I don't know

[ɑ̈ɪ̯(ɾ)oʊ̯̃(ʔ)(t̚)noʊ̯]

I don't know interjection: used in response to a question or command in which the target person does not know the answer to or how to respond.

Interjection

Used in response to a question or command in which the target person does not know the answer to or how to respond.
- Mr. Schidtler: Does anybody here have any idea why "Inestine" was regarded as a great scientist? Kevin?
  Kevin: Oh, uh, I don't know.1982, “You Can't Do That on Television”, in Nickelodeon, season 3, episode 11
Used to indicate that one is speculating (often used sarcastically when stating the obvious).
- Maybe you could, I don't know, directly talk to her about it instead of complaining to me for once?
(UK) Used to express exasperation or incredulity about a given situation or person.
- The audacity of that lad... I don't know.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see I, don't, know.
- I don't know why Blip just shuts off the power and then blames it on the weather.1984, Alasdair, You Can't Do That on Television, Nickelodeon, season 5, episode 24

I don’t know: मुझे नहीं पता mujhe nahī̃ patā, मैं नहीं जानता हूँ ma͠i nahī̃ jāntā hū̃, मैं नहीं जानती हूँ ma͠i nahī̃ jāntī hū̃, मुझको मालूम नहीं है mujhko mālūm nahī̃ hai

I don’t know: मला माहीत नाही malā māhīt nāhī, मला ठाऊक नाही malā ṭhāūk nāhī

I don’t know: مُجھ کو مَعْلُوم نَہِیں ہَے mujh ko ma'lūm nahī̃ hai, مُجھے نَہِیں پَتَہ mujhe nahī̃ pata

More languagesFewer languages

I don't know in Bengali: আমি জানি না ami jani na, জানি না jani na
I don't know in Telugu: నాకు తెలియదు nāku teliyadu
I don't know in Malayalam: എനിക്കറിയില്ല enikkaṟiyilla
I don't know in Kannada: ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ nanage gottilla
I don't know in Gujarati: હું જાણતો નથી hũ jāṇto nathī, હું જાણતી નથી hũ jāṇtī nathī, મને નથી ખબર mane nathī khabar, મને ખબર નથી mane khabar nathī
I don't know in Assamese: মই নাজানোঁ moi nazanü̃, নাজানোঁ nazanü̃, মই নেজানোঁ moi nezanü̃, নেজানোঁ nezanü̃
I don't know in Tagalog: hindi ko alam, aywan ko, ewan ko, hindi ko po alam
I don't know in Arabic: لَا أَعْلَمُ lā ʔaʕlamu, لَا أَعْرِف lā ʔaʕrif, لَسْتُ أَدْرِي lastu ʔadrī, لَا أَدْرِي lā ʔadrī
I don't know in Malay: saya tidak tahu, aku tidak tahu
I don't know in Indonesian: saya tidak tahu, aku nggak tau, au ah gelap
I don't know in Thai: ไม่รู้ mâi rúu, ไม่ทราบ mâi sâap
I don't know in Vietnamese: tôi không biết, mình không biết
I don't know in Myanmar: မသိဘူး ma.si.bhu:, မသိပါဘူး ma.si.pabhu:

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does I don't know mean?: I don't know means used in response to a question or command in which the target person does not know the answer to or how to respond.
What is I don't know in Hindi?: I don't know in Hindi is मुझे नहीं पता (mujhe nahī̃ patā), मैं नहीं जानता हूँ (ma͠i nahī̃ jāntā hū̃), मैं नहीं जानती हूँ (ma͠i nahī̃ jāntī hū̃). See I don't know meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is I don't know?: I don't know is an interjection.
How do you pronounce I don't know?: I don't know is pronounced [ɑ̈ɪ̯(ɾ)oʊ̯̃(ʔ)(t̚)noʊ̯] (US).

Adapted from Wiktionary: I don't know (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-I don't know.ogg, En-uk-I don't know.ogg.

Cite this entry: “I don't know.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/i_don%27t_know. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.