Definify.com

Definition 2024

A rhetorical question asked to show that the person asking it neither knows the answer nor knows who might.

It could be one or the other, or both. Who knows?

Do you think I'll get married before I turn 30? - Who knows, you might never marry.
A rhetorical question asked to express the idea that anything is possible or that anything could happen.

Who knows? Maybe someday he'll finish writing his book and make lots of money selling it.

Since she hasn't studied at all I don't think she'll pass the test, but who knows? She might pull a Homer and actually pass; I doubt it though.

Don't touch that - who knows where it's been!

a rhetorical question asked to show that the asker neither knows the answer nor who might know it

Arabic: مَن يَدْرِي؟ ‎(man yadrī?), اَللّٰهُ أَعْلَم ‎(allāhu ʾaʿlam), إِبْصَر ‎(ʾibṣar)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 誰知道？ (zh), 谁知道？ (zh) ‎(shéi zhīdào)
Finnish: Kukapa tietää?, tiedä vaikka
French: qui sait ? (fr)
German: wer weiß?
Greek: ποιος ξέρει; ‎(poios xérei?)
Icelandic: hver veit?
Italian: chissà? (it)
Japanese: 誰が知っているのか？ ‎(dare-ga shitte iru no ka?)

Macedonian: којзнае ‎(kójznae), кој го знае ‎(koj go znáe), кој ќе знае ‎(koj ḱe znáe)
Norwegian: hvem vet?
Polish: kto wie?
Portuguese: quem sabe?, vai saber?
Russian: кто зна́ет? ‎(kto znájet?), кто его́ зна́ет? ‎(kto jevó znájet?), как знать? ‎(kak znatʹ?), чёрт его́ зна́ет! (ru) ‎(čórt jevó znájet!)
Spanish: ¿quién sabe?, ¡quién sabe!
Swedish: vem vet?
Turkish: kim bilir

asked to express the idea that anything is possible

Chinese:
Mandarin: 誰知道？ (zh), 谁知道？ (zh) ‎(shéi zhīdào)
Finnish: Kukapa tietää?
French: qui sait (fr) ?
Greek: ποιος ξέρει; ‎(poios xérei?)
Macedonian: којзнае ‎(kójznae), кој го знае ‎(koj go znáe), кој ќе знае ‎(koj ḱe znáe)