je ne sais quoi
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does je ne sais quoi mean? Je ne sais quoi literally means "I don't know what" in French. The phrase was borrowed into English as an expression of a quality that makes something or someone attractive, distinctive, or special in some way, but is hard to put into words.
Etymology
Origin of je ne sais quoi
Literally, “I don't know what”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Influencers and brands are attempting to cash in by bottling and selling Carolyn’s unreplicable je ne sais quoi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
Dr. Pouget is trying to apply chemical precision to this je ne sais quoi.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
It requires a certain je ne sais quoi.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2023
It was then that he noticed both her physical resemblance to Monroe and the je ne sais quoi of her screen presence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2022
Those whose fables and metaphors, whose similes, and soliloquies, whose diction and je ne sais quoi daily slip into your survival soup, by way of their fingers.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
