How to Say “I Don’t Know” in Spanish and Keep Talking

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“I don’t know” in Spanish is usually no sé or no lo sé. Those phrases answer a question, but they do not tell someone whether you missed a sound, a word or the whole idea. A more precise follow-up can keep the conversation moving.

This guide gives you a small repair kit: flag the problem, say what you missed, request one action and confirm the result. The phrases work across the Spanish-speaking world, but forms of address and past-tense preferences vary by region.

Try them first with a language exchange partner, where you can pause and compare alternatives without pressure.

If you want a clear structure for putting your Spanish into practice, take a look at the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp. It’s a 90-day programme with weekly coaching calls, a private community and a focus on speaking from day one.

How to Say “I Don’t Know” in Spanish

No sé is the compact general answer. No lo sé refers to an answer, fact or matter already in the conversation: “I don’t know it/that.” Yo no sé adds an explicit subject, which often creates contrast or emphasis: “I don’t know; perhaps someone else does.”

Spanish	Useful meaning	What changes
No sé.	I don’t know.	A broad answer; no object is stated.
No lo sé.	I don’t know that/the answer.	Lo points back to a known matter.
Yo no sé.	I don’t know.	Explicit yo is contrastive or emphatic in many contexts.
Todavía no lo sé.	I don’t know yet.	The answer may come later.
No lo sé con certeza.	I don’t know for certain.	You have some information but cannot confirm it.

Spanish normally allows the subject pronoun to remain unstated because the verb carries person and number. The Instituto Cervantes A1–A2 grammar inventory gives Estudio español as the normal subjectless pattern.

Sé is the first-person singular of saber. No sabemos is “we don’t know”; no sabe can mean “he doesn’t know”, “she doesn’t know” or formal “you don’t know”. Context or an explicit subject resolves the reference, so no sabe does not mean “he” by itself. See our Spanish pronoun guide for the full system.

How to Say “I Don’t Understand”

No entiendo describes a current or general lack of understanding. No entendí places the failure in a completed past moment: “I didn’t understand what you just said.” In Spain, No he entendido is also common for a recent missed utterance. The choice between the simple and compound past varies by region as well as context.

• No entiendo.: I don’t understand.
• No entendí la última parte.: I didn’t understand the last part.
• No he entendido esa palabra.: I haven’t understood that word / I didn’t catch that word.
• Entiendo las palabras, pero no la idea.: I understand the words, but not the idea.

RAE–ASALE’s guidance on entender notes that the thing understood can remain implicit. If you say No te entiendo, you are saying that you cannot understand the person when they speak; that can be useful, but it is broader and potentially blunter than naming the missed word or sentence.

Ask Someone to Repeat or Slow Down

Once you have flagged the problem, request one specific action. Choose a form of address that fits your destination and relationship.

Request	Tú	Usted
Repeat it.	¿Puedes repetirlo, por favor?	¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?
Say it again.	¿Puedes decirlo otra vez?	¿Puede decirlo otra vez?
Speak more slowly.	¿Puedes hablar más despacio?	¿Puede hablar más despacio?
Write it down.	¿Puedes escribirlo?	¿Puede escribirlo?
Give me an example.	¿Puedes darme un ejemplo?	¿Puede darme un ejemplo?

In many voseo regions, an informal request may use ¿Podés repetirlo? The Cervantes grammar inventory maps the coexistence of vos and tú and shows that voseo forms vary across the Americas. Copy the local treatment system rather than mixing forms.

The Instituto Cervantes functions inventory includes Más despacio, por favor and ¿Puedes repetir? at A1. These are core interaction skills, not signs that a conversation has failed.

Say What You Missed

A targeted sentence is easier to act on than a general No entiendo. Start with Perdón if you need to interrupt, then name the gap.

• Perdón, no entendí la última palabra.: Sorry, I didn’t understand the last word.
• No oí el número.: I didn’t hear the number.
• Entendí hasta “mañana”.: I understood up to “tomorrow”.
• No conozco esa palabra.: I don’t know that word.
• Solo entiendo un poco de español.: I only understand a little Spanish.

This distinction matters: no oí asks for clearer audio, no conozco esa palabra asks for vocabulary help, and no entiendo la idea asks for a reformulation.

Explain That You Are Learning

Soy principiante means “I’m a beginner” and does not change for gender. Soy novato or soy novata is another option. Avoid teaching novicia as the ordinary feminine here: it commonly refers to a female novice in a religious community.

• Estoy aprendiendo español.: I’m learning Spanish.
• Llevo tres meses aprendiendo español.: I’ve been learning Spanish for three months.
• Hablo un poco de español.: I speak a little Spanish.
• ¿Puedes usar palabras más sencillas?: Can you use simpler words?

Giving a time frame helps the other person calibrate without turning your level into an apology.

How to Say “I’m Not Sure”

No estoy seguro or No estoy segura means “I’m not sure”. Use the form that matches the speaker. For a tentative answer, Creo que…, “I think…”, and Puede ser, “That may be”, are often more useful than a flat No sé.

Purpose	Spanish
You cannot confirm the answer.	No lo sé con certeza.
You have a tentative answer.	Creo que es a las ocho.
You think a suggestion is possible.	Puede ser.
You are certain.	Estoy seguro/a de que…

The Cervantes functions inventory places No estoy seguro, Creo que… and Puede ser under different communicative functions. Learn the function with the phrase instead of treating them as interchangeable translations.

Ask How to Say a Word

When the idea is clear but one word is missing, keep the conversation in Spanish with one of these prompts:

• No sé cómo decirlo en español.: I don’t know how to say it in Spanish.
• ¿Cómo se dice “wallet” en español?: How do you say “wallet” in Spanish?
• ¿Qué significa “cartera”?: What does cartera mean?
• ¿Se dice “cartera” o “billetera” aquí?: Do people say cartera or billetera here?
• ¿Cómo se escribe?: How is it spelt?

¿Qué es X en español? may be understood, but ¿Cómo se dice X en español? directly asks for the expression you need. Asking what people say “here” also leaves room for regional vocabulary.

How to Say “I Don’t Remember”

No recuerdo and No me acuerdo can both express “I don’t remember”, but their grammar differs. Recordar normally takes a direct object: No recuerdo su nombre. Acordarse is a pronominal verb followed by de: No me acuerdo de su nombre.

RAE–ASALE’s guidance makes this contrast explicit: recordar algo versus acordarse de algo. Calling acordarse “reflexive” can mislead learners; no action is reflecting back onto the subject.

• No recuerdo la palabra.: I don’t remember the word.
• No me acuerdo de la palabra.: I don’t remember the word.
• Lo tengo en la punta de la lengua.: It’s on the tip of my tongue.

How to Ask “What Did You Say?”

¿Qué dijiste? means “What did you say?” with informal tú. It can sound direct, so a repeat request often gives the other person clearer instructions. ¿Qué dijo? can address usted, but without context it can also mean “What did he/she say?”

• ¿Perdón?: Sorry? / Pardon?
• ¿Cómo?: Sorry? / What was that?
• ¿Qué dijiste?: What did you say? (informal tú)
• ¿Puede repetirlo?: Can you repeat it? (formal usted)

Do not rely on one universal “question pitch” rule. Spanish intonation varies with the question type, the speaker’s intent and the region. Interrogative words, word order, context and the written question marks all help signal the question; pronunciation should come from listening to whole local examples.

Perdón, Disculpa and Lo Siento

Perdón is a compact way to interrupt or signal that you missed something. Disculpa addresses informal tú; disculpe addresses usted. Lo siento is a broader apology or expression of sympathy, so it can be heavier than you need for an ordinary request to repeat.

• Perdón, ¿puedes repetirlo?: Sorry, can you repeat it?
• Disculpe, no oí el número.: Excuse me, I didn’t hear the number.
• Disculpa la interrupción.: Sorry for interrupting.

A single courtesy marker is enough. Name the problem and make the request; you do not need to apologise repeatedly for learning.

A Conversation-Repair Practice Plan

Practise the sequence as one speaking skill rather than memorising isolated translations.

1. Flag the gap. Say Perdón, no entendí.
2. Locate it. Add la última palabra, el número or la idea.
3. Request one action. Ask for repetition, slower speech, an example or writing.
4. Confirm. Try Entonces, ¿es mañana a las ocho? or ¿Quiere decir que…?
5. Reuse the answer. Put the new word or corrected meaning into your next sentence.

In this @languagehacking post, a dinner in Monterrey moves beyond small talk into a sustained Spanish conversation. That is exactly where targeted repair phrases earn their place.

For the next step, practise these lines alongside our guides to conversational Spanish and learning from mistakes. Then choose a listening source from our Spanish learning resources and pause it whenever you need to identify the missing word, sound or idea.