What does the phrase "je ne sais quoi" mean?
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It literally means “I don’t know”, but in common usage in both French and English, it means “that certain something I can’t put my finger on.”
“I don’t know” what it means. :-)
‘Quoi’ means ‘what’, so it translates to ‘I don’t know what’.
Etymology
From French je ne sais quoi, literally ‘I know not what’.
Pronunciation
IPA: /ˌʒə nə sɛ ˈkwɑ:/
Noun
je ne sais quoi (uncountable)
An intangible quality that adds or makes something attractive or alluring.
She has a certain je ne sais quoi about her.
Google es tu amigo.
Squirbel scores again for “Google es tu amigo.”
Google it for God’s sake. If your an alias, you know better. If not, welcome to fluther!
mysterious and sophisticated
There is a famous French Music-Hall song, written and sung by Yvette Guilbert, called Madame Arthur. The lines at the ends of each stanza describe how Mme Arthur lives a high life by dint of her “je ne sais quoi.” It is used as a noun here and translates approximately as “her certain something.”
The song in its entirety lets you know, subtly, what that “je ne sais quoi” is. Here is Guilbert, singing it, gorgeously, in 1934. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tUAMlXxN8U
Sample: Chacun applaudissait sa grâce
Et surtout son je ne sais quoi !
Toulouse-Lautrec did some famous posters of her.
@gailcalled
I am doing a picture impresssion on one of his paintings for art class!!
It is [Says in sexy, romantic way]:
Moulin Rouge, Moulin Rouge, Moulin Rouge! La Gouoloue! Concert bal…tout le soirs!
Lovely project. (It is spelled La Goulue, and “chaque soir” for extra credit.)
edit: or “tous les soirs.”
Comme tu es rusé. Bisoux. Maude
….always a perfectionist….
Mais oui, si on parle français, on le parle bien.
@Knot; Or perhaps Ben sure.
@Étiennesix: Ah la vache!
Sorry. Yes. I was married to a Stephen for a while. Étienne is the french translation.
Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six (the same in both languages. I never noticed that before.)
1–6
bloody good or you are right on the translation?
Watch for PM. Let’s take it private.
I can say 1–10 in french sooooo fast!!
undeuxtroisquatrecinqsixsepthuitneufdix!!
Took me a few seconds to write, but one second to say.
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