je ne sais quoi
6
9.9
- noun
- /ˌʒeɪ nə seɪ ˈkwɑː/
:
je ne sais quoi
- There is a je ne sais quoi about the artwork that makes it truly captivating.
- a certain je ne sais quoi
- a sort of je ne sais quoi
Well, Donald Trump is in France right now, and I feel je NE sais quoi, if you know what I mean.
- Well, Donald Trump is in France right now, and I feel je NE sais quoi, if you know what I mean.
Examples
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In order for us to continue our work down here, this place has to have a certain flavor, quality of life, je ne sais quoi.
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Alexander, what inspired you to bring your brand of je ne sais quoi to the silver screen?
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Not because of a natural presence or some sort of intriguing je-ne-sais-quoi, but because they make themselves.
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Give her a bit of the old je ne sais quoi.
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The city had a certain Je ne sais quoi.
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I just wanna give it a little, just a little je ne sais quoi, you know.
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A certain je ne sais quoi.
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You must admit, she has a certain je ne sais quoi.
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We'll be playing all the places where we're supposed to play and we hope we can, you know, bring uh... a bit of, you know... je ne sais quoi to America again.
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So goofy, dumb, really, yet it has a certain je ne sais quoi, right?
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Synonyms
25
4.1
Being the only one of its kind
14
6.1
An unusual feature that makes someone or something different
4
6.0
A quality that makes someone or something stand out from others
2
4.1
A clear quality that makes a person or thing different
The quality that makes something different from all others
Being so special or excellent that no one can copy it
Antonyms
How Distinctive
Surface Forms
Morphology
je + ne + sais + quoi
The phrase literally translates from French as 'I don't know what' (je = I; ne...sais = don't know; quoi = what), which readily suggests 'something I can't name' and thus maps onto the given meaning of an indefinable attractive quality. However, it is a frozen French loan used idiomatically in English and requires knowledge of the French words/negation and the noun-like usage in English, so the connection is not fully predictable for learners who lack French knowledge.
Etymology
Je ne sais quoi literally breaks down as je 'I', ne 'not', sais 'know', and quoi 'what' in French, and people used it when they could not 'name' or 'describe' a special, attractive quality. That's why je ne sais quoi now means 'a quality that cannot be easily described' or a charming feeling you can't explain.