What does it mean word for word?
no sé means I don't know, de qué means about what and estás hablando means you are talking. Literally it reads I don't know of what you are talking.
Which one should you use?
No tengo idea de lo que estás hablando. means I have no idea what you're talking about and sounds a bit stronger. no sé de qué hablas uses the simple present and means the same in many contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain people say No pillo lo que dices. In Argentina you will hear No entiendo a qué te referís.
How does it change in a sentence?
To address someone formally, change estás to está: no sé de qué está hablando. To speak to more than one person, use no sé de qué están hablando.
How do you pronounce it?
The h in hablando is silent, and qué sounds like the start of the English word kettle.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often leave out de and say no sé qué estás hablando. In Spanish the preposition is needed, so say no sé de qué estás hablando.
Did you know?
- In Spain, the phrase No pillo lo que dices uses the verb pillar, which literally means 'to catch' or 'to steal'.
- While 'hablando' is the standard way to say 'talking', in certain Spanish-speaking regions, you might hear people use the word platicando instead. This is especially common in Mexico and parts of Central America.
- The word qué comes from the Latin quid, which is the same root used in the English phrase 'quid pro quo'.
Examples in context
- No sé de qué estás hablando.I don't know what you're talking about.
- Lo siento, no sé de qué estás hablando.I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about.
- No sé de qué estás hablando, no entiendo.I don't know what you're talking about, I don't understand.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are arguing about a missing book.
- MateoLucía, tú tienes mi libro en tu mochila.Lucía, you have my book in your backpack.
- LucíaNo sé de qué estás hablando, Mateo.I don't know what you're talking about, Mateo.
- MateoLo vi ayer cuando salimos de clase.I saw it yesterday when we left class.
- LucíaEstás equivocado, yo no tengo nada.You are mistaken, I don't have anything.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, no, qué, sé, CC BY-SA 4.0.
