Já nevím

As a rule I do not hear much from neighboring apartments, but when my washer shut off this morning, I realized that my neighbor on the couch side of the living room was having a heated phone conversation. What he was discussing was not very clear to me, not because I had any trouble making out the words (they were unusually distinct), but because the main staple of his side of the conversation consisted of Nevím! (I don’t know). This word was repeated countless times in the minute or two before the end of the conversation, with not too many other words interspersed. At one point, he exclaimed “Nevím a nevím!” (I don’t know and I don’t know!”) just in case the person on the other end was in any doubt about the matter. Shortly after this, he switched to a quieter, more caressing delivery, devoid of “nevím,” which I suspect was sarcastically intended, although you never know. Certainly, Já nevím!

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Prague Czech language