Meanings
alternative how am I to know · alternative how do I know · alternative how would I know
- 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.
Near-synonyms: God knows, who knows, I don't know
Synonyms: God knows, who knows, I don't know · Antonyms: I know
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseA 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.
Translations
Arabic كَيْفَ لِي أَنْ أَعْرِفَ؟
- كَيْفَ لِي أَنْ أَعْرِفَ؟ (kayfa lī ʔan ʔaʕrifa?)Translations
Chinese Mandarin 我怎麽知道 /我怎么知道
- 我怎麽知道 /我怎么知道 (wǒ zěnme zhīdào)Translations
Dutch weet ik veel
- weet ik veelTranslations
Finnish mistä minä tietäisin?
- mistä minä tietäisin?Translations
French qu'est-ce que j'en sais
- qu'est-ce que j'en saisTranslations
German Woher soll ich das wissen?
- Woher soll ich das wissen?Translations
Persian از کجا بدانم؟
- از کجا بدانم؟ (az kojâ bedânam?)Translations
Polish bo ja wiem
- bo ja wiemTranslations
Portuguese como eu vou saber
- como eu vou saberTranslations
Russian отку́да я зна́ю?, отку́да мне знать?
- отку́да я зна́ю? (otkúda ja znáju?)Translations
- отку́да мне знать? (otkúda mne znatʹ?)Translations
Cite this entry
how should I know. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20should%20I%20know
“how should I know.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20should%20I%20know. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “how should I know,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20should%20I%20know.
Source: how should I know on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.