dunno
English
editEtymology
editWritten 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
editdunno
- (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
editAs 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
editTranslations
editdo (does) not know
|
Noun
editdunno (plural dunnos)
References
edit- “dunno”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Categories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/əʊ
- Rhymes:English/əʊ/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/oʊ
- Rhymes:English/oʊ/2 syllables
- English non-lemma forms
- English contractions
- English informal terms
- English pronunciation spellings
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