How to Say ‘I Don’t Know’ in German [6 Essential Phrases]
Learning how to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t understand’ in German is an essential skill to learn, especially when you’re first starting out on your German learning journey.
When you first start speaking German, you’ll need to get used to sometimes not being able to understand what you hear. This will happen a lot and a good way to deal with it is to have a few useful phrases up your sleeve.
It’s essential to be able to let the person you are talking to know you don’t understand something, whether it’s your language partner (Sprachpartner), someone you encounter on holiday or at work. There are a number of different phrases you can use, so let’s get started, auf geht’s!
Ich weiß (es) nicht
Meaning: I don’t know
The most common way to say ‘I don’t know’ in German is ich weiß (es) nicht. Weiß is the conjugated form of the verb wissen which means ‘to know’. There are actually two verbs meaning ‘to know’ in German. We use wissen when another verb is involved.
If we are using it as a stand alone phrase, ich weiß (es) nicht, the es is sometimes omitted.
Let’s take a look at some example sentences:
Ich weiß (es) nicht | I don’t know (it) |
Ich weiß nicht, was ich sagen soll | I don’t know what I should say |
Ich weiß nicht, wie ich es sagen soll | I don’t know how to say it |
Ich weiß nicht, was Sie meinen | I don’t know what you mean (formal) |
Ich weiß nicht, was du meinst | I don’t know what you mean (informal) |
Ich kenne nicht
Meaning: I don’t know
The second verb meaning ‘to know’ is kennen. This is used when we’re talking about living things or objects.
Ich kenne ihn / sie nicht | I don’t know him / her |
Ich kenne das Wort nicht | I don’t know that word |
Kennst du dieses Lied? | Do you know this song? (informal) |
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Ich verstehe nicht
Meaning: I don’t understand
Another essential phrase is ich verstehe nicht for when you don’t understand what you hear.
Ich verstehe nicht | I don’t understand |
Ich verstehe nicht viel Deutsch | I don’t understand much German |
Verstehen Sie mich? | Do you understand me? (formal) |
Verstehst du (mich)? | Do you understand (me)? (informal) |
Wie bitte?
Meaning: Pardon?
Wie bitte? is a great, short phrase to use as a quick response if you don’t understand something or didn’t hear it properly. If you say wie bitte? the other person will most likely repeat what they said, so you’ll get another chance to hear it.
Keine Ahnung
Meaning: No idea
Another useful, short phrase to memorise. Keine Ahnung means ‘no idea’ and is used in the same way as we use it in English. It can be used on it’s own as an exclamation, or as part of a longer phrase:
Ich habe keine Ahnung | I have no idea |
Ich habe keine Ahnung, was du meinst | I have no idea what you mean (informal) |
Did you know? Ahnung doesn’t actually translate as ‘idea’ (that’s Idee in German) the actual translation for keine Ahnung is something like ‘no hunch’ or ‘no notion’.
Ich bin mir nicht sicher
Meaning: I’m not sure
If you want to say ‘I don’t know’ in German, but you want to soften the phrase a bit, you can say: ich bin mir nicht sicher. Using this phrase means that you don’t know, but you’re also undecided.
Here are a few example sentences:
Eine Ahnung, aber ich bin mir nicht sicher | A vague idea, but I’m not sure |
Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob er es weiß | I’m not sure if he knows |
Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob dein Vater mich mag | I’m not sure if your father likes me |
So know you know 6 different ways to say ‘I don’t know’ in German. Hopefully keeping these phrases in mind will be useful as you begin and progress along your German journey.
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