10 Ways To Say I Don’t Know In Spanish (With Examples)

Saying I don’t know in Spanish is useful.

Why?

Well, because you can always find yourself in uncomfortable situations where you don’t know something; or don’t understand something. And then, you have to say I don’t know in Spanish. Lucky for you, there are lots and lots of different ways to say this phrase in Spanish.

Effortless Answers

The most common way to say I don’t know in Spanish is No sé. It literally translates to: I don’t know.

But there are other alternatives to say I don’t know in Spanish. One of my side-projects did a great video on 6 alternatives. Here it is from Spring Spanish:

In this blog post, we’re going even deeper: sharing not just different ways to say I don’t know in Spanish but also stating I don’t understand in Spanish and other Spanish slangs.

1. To know in Spanish conjugation

First of all, to learn how to say I don’t know in Spanish, you have to be familiar with the verb saber meaning ‘to know’.

The thing about this verb in Spanish is that it although it might look like a regular verb in Spanish, it is actually an irregular one. This is a common mistake even among the Spanish native speakers, so it’s best to keep this in mind.

To help you, we created a conjugation table for saber. (We’re not really a fan of these, but sometimes, we all need them.)

SpanishEnglish
Yo séI know
Tú sabesYou know
Él/Ella/Usted sabeHe/She knows, You know – formal singular
Nosotros sabemosWe know
Vosotros sabemosYou know
Ellos/Ellas/UstedesThey know, You know – formal plural

The irregular first-person singular form (instead of sabo) is giving rise to a term we now call the ‘no sabo kids‘. What or who are these ‘no sabo kids‘?

Let’s check it in the next section!

2. Who are ‘No sabo kids’? 

Spring Spanish also explains this terms here:

To put it simply, the ‘no sabo kids’ expressions is a bit playful and sometimes even mildly derogatory term used in the Hispanic community. It’s used to describe the second or third-generation Latino-Americans who have limited Spanish language skills.

And why is that? It’s exactly for the reason we stated above: the phrase ‘no sabo‘ is a grammatically incorrect way of saying ‘no sé‘ in Spanish. These ‘no sabo kids’ don’t know this, because saber is an irregular verb in the yo-form.

Who are these ‘no sabo kids’? Their background is usually mixed like this:

  1. They are typically born and raised in the US.
  2. They have Hispanic heritage but may not be fluent in Spanish.
  3. They mix English and Spanish (and use Spanglish) in their speech.

The term is humorous within the community to describe the language struggles of younger generations, but at the same time, it’s a critique to current emigration levels and for the loss of cultural connection among these generations.

3. Different ways to say I don’t know in Spanish

Just as we already mentioned it in the intro section, the most common way to say I don’t know in Spanish is No sé. 

i don't know in spanish - no sé

You can only expand this short sentence with more words from saying I don’t know it to saying something is completely unknown to you. Here they are:

SpanishEnglish
No séI don’t know
No lo séI don’t know it
No tengo ideaI have no idea
No tengo ni ideaI have no idea at all
No estoy seguro/aI’m not sure
No tengo conocimientoI have no knowledge
No estoy al tantoI’m not up to date
No estoy informado/aI’m not informed
Me es desconocidoIt’s unknown to me
No tengo certezaI have no certainty

Stay with us because in the second part of this post, we’re also sharing some example sentences with these phrases, so you can see how they work in real Spanish sentences and dialogues.

4. Different ways to say I don’t understand in Spanish

When you’re new to Spanish, you sometimes don’t understand things. And that’s completely normal. Spanish native speakers talk quickly, use slang terms in Spanish and you can easily get lost in abbreviations in Spanish.

i don't know in spanish - no entiendo

And then, there comes a time when you have to say: I don’t understand. Just like with ‘I don’t know in Spanish’, there are different ways to express this. Some are listed here:

SpanishEnglish
No entiendoI don’t understand
No comprendoI don’t comprehend
No lo entiendoI don’t understand it
No lo comprendoI don’t comprehend it
No me queda claroIt’s not clear to me
No estoy seguro/a de entenderI’m not sure I understand
No captoI don’t grasp it
No me doy cuentaI don’t realize
No entiendo lo que dicesI don’t understand what you’re saying
No entiendo nadaI don’t understand anything

5. Spanish slangs to say ‘no lo sé’

Spanish native speakers use Spanish slangs. To no one’s surprise!

i don't know in spanish - ni idea

You use slangs in your native language, too, right? If you want to sound more like a native speaker, you have to use these expressions:

SpanishEnglish
Ni ideaNo idea
No tengo ni ideaI have no idea
No sé ni jotaI don’t know a thing
A saberTo know; often used sarcastically as “who knows”
No tengo clueI don’t have a clue; a Spanglish expression
No sé un pepinoI don’t know a cucumber; an informal way to say you don’t care or don’t know
No tengo la menor ideaI don’t have the slightest idea

6. Example sentences for beginners to say I don’t know in Spanish

Enough of the talk, right!

i don't know in spanish - no lo sé

Let’s see how all of these expressions work in real-life Spanish scenarios. What if you want to talk about the weather in Spanish? Or you don’t know anything about an exam?

Or you don’t understand a Spanish grammar topic? We have answers for everything!

SpanishEnglish
No sé si va a llover.I don’t know if it will rain.
No sé si hará sol.I don’t know if it will be sunny.
No sé si me queda.I don’t know if it fits me.
No tengo ni idea sobre el examen.I have no idea about the exam.
No entiendo la clase.I don’t understand the lecture.
No lo sé, quizás mañana.I don’t know, maybe tomorrow.
No tengo idea de dónde está.I have no idea where it is.
No lo comprendo del todo.I don’t understand it fully.
No tengo la menor idea de qué hacer.I don’t have the slightest idea of what to do.
No sé ni jota sobre el tema.I don’t know a thing about the topic.

7. Practice saying I don’t know in Spanish with Effortless Conversations

You can practice saying I don’t know in Spanish with us here:

The second part of this exercise is available in our Full Practice Worksheet Library:

8. Learn natural Spanish phrases with Conversation Based Chunking

We stated above that we don’t really like conjugation tables. Now, there’s a reason for that, although we’re not strictly against them. 

The reason for this is that we use a method called Conversation Based Chunking. It’s a method that focuses on the lexical chunks of the language, so instead of memorizing Spanish vocabulary lists and remembering the borin grammar rules, you learn Spanish naturally.

How?

Through Spanish immersion via movies, easy Spanish books, Spanish podcasts, TV shows, and so on. You look out for all of these chunks, and how natives use them. After you analyse these chunks, you incorporate them into your own Spanish sentences.

It’s really just a simplified version of how Conversation Based Chunking works. If you’re eager to learn more, just click the button below!

Similar Posts