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Alternative Ways to Say ‘I Don’t Know' in English

Nov 8, 2021 | By: Sydney English Teacher

Alternative Ways to Say ‘I Don’t Know' in English - Improve Your Natural English Speaking Skills

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me for another blog post! Today we will be having a short speaking development lesson.

‘I DON’T KNOW’ is an overused expression in English (in any language!) - but did you know that there are many other (and nicer) ways to say this popular expression? In this English communication lesson you will learn several practical alternative ways to express that you don’t know something in a more natural and advanced way, just like a native speaker.

Click on the video below to watch and learn, and read the transcript underneath to check your understanding and revise today's speaking skills topic. Also, at the bottom of this post, you'll find a useful summary of the most important points to remember.

I hope that you enjoy this lesson - feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, I'm always happy to help.
:) Nicole  

Alternative Ways To Say ‘I Don’t Know' in English - Improve Your Natural English Speaking Skills

From the Sydney English Teacher YouTube Channel

TRANSCRIPT OF THE ABOVE VIDEO: Alternative Ways To Say ‘I Don’t Know' in English - Improve Your Natural English Speaking Skills

Hi everyone, its Nicole here and I'm answering another one of your questions. 

Recently, I had someone ask me ‘How do I say, I don't know?’ They felt quite frustrated, I suppose, because they were constantly saying, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, and they felt a little dumb, I suppose, because they're always saying that. So, they came to me and asked ‘Nicole, how can I say it differently? How can I make it sound better?’ That's a really, really good question, and a question that I think will really help each and every one of you as well.

So, I'm here today to give you some alternative ways to say I don't know. Are you ready? Can you think of any other ways to say I don't know? Maybe you already know some. If so, and if I don't share them here in the video, type them in the comments section below and share them with all of us, because we're all here to help, we're all here to learn, we're all here to support each other.

So, if you don't understand something, or if you don't know the answer to something you can say ‘I don’t know.’ Another way to say that is ‘I have no idea.’ Or ‘I have absolutely no idea.’ You could also say ‘I haven't the faintest idea.’ Have you heard of that before? ‘I haven't the faintest idea.’ It just means I have no idea at all, I have no idea whatsoever, I really don't know at all. That's a really good one. ‘I haven't the faintest idea.’

You could also say, this is quite a colloquial one, one that native speakers use quite often, and they say ‘I haven't the foggiest.’ It's quite funny “I haven't the foggiest.’ Can you say that? Yeah, and if you say I haven't the foggiest, it means I haven't the foggiest idea. It means I have no idea at all. There's absolutely nothing up here in my brain which is giving me the answer. So, it's like there’s fog in my brain, I just can't see the answer. I can't find the answer. ‘I haven't the foggiest.’ Quite funny.

Another way to say I don't know is to say ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ It just means hey, I don't know, you don't know, let's guess, neither of us know. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ And we could also say ‘I haven't got a clue.’ ‘I haven't got a clue.’ It just means I have absolutely no idea, none whatsoever.

So, there you go, there's a few different ways to say I don't know. I hope that you enjoy them, and that you know them now. Try and use them the next time you need to say that you don't know something. And more importantly, write them down, practise them, test yourself.

There’s some really, really great expressions. Do you have a favourite? I like ‘I haven't got a clue.’ I also like ‘I haven't the foggiest.’ I think they're both really, really funny. 

Yeah, so enjoy, use these words, and if you think of any others, share them with us below, or if any of these are confusing, or you don't understand them, please ask in the comments section below as well.

Have a wonderful day and you've got no excuse now, never have to say I don't know again, there's lots of alternatives. Thanks everyone. Bye.
 
 

How was the learning video? Did it help you realise that there are lots of different ways to say 'I don't know' - ways that are much more advanced and impressive than the original (!) I hope so!

Let me summarise the 'I don't know' expressions for you to remember:

-I have no idea.
-I have absolutely no idea.
-I haven't the faintest idea.
-I haven't the foggiest.
-Your guess is as good as mine.
-I haven't got a clue.

So there you go - some great alternatives for 'I don't know' which you can use - do you have a favourite? Which one (or which ones) will you be using from now on?

I hope that this learning video has been helpful and enjoyable for you and I look forward to teaching you a lot more alternative expression lessons in the near future.

Thanks for taking the time to learn with me, it is a great pleasure helping you!
:) Nicole

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