Different Ways To Say I Don’t Know (Say This Instead!) | Useful English Phrases

So where’s the nearest restaurant around here?  Beats me.  Huh? Beats me?  What does that mean?  Let’s find out. 

What’s up guys? My name is shane and today we are going to increase your vocabulary.  A very common phrase in English is I don’t know.  It’s a good phrase but sometimes there are phrases that are more appropriate to your situation so today we look at 6 phrases that you can use instead of I don’t know which can help you start to sound more like a native speaker so let’s have a look at the phrase for today. 

Phrase #1

The first phrase is: I can’t remember off the top of my head. 

Let me give you an example – you are at work. It’s the morning and you know you have a meeting at either 2, 3 or 4pm but you can’t remember the exact time. And your boss comes over to you and he says what time is the meeting today?  You can say I can’t remember off the top of my head.  This means you know you have a meeting but you’re not sure of the exact time, you’re not certain.  Off the top of my head means without thinking or looking.

So the next time you don’t know something without looking and without thinking, you can’t say I can’t remember off the top of my head.  This is a really good phrase and it will help you to sound like a native speaker.

Phrase #2

The next phrase is I’m not sure. 

Let’s pretend you want to buy an iphone.  You’re about 70-80% sure that you want to be an iphone.  And your friend says to you hey are you going to buy an iphone?  You can say I’m not sure. This means you’re not certain, you’re still thinking about it.  You don’t know what you are going to do. You’re probably going to buy an iphone but you’re not certain 100%. 

This is a really good phrase to use if you think you’re going to do something but you’re not 100% certain.

Phrase #3

And the third phrase is: beats me. 

Let’s pretend you’re in a new city and you’ve never been there before.  You are with your friend who has also never been there before.  And he says – do you think there are any mcdonald’s around here?  You can say beats me. 

This means you have no knowledge or information about the question because you have never been to that city before.  We say beats me because the question beat you, you can’t answer it so the question wins and you lose.

So the next time you have absolutely no knowledge of something and someone asks you a question, you can say beats me.

Phrase #4

Another way to say I have no knowledge of something is I have no idea.

Let’s pretend your friend asks you how do planes work?  How do they stay in the air? How do their engines work?  And you know nothing about planes.  You don’t like planes and you’re not interested in planes.  You can say I have no idea.  This means you have no information about this question.

So the next time someone asks you something that you have no information about, you can also say I have no idea.

Phrase #5

And another phrase to say you have no information about something is I haven’t got a clue. 

Let’s pretend your friend asks you about cars and your friend says how do cars work?  And you know nothing about cars, you can say I haven’t got a clue. This means you have no information or no knowledge about this subject.

Phrase #6

And the last phrase for today is who knows? 

Let’s pretend you’re talking to your friend and he says what do you think you’ll be doing in 30 years?  And you don’t know. You haven’t thought about it yet.  You can say who knows?  Because nobody knows the answer to this question.  Your friend doesn’t know.  I don’t know. You don’t know.

So if anyone ever asks you a question and nobody knows the answer, you can say who knows. 

And they are the 6 phrases for today.  Thank you so much for watching. And if you’re interested in learning more phrases that native speakers use all the time, make sure you check out this video right here. And if you haven’t subscribed already, subscribe right now so you don’t miss any video that can help you understand English like a native speaker. If you liked the video, please hit like and share this with your friends who are learning English. For more English, follow my Instagram and facebook and I will see you in the next video.