Phrase guide

how should I know

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.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

A rhetorical question asked to show that the person asking it neither knows the answer nor would be able to know it; sometimes therefore also implying that the asker was wrong to ask the askee at all.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: God knows, who knows, I don't know

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: God knows, who knows, I don't know

Antonyms: I know

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: كَيْفَ لِي أَنْ أَعْرِفَ؟ (kayfa lī an a’rifa?) — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 我怎麽知道 /我怎么知道 (wǒ zěnme zhīdào) — Translations
  • Dutch: weet ik veel — Translations
  • Finnish: mistä minä tietäisin? — Translations
  • French: qu'est-ce que j'en sais — Translations
  • German: Woher soll ich das wissen? — Translations
  • Persian: از کجا بدانم؟ (az kojâ bedânam?) — Translations
  • Polish: bo ja wiem — Translations
  • Portuguese: como eu vou saber — Translations
  • Russian: отку́да я зна́ю? (otkúda ja znáju?) — Translations
  • Russian: отку́да мне знать? (otkúda mne znatʹ?) — Translations