dunno
English edit
Etymology edit
Written form of don't know, which is a reduction of do not know or does not know.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdʌnəʊ/, /dəˈnəʊ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /dəˈnoʊ/; (after a stressed pronoun) /dn̩oʊ/ (e.g. I dunno is /ˈaɪdn̩oʊ/)
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: (Received Pronunciation) -əʊ, (General American, after a stressed pronoun) -oʊ
Contraction edit
dunno
- (informal) Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
- 1915, C.J. Dennis, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, published 1916, page 13:
- Fer, as the poit sez, me 'eart 'as got / The pip wiv yearnin' fer - I dunno wot.
- I dunno the answers to any of those questions, and you dunno and he dunno either.
- "Where'd he go?" / "Dunno."
Usage notes edit
As with several other verbs in English that regularly do not require a pronoun, when the pronoun is not given, it is assumed to be I; all other pronouns must be given. It is never mandatory to drop I, although it is most common to do so when dunno is the only word in the sentence.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
do (does) not know
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Noun edit
dunno (plural dunnos)
References edit
- “dunno”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.