Phrase guide

go figure

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ɡoʊ ˈfɪɡ(j)ɚ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

Expresses perplexity, puzzlement, or surprise (as if telling somebody to try to make sense of the situation).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The car wouldn't start yesterday no matter what I did, but today it works just fine. Go figure.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of Yiddish גיי װייס (gey veys).

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: včil mudruj — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Czech: no chápete to — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Czech: to mi hlava nebere — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Dutch: kun je nagaan — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Finnish: mene ja tiedä — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Finnish: mene tiedä — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Finnish: ota siitä sitten selvää — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Finnish: ota siitä nyt selvää — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Finnish: otapa siitä sitten selvää — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Finnish: otapa siitä nyt selvää — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • French: va savoir pourquoi — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • French: va savoir — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • French: va comprendre — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Galician: vai ti saber — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Galician: quen sabe — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • German: stell dir vor — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Greek: τρέχα γύρευε (trécha gýreve) — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Hebrew: לך תדע (lekh tedá) — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Hungarian: ezt add össze — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Hungarian: erre varrjál gombot — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Hungarian: ezt kapd ki — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Italian: vai a capire — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Norwegian: skulle du ha sett — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Norwegian: rare greier — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Norwegian: det hadde jeg ikke trodd — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Norwegian: forklar — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Polish: i bądź tu mądry — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Portuguese: vai entender — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Russian: пойди́ разбери́ (pojdí razberí) — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Russian: пойди́ знай (pojdí znaj) — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Spanish: quién lo hubiese imaginado — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Spanish: imaginate — expression of perplexity or surprise
  • Spanish: imaginátelo — expression of perplexity or surprise