"Que se yo que que se yo cuando"

[Chip00]

How would the phrase "Que se yo que que se yo cuando" be translated OTHER than the literal translation?

Thanks

 

[mkohn]

How 'bout:
How would I know?
mkohn

 

[KateP]

Are you sure that it's not," Que se yo que cuando?"

That would be," How am I supposed to know when...(whatever you're talking about is supposed to take place)".

 

[Chip00]

Are you sure that it's not," Que se yo que cuando?"

That would be," How am I supposed to know when...(whatever you're talking about is supposed to take place)".

It sounds like I wrote it - I'm not sure about the spelling though.

 

[Mirador]

The actual expression must have been:

"Que se yo, ni que ocho cuartos!".

Which is an expression of disagreement and exasperated disbelief.

 

[2LeftFeet]

Is this a Dominican phrase or will other countries understand it as well?

 

[M.A.R.]

How would the phrase "Que se yo que que se yo cuando" be translated OTHER than the literal translation?

Thanks

"Que se yo"!!!! with the "Que" going up in tone "QUE! se yo??! or some people say "YO que se??"

so,.... "Que se yo? Que se yo cuando"? what do I know? how do I know when?


Chip I love your questions, they are soooo Dominican and I hope my explanation helps.

btw: whenever my son asks me something and I answer like that "Yo que se"?, his answer is always "NADA", lol. fresco ese muchacho, no?

 

[Mirador]

btw: whenever my son asks me something and I answer like that "Yo que se"?, his answer is always "NADA", lol. fresco ese muchacho, no?

a good retort for an answer of "nada" is to say: "claro, el que nada no se ahoga".

 

[Chris_NJ]

The actual expression must have been:

"Que se yo, ni que ocho cuartos!".

Which is an expression of disagreement and exasperated disbelief.

My girlfriend used to say this from time to time and I always wondered what exact words she was saying passed the "que se yo..."

 

[Chip00]

"Que se yo"!!!! with the "Que" going up in tone "QUE! se yo??! or some people say "YO que se??"

so,.... "Que se yo? Que se yo cuando"? what do I know? how do I know when?


Chip I love your questions, they are soooo Dominican and I hope my explanation helps.

btw: whenever my son asks me something and I answer like that "Yo que se"?, his answer is always "NADA", lol. fresco ese muchacho, no?

Yes - you are quite helpful. If the questions seem Dominican it may be for the fact that I'm surrounded by them 24/7!

 

[Norma Rosa]

How would the phrase "Que se yo que que se yo cuando" be translated OTHER than the literal translation?

Thanks

Yes, you heard "QUE SE YO QUE Y QUE SE YO CUANDO"
It means: "And this and that" or bla, bla, bla

Ex.: Josefa estaba hablando de su amiga Celia: que era muy flaca, que no se alimentaba bien, que andaba como una loca, que qu? s? yo qu?, y qu? s? yo cuando . . .


Here to help and learn
Norma

 

[Tordok]

I agree with Norma Rosa. I've seen/heard this exact phraseology many times, mostly in young children colloquial usage in the DR. It is a rapid "y-qu?-s?-yo-qu?-s?-yo-cuando" caveat that conveys that the speaker must say what is really important without delay by details. It basically expresses a "cut-through-the-chase" conditional.

my anecdotal 2 cents,
- Tordok

 

[Mirador]

I agree with Norma Rosa. I've seen/heard this exact phraseology many times, mostly in young children colloquial usage in the DR. It is a rapid "y-qu?-s?-yo-qu?-s?-yo-cuando" caveat that conveys that the speaker must say what is really important without delay by details. It basically expresses a "cut-through-the-chase" conditional.

my anecdotal 2 cents,
- Tordok

Yes, i can see it now. The phrase "que se yo cuando (or cuando)" can be used as an interjection, translating to "whatever!" or "whenever!". So the entire expression ("que se yo, que se yo cuando") could translate to, "what do I know, whenever!". I've never heard it used though. Must be colloquial to your home town of El Seybo.

 

[Tordok]

Yes, i can see it now. The phrase "que se yo cuando (or cuando)" can be used as an interjection, translating to "whatever!" or "whenever!". So the entire expression ("que se yo, que se yo cuando") could translate to, "what do I know, whenever!". I've never heard it used though. Must be colloquial to your home town of El Seybo.

I'm not sure that this is more of an eastern DR expression (BTW the Tordok family hails from Romana not Seybo) since I've seen it used by folks from SD as well. The " que se yo..." is somewhat similar to the que si patat?n , que si patat?n collloquialism that is used by other Spanish speakers and by some southern French (Provence and Alpes Maritimes) as it is an onomatopeic construct for a mess or altercation and used to mean "yadda-yadda-yadda" or "blah-blah-blah".
Example: se pas? la reuni?n entera que si patat?n que si patat?n y no nos inform? de la situaci?n. Loosely translated to : "He spent the whole meeting blah-blah-blah and didn't tell us about the matter at hand" .
cheers,

-Tordok

 

[Norma Rosa]

The " que se yo..." is somewhat similar to the que si patat?n , que si patat?n collloquialism that is used by other Spanish speakers and by some southern French (Provence and Alpes Maritimes) as it is an onomatopeic construct for a mess or altercation and used to mean "yadda-yadda-yadda" or "blah-blah-blah". -Tordok

THANKS FOR THE TREAT!! I had forgotten "que si patat?n, que si patat?n" which is also used in the DR. Another line is: "Y que esto, y que lo otro".


Here to help and learn,
Norma