mark my words

English

Alternative forms

• mark my word (rare)

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

mark my words

1. (idiomatic) Listen to me; used before or after a statement one wishes to emphasize, especially a prediction.
   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter XL, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     Mrs. Bowls cautioned her lodger against venturing into the lion's den, "wherein you will rue it, Miss B., mark my words, and as sure as my name is Bowls."

Usage notes

• Though grammatically, mark my words is structured as a command (that is, as a clause in the imperative mood), that is not its true function in discourse.

Synonyms

• (listen to me): hear ye (archaic), read my lips

Translations

listen to me

• Arabic: سَجِّل كَلِمَاتِي m (sajjil kalimātī), سَجِّلِي كَلِمَاتِي f (sajjilī kalimātī)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 記住我的話 / 记住我的话 (jìzhu wǒ de huà), 聽我說 / 听我说 (tīng wǒ shuō)

• Finnish: sano minun sanoneen sg, sanokaa minun sanoneen (plural, say that I've said it)
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: zapamiętaj moje słowa (memorize my words)
• Russian: попо́мните мои́ слова́ (popómnite moí slová) (plural or formal), попо́мни мои́ слова́ (popómni moí slová) (singular informal)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: sanna mina ord
• Turkish: dediklerimi bir kenara yaz