I tell you
Synonym of I can tell you.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“It is a great movie, I tell you.”
“The traffic was terrible this morning, I tell you, and I was late for my meeting.”
“The situation in the city has become quite dangerous, I tell you, and the authorities seem unable to manage the rising tensions.”
From Etymology 1, or a calque of the Hokkien phrase 我共汝講 (oá kā lí kóng), signifying a request for the listener to attend to the forthcoming statement.
- 01
a little bird told me
I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose.
- 02
all told
With everything included, counted, or summed; in total.
- 03
don't tell me
Used to introduce a guess at a fact or situation, as if forestalling the other speaker's utterance.
- 04
I can tell you
Emphasises the truth of a statement.
- 05
I tell a lie
I am mistaken; I thought that what I said (or wrote) was true, but I have just realised that it is not.
- 06
I'll tell you
Synonym of I can tell you.
- 07
kiss and tell
To betray a confidence by disclosing private information, especially of a sexual nature.
- 08
let me tell you
Synonym of I can tell you.
Last updated August 10, 2026