Make Your Point > Archived Issues > JE NE SAIS QUOI
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
connect this word to others:
You might get a chuckle from that Sonic commercial with the guy who thinks je ne sais quoi means "Jenna said something."
Even funnier is this bit from Beauty and the Beast (2017):
Gaston: Look at her, LeFou. My future wife. Belle is the most beautiful girl in the village. That makes her the best.
LeFou: But she's so well-read. And you're so… athletically inclined.
Gaston: I know. Belle can be as argumentative as she is beautiful.
LeFou: Exactly! Who needs her when you've got us!
Gaston: Yes… But ever since the war, I’ve felt like I’ve been missing something. And she's the only girl that gives me that sense of…
LeFou: Je ne sais quoi?
Gaston: I don’t know what that means.
Y'all, that is fine comedy: a Frenchman speaking English who doesn't know je ne sais quoi, French for "I know not what."
I love this term for its ability to label the un-label-able, like our words in_ff_ble and in_n_rr_ble, both of which mean "hard to put into words, impossible to describe."
And don't you love how je ne sais quoi wraps up an entire sentence in a single noun? We've seen only two other terms that do the same thing: _p_n s_s_m_, a magical command to unlock a door, or any amazing way to get what you want; and m_m_nt_ m_r_, "remember to die," or any grim reminder of death's inevitable approach.
Whoa, that got dark. Let's get back in the light of je ne sais quoi, which sums up anything lovely, beautiful, alluring, and captivating that you just can't put into (any other) words.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"JE NE SAIS QUOI"
French for "I know not what," the term "je ne sais quoi" means "some attractive quality that's hard to explain or understand."
Pronunciation:
ZJUH nuh say KWAH
(Hear it)
Part of speech:
Noun, both the uncountable kind ("her je ne sais quoi," "that je ne sais quoi in his manners"),
and the countable kind ("it has a je ne sais quoi," "it's missing a certain je ne sais quoi"), although we don't make it plural.
Other forms:
This is rare, and I don't recommend doing this, but we can also use "je ne sais quoi" loosely like an adjective, as in "a je ne sais quoi beauty."
How to use it:
Some writers keep this term in italics, je ne sais quoi, to show that it's foreign, but many don't.
The tone of "je ne sais quoi" is positive, suggesting mysterious beauty or enigmatic allure.
Just be aware of how foreign, fancy, and sometimes snobby it can sound. If you're comfortable using other French terms like "à la mode," "c'est la vie," "déjà vu," "faux pas," and so on, then you're probably good to go with "je ne sais quoi."
And there's something delicious about saying "I don't know how to say this" with grace and beauty.
Talk about someone or something's je ne sais quoi, or the je ne sais quoi of someone or something.
Or, say that someone or something has, shows, displays, gains, loses, or lacks je ne sais quoi. Or say that someone does something with (or without) je ne sais quoi.
Or, talk about some part, aspect, feature, or quality of something that adds or lends a je ne sais quoi to the whole thing. Alternatively, let "je ne sais quoi" take the driver's seat (the subject) in your sentence, and say that je ne sais quoi adds something, lends something, or has some other effect: "the je ne sais quoi that bumps a design from good to great (The Verge)."
Or, say that there's a je ne sais quoi in something, a je ne sais quoi in doing something, a je ne sais quoi about something, a je ne sais quoi to something, etc.
Or, talk about people who see, seek, yearn for, search for, savor, revel in, or appreciate someone or something's je ne sais quoi.
Feel free to add an adjective: "a stylish je ne sais quoi," "a sophisticated je ne sais quoi," and here's a common one: "a certain je ne sais quoi."
examples:
In "Winter Dreams," Fitzgerald introduces Judy Jones, childish but desirable, beauty in her expressions, je ne sais quoi in her movements: "There was a general ungodliness in the way her lips twisted down at the corners when she smiled ... Vitality is born early in such women. It was utterly in evidence now, shining through her thin frame in a sort of glow."
"Usually, hair gadgety things are impossible. They require 1. Lots of hair 2. Four pairs of hands 3. Eyes in back of head. 4. Je Ne Sais Quois. None of which do I have, apparently."
— Anonymous reviewer, Amazon.com, 20 January 2016
has this page helped you understand "je ne sais quoi"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "je ne sais quoi" without saying "sparkle" or "cachet."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "There's a je ne sais quoi in _____, impossible to (capture or replicate) (in some other way)."
Example: "There's a je ne sais quoi in her guitar playing as we sit on the couch, impossible to capture in a video recording."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Quintessential TV Quotes!
Each day, match the given vocabulary word to the quote that best illustrates it.
From the previous issue:
From A Series of Unfortunate Events, which quote below illustrates something workaday?
Quote A:
Vanessa: Welcome to Lachrymose News, where things that are happening keep happening until they stop happening.
Quote B:
Lemony: If you like stories in which children enjoy pleasant rides in truck beds on their way to colorful destinations, where they finally solve the curious mysteries plaguing their lives, that story is streaming elsewhere.
Quote C:
Olaf: Do you know what the question I am asked most is?
Hook-Handed Man: "Will you please leave the premises?"
Answer: In quote A, Vanessa promises workaday news.
Try this one today:
From Frasier, which quote below illustrates something incipient?
Quote A:
Martin: Well, come on, Frasier, let's go get a nice sloppy joe. I'll pay for it.
Frasier: Something tells me I'll pay for it, too.
Quote B:
Niles is trying to grow a moustache. So far it is barely visible.
Niles: I grant you, it's at an early stage.
Frasier: What stage? Research and development?
Quote C:
Roz: Frasier, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday? I'd have thrown you a birthday party at the station.
Frasier: Question asked, question answered.
review today's word:
1. A close opposite of JE NE SAIS QUOI is
A. VAPIDITY.
B. VAINGLORY.
C. TERRA INCOGNITA.
2. It's _____, and yet it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.
A. ugly
B. complicated
C. technically flawless
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
You might get a chuckle from that Sonic commercial with the guy who thinks je ne sais quoi means "Jenna said something."
"JE NE SAIS QUOI" French for "I know not what," the term "je ne sais quoi" means "some attractive quality that's hard to explain or understand."
Talk about someone or something's je ne sais quoi, or the je ne sais quoi of someone or something.
In "Winter Dreams," Fitzgerald introduces Judy Jones, childish but desirable, beauty in her expressions, je ne sais quoi in her movements: "There was a general ungodliness in the way her lips twisted down at the corners when she smiled ... Vitality is born early in such women. It was utterly in evidence now, shining through her thin frame in a sort of glow."
Explain the meaning of "je ne sais quoi" without saying "sparkle" or "cachet."
Fill in the blanks: "There's a je ne sais quoi in _____, impossible to (capture or replicate) (in some other way)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A close opposite of JE NE SAIS QUOI is
|