Hello students, this is Shayna from EspressoEnglish.net and today’s phrase of the day is “I couldn’t care less.” When you say I couldn’t care less, it means I think something is completely not interesting and completely not important.
For example, there are a lot of magazines that report on celebrity news: which celebrities got married, which celebrities got divorced, which celebrities are angry at other superstars and as for me, I couldn’t care less about celebrity gossip. It means I have no interest at all in this area. The phrase “I couldn’t care less” is stronger than the expression “I don’t care.”
Another similar expression is the question, “Who cares?” This also expresses the fact that you think something is unimportant and that nobody should care about it.
For example, imagine that you are very successful in your life and career, and in the midst of this success; unfortunately, some people start to say bad things about you and criticise you. But you might say, “Who cares what other people think? I’m living my life the way I want to and I’m happy.” By saying “who cares?” you’re expressing the lack of importance, the fact that what other people think or say has no importance for you.
Now, be careful when using these two phrases: I couldn’t care less and who cares? because if somebody else expresses something that is important to them, you don’t want to respond with “I couldn’t care less” or “who cares?” because it will make them feel bad. So, use these two phrases with sensitivity to other people’s feelings.
Ok, that’s all for today. I hope you’ll join me tomorrow to learn more phrases that are common in everyday spoken English.
You’ll learn hundreds of conversational English expressions in this course:
