Meanings
- An indefinable quality that makes something distinctive or attractive.
She has a certain je ne sais quoi about her.
1 more example
"Say, you others, I find that the Englishman has something of truly distinguished in the voice, something of sympathetic, of touching—something of je ne sais quoi!" Bouchardy: "Yes, yes—something of je ne sais quoi! That's the very phrase— […]"
1894, George du Maurier, “Part Second”, in Trilby: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 85
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Frenchje ne sais quoi
- Englishje ne sais quoi
Borrowed from French je ne sais quoi (literally “I don't know what”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans ek weet nie wat nie
- ek weet nie wat nieindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Catalan no-sé-què
- no-sé-quèindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Czech bůhvíco, kdovíco
- bůhvícoindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- kdovícoindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- cosiindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Dutch ik-weet-niet-wat, je ne sais quoi
- ik-weet-niet-watindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- je ne sais quoiindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Finnish se jokin, en-tiedä-mikä
- se jokinindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- en-tiedä-mikäindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
French je ne sais quoi, je-ne-sais-quoi
- je ne sais quoiindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- je-ne-sais-quoiindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- Dieu sait quoiindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- on ne sait quoiindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
German gewisse Etwas
- gewisse Etwasindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Greek πώς να το πω, πώς να σου το πω
- πώς να το πω (pós na to po)indefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- πώς να σου το πω (pós na sou to po)indefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Italian non so che
- non so cheindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Portuguese não-sei-quê, não-sei-o-quê
- não-sei-quêindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
- não-sei-o-quêindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Russian э́такое
- э́такое (étakoje)indefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Spanish no sé qué
- no sé quéindefinable quality that makes something distinctive
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with je ne sais quoi
All rhymes →Cite this entry
je ne sais quoi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/je%20ne%20sais%20quoi
“je ne sais quoi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/je%20ne%20sais%20quoi. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “je ne sais quoi,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/je%20ne%20sais%20quoi.
Source: je ne sais quoi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.