je ne sais quoi

American  

[zhuh n^uh se kwa] / ʒə nə sɛ ˈkwa /

noun

French.

1. an indefinable, elusive quality, especially a pleasing one.

   She has a certain je ne sais quoi that charms everybody.

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je ne sais quoi British  

/ ʒənsekwa /

noun

1. an indefinable quality, esp of personality

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je ne sais quoi Cultural  

1. That little something; a quality that eludes description: “The Mona Lisa's smile has a certain je ne sais quoi.” From French, meaning “I don't know what.”

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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

Or just a certain je ne sais quoi?

From The Wall Street Journal

It may not exactly be chic, but for Paris luxury fashion house Chanel, this road has a certain je ne sais quoi.

From BBC

Dr. Pouget is trying to apply chemical precision to this je ne sais quoi.

From New York Times

What we learn is that Fury owes his entire je ne sais quoi to these creatures.

From New York Times

It requires a certain je ne sais quoi.

From BBC