You’ve got to be kidding

Meaning

The idiom "you’ve got to be kidding" is used when someone is being sarcastic or disbelieving towards something that they have just heard, but it is actually true. It means that the speaker cannot believe what they are hearing and believes that the other person must be joking or teasing.

Usage

• "You've got to be kidding! I can't believe you actually won the lottery!"
• "I'm telling you, I saw a ufo last night and you've got to be kidding me!"
• "Your proposal is so generous; you've got to be kidding!"
• "I don't know how you can handle such a big workload; you've got to be kidding me!"
• "The weather forecast for tomorrow says it will snow in summer; you've got to be kidding!"

Roots and History

The idiom "you’ve got to be kidding" has its roots in the 19th century, where the term "kid" was used to refer to a young person. In the 1800s, it started being used as an expression of disbelief towards something that is true but sounds too good to be true. The earliest known use of this idiom can be traced back to a collection of African-American English in New Orleans in 1976.

Synonyms in English

• "You've got to be joking!"
• "That's not possible; you've got to be kidding me!"
• "I can't believe what I just heard; you've got to be joking!"
• "That's too good to be true; you've got to be kidding!"
• "You're not serious? You've got to be joking!"

Synonyms in other languages

• French - "Quoi! Cela ne peut pas être vrai, tu es foutu!"
• Spanish - "¿Cómo puedes estar así? ¿Estás bromeando?"
• Italian - "Che figura! Non puoi stare così?"
• German - "Komm auf, du müst entsetzt sein!"
• Portuguese - "Acho que não é isso, são você trocando de rosto?"

Similar Idioms

• you’ve made your bed

• you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs

• young blood