you know

Idioms and Phrases

You are aware, you see, do you remember, as in She's very lonely, you know, so do go and visit , or You know, this exhibit ends tomorrow , or You know that black dog our neighbors had? She was run over a year ago . This phrase is also quite often a conversational filler, equivalent to “um” and occasionally repeated over and over (as in It's a fine day for, you know, the beach, and, you know, we could leave now ); this usage is more oral than written, and many consider it deplorable. [Late 1500s]