Polite alternative for "none of your business"

If you're asked a question you do not want to answer, and you feel like saying "none of your business", maybe these might be a better way to be polite and convey the same idea.

"I'd rather not say..." — PhraseMix explains

"I'd rather not..." means "I don't want to..."

People say "I'd rather not..." to talk about something that they don't want to do, although they might have to. For example, if you're shopping for a new car, you can tell the salesperson:

"I'd rather not go over fifteen thousand."

This means that you don't want to spend more than fifteen thousand dollars (or Euros, Pounds, etc.) on the car. However, you know that you might have to spend more than that.

If you're in a bad mood, and someone asks you what's wrong, you can respond this way:

"I'd rather not talk about it."

You can also say "I'd rather not" without continuing the sentence:

A: We can sleep at the Sutherlands' house and go back in the morning.
B: I'd rather not.

Even more polite would be "I'd prefer not to answer..."

It will vary a great deal by context. Depending on context, two possibilities I see are:

• That's none of your concern. (Urban Dictionary)

It's not as rude as Mind your own business, but it's very firm.

Alternately:

• That's a [blank] matter.
• That's a [blank] affair.

As in:

• That's a personal matter.
• That's a private matter.
• That's an internal matter. (E.g., in relation to a business or organization.)

From:

• matter - "a subject under consideration" (Merriam-Webster)
• affair - "a matter that concerns or involves someone" (Merriam-Webster) can be used in place of matter, but be careful in context that it can't be confused with another meaning of affair - "a secret sexual relationship between two people"
• personal - "of, relating to, or affecting a particular person" (Merriam-Webster)
• private - "belonging to or concerning an individual person, company, or interest" (Merriam-Webster)
• internal - "of, relating to, or occurring on the inside of an organized structure" (Merriam-Webster)

You could use a touch of movie-cliché humour: If I told you, I would have to kill you.

A less rude verbal response, an alternative to NOYB, might be, "I don't think that concerns you". I very often deflect an impertinent question with a paused response: "And the next question, please".