j'ignorais que tu étais

I didn't know you were

→ je

phrase Rare #33,260

I didn't know you were Used to express surprise about something that was unknown in the past. J'ignorais is the imperfect form of ignorer; here, ignorer means “not know,” not simply “ignore.”

FR: J'ignorais que tu étais musicien.

EN: I didn't know you were a musician.

J'ignorais que tu étais une femme.

I didn't know you were a woman.

J'ignorais que tu étais en ville.

I didn’t know you were in town.

— Rang de Basanti (2006)

J'ignorais que tu étais Canadien.

I didn’t know you were Canadian.

J'ignorais que tu étais éveillé.

I didn’t know you were awake.

J'ignorais que tu étais si ambitieux.

I didn't know you were so ambitious.

J'ignorais que tu étais ami avec ce communiste d'Urrutia.

I didn't know you were friends with that communist Urrutia.

— No (2012)

J'ignorais que tu étais un tel branleur.

I had no idea you were such a lazy bastard.

J'ignorais que tu étais aussi bon en français.

I didn't know you were so good at French.