semantic selectivity, length of the synonym/antonym rows, conceptual categories, grammatical categories, maxims of communications, types of texts, metaphors and comparisons, cultural concepts and style of communication. This review is illustrated with specific examples from Bulgarian, Russian, English, Japanese, and Chinese language in a comparative context. The specificity of intercultural communication as interpersonal communication is expressed through its value dimension. This important factor and its study through language is the essence of the competency of understanding in intercultural communication. Full text…