How to say

I don't know

50 languages. Same English phrase, each row is the natural translation for that language. Tap Play to hear a Fluente voice, or Practise to listen, repeat and score.

Amharic አማርኛ am

አላውቅም

Ah-law-keem

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Arabic العربية ar

لا أعرف

La ah-rif

This is the standard way to say 'I don't know' in Arabic.

Bangla বাংলা bn

আমি জানি না

Ah-mee ja-nee nah

This is a standard way to express that you don't know something.

—

Catalan català ca

No ho sé

No o seh

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Czech čeština cs

Nevím

Nyev-eem

This is a direct and common way to say you don't know.

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Danish dansk da

Jeg ved ikke

Yay vee ee-ke

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

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German Deutsch de

Ich weiß es nicht

Ich vEyes es nicht

Use this phrase in any situation where you don't have the answer.

Greek Ελληνικά el

Δεν ξέρω

Then kseh-ro

Use 'Den xero' in most situations; 'Den gnorizo' is more formal.

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Spanish Español es

No lo sé

No lo seh

Use this phrase when you are unsure of the answer to a question.

Estonian eesti et

Ma ei tea

Ma ay tee-ah

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

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Basque Basque eu

Ez dakit

Ez dah-kit

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Persian فارسی fa

نمی‌دانم

Neh-mee-dah-nahm

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Finnish suomi fi

En tiedä

En tee-a

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

French Français fr

Je ne sais pas

Je ne seh pah

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

Galician Galician gl

Non o sei

Non o say

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Gujarati ગુજરાતી gu

મને ખબર નથી

Ma-neh kha-bar na-thee

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Hausa Hausa ha

Ban sani ba

Ban sa-nee ba

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Hebrew עברית he

אני לא יודע/אני לא יודעת

Ah-nee lo yo-deh-ah (male) / Ah-nee lo yo-dah-at (female)

Use 'yode'a' if you are male, 'yoda'at' if you are female.

Hindi हिन्दी hi

मुझे नहीं पता

Moo-jhe na-hee pa-ta

This is a common and versatile phrase.

Hungarian magyar hu

Nem tudom

Nem too-dom

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Indonesian Indonesia id

Saya tidak tahu

Sa-ya ti-dak ta-hoo

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Icelandic Icelandic is

Ég veit það ekki

Yeg veyt thah ek-ki

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Italian Italiano it

Non lo so

This is a common and versatile phrase.

Japanese 日本語 ja

分かりません

Wah-ka-ree-ma-sen

Use 'Wakarimasen' in formal situations; 'Wakaranai' is more casual.

Korean 한국어 ko

모르겠어요

Mo-reu-geh-soh-yo

Use 'Moreu-gesseo-yo' in polite situations; 'Molla' is very informal.

Lithuanian lietuvių lt

Aš nežinau

Ash nye-zhee-now

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Latvian latviešu lv

Es nezinu

Es nye-zi-nu

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Marathi मराठी mr

मला माहित नाही

Ma-la ma-heet na-hee

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Malay Melayu ms

Saya tidak tahu

Sa-ya ti-dak ta-hoo

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Dutch Nederlands nl

Ik weet het niet

Ik vate het neet

Use this phrase in any situation where you don't have the answer.

Norwegian norsk no

Jeg vet ikke

Yay vet ik-ke

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ pa

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਤਾ

Mai-nu na-hee pa-ta

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Polish polski pl

Nie wiem

Nyeh vyem

This is a direct and common way to say you don't know.

Portuguese Português pt

Eu não sei

Eh-oo now seh-ee

This is a standard way to express that you don't know something.

Romanian română ro

Nu știu

Noo shtyoo

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Russian русский ru

Я не знаю

Ya nye znayu

This is a common and polite way to express ignorance.

Swedish svenska sv

Jag vet inte

Yah vet in-teh

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Swahili Kiswahili sw

Sijui

See-joo-ee

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Tamil தமிழ் ta

எனக்குத் தெரியாது

Eh-nuk-ku they-ri-ya-thu

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Telugu తెలుగు te

నాకు తెలియదు

Naa-ku te-li-ya-du

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Thai ไทย th

ไม่รู้

Mai roo

Use 'Mai ruu' in casual situations; 'Mai sahp' is more formal.

—

Filipino Filipino tl

Hindi ko alam

Hin-dee ko a-lam

This is a common and versatile phrase.

—

Turkish Türkçe tr

Bilmiyorum

Bill-mee-yor-oom

This is a standard way to express that you don't know something.

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Ukrainian українська uk

Я не знаю

Ya nye znayu

This is a common and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Urdu اردو ur

مجھے نہیں معلوم

Moo-jhe na-hee ma-loom

This is a common and versatile phrase.

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Vietnamese Tiếng Việt vi

Tôi không biết

Toy khong biet

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

—

Yoruba Yoruba yo

Mi ò mọ̀

Mee oh moh

This is a common and versatile phrase.

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Chinese 中文 zh

我不知道

Wo bu jee-dao

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

zh-yue zh-yue zh-yue

我唔知

Ngoh m jee

This is a standard and polite way to express ignorance.

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Zulu Zulu zu

Angazi

Ah-ngah-zee

This is a common and versatile phrase.

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