No sé de dónde sale ese ruido.

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Breakdown of No sé de dónde sale ese ruido.

• ese: that
• saber: to know
• el ruido: the noise

Questions & Answers about No sé de dónde sale ese ruido.

Why does Spanish use de dónde here instead of just dónde?

Because de dónde means from where, and that is the idea in this sentence: you do not know where the noise is coming from.

• dónde = where
• de dónde = from where

So:

• No sé dónde está. = I don’t know where it is.
• No sé de dónde sale ese ruido. = I don’t know where that noise is coming from.

In English, from is often optional, but in Spanish it is usually expressed clearly with de in this kind of sentence.

Why is sale used? Doesn’t salir usually mean to leave or to go out?

Yes, salir often means to go out, to leave, or to come out. But it can also be used for sounds, smells, light, water, etc. to mean to come out of a place or to be coming from somewhere.

So in this sentence, sale ese ruido is basically saying:

• that noise comes out from / is coming from somewhere

This is a very natural use in Spanish. English often uses come from, while Spanish may use salir de.

Examples:

• Sale humo de la cocina. = Smoke is coming from the kitchen.
• Sale agua de esa tubería. = Water is coming out of that pipe.
• No sé de dónde sale ese ruido. = I don’t know where that noise is coming from.

Why is it sale and not salen?