Word.ws English Dictionary

if you know, you know

/ɪf ju nəʊ ju nəʊ/US/ɪf ju noʊ ju noʊ/

if you know, you know phrase: used to signify a reference or allusion to something that is only understood by certain groups of people.

Phrase

if you know, you know

  1. (humorous, informal) Used to signify a reference or allusion to something that is only understood by certain groups of people.
    • “They’re very if you know, you know,” says Sam Millen-Cramer, a 28-year-old marketing specialist, who wears his £15 Mountain Warehouse zip-up with baggy pants from Margaret Howell […]2023 January 5, “Forget the luxury fleece”, in Financial Times
    • “[…]Anatomy of a Fall doesn’t fit into any of those categories,” Messineo, the YouTuber who made the dancing video to Hüller’s monologue, told me. Instead, he suggested, it has “if you know you know” appeal.2024 March 5, Gabriella Paiella, quoting Messineo, “Why ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Became One of the Most Memed Films of the Year”, in GQ
    Synonyms:
    IYKYK

if you know, you know meaning in Malay and Indonesian

if you know, you know in Malay

Translations
yang tahu je tahu

if you know, you know in Indonesian

Translations
yang tahu tahu aja, yang tau tau aja

Synonyms of if you know, you know

Questions about if you know, you know

What does if you know, you know mean?
If you know, you know means used to signify a reference or allusion to something that is only understood by certain groups of people.
What is if you know, you know in Malay?
If you know, you know in Malay is yang tahu je tahu. See If you know, you know meaning in Malay.
What part of speech is if you know, you know?
If you know, you know is a phrase.
How do you pronounce if you know, you know?
If you know, you know is pronounced /ɪf ju noʊ ju noʊ/ (US).

Words near if you know, you know in the dictionary

  1. if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging
  2. if you fly with the crows, you get shot with the crows
  3. if you go far enough left, you get your guns back
  4. if you know what I mean
  5. if you know you know
  6. if you know, you know
  7. if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas
  8. if you lie with dogs you will get fleas
  9. if you like
  10. if you mess with the bull, you get the horns
  11. if you pay bananas, you get monkeys

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: if you know, you 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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-if you know, you know.wav.

Cite this entry: “if you know, you know.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/if_you_know%2C_you_know. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.