Como decir “ES DECIR”, y “O SEA”,  en inglés

How to say "ES DECIR", and "O SEA", in English.

           ES DECIR, y O SEA,  en inglés

What is the difference between "in other words", "that is to say" “I mean”, and "namely"?

Let’s begin in order from most formal to least formal: "in other words", "that is to say.", "I mean" and, last but not least, "namely", which is considered the least used word of all.

Empecemos por orden de la más formal a la menos formal, y por último la menos usada que es (namely)

 

In other words. (Adverb)  It is an adverb and idiomatic phrase that can be used to introduce a statement that repeats what has been said in a different and usually easier or more precise way.

Examples:

·        I would love to go but I have a lot to do...in other words, I don't have time. (Me encantaría ir pero tengo mucho que hacer... es decir, no tengo tiempo).

·        That was my first reaction, in other words, incredibly rude. (Esa fue mi primera reacción, es decir, increíblemente grosera)/

·        Tonight I want you to stop by my house to pick up the top of the English class, in other words, me. (Esta noche quiero que pase por mi casa para que recojas al mejor de la clase de inglés, o sea, yo).

·        Adipose tissue in other words fat. (Tejido adiposo, o sea, grasa).

·        Mother! It’s like I'm telling you, my father and the maid, suck, kiss, and fondle each other, in other words, they pleasure themselves. (Mamá! es como te digo, mi padre y la criada, se chupan, se besan y se acarician, es decir, se dan placer).

That is to say. (Adverb)

“That is to say” and “in other words” have pretty similar meanings and uses, but they cannot be interchanged directly, although some native English speakers use to do so, as far as I am concerned I do not recommend doing so, both can help you to clarify what you mean.

Here are some examples with the use of "that is to say".

·        All of us, that is to say, the cooks of this restaurant, would like to thank the waiters for all their hard work. (Todos nosotros, o sea, los cocineros de este restaurante, queremos dar las gracias a los camareros por su duro trabajo).

·        We attach to this word the meaning it has in English, that is to say, "capable of verification". (Otorgamos a esa palabra el significado que tiene en Inglés, es decir, susceptible de verificación)

·        I don't want to spend time with anyone else. That is to say, I love you. (No quiero pasar tiempo con otra persona. Es decir, te quiero).

·        I'm so sorry about what happened last night. That is to say, I won't do it again. (Siento mucho lo que pasó anoche. Es decir, no lo volveré a hacer).

·        "My boss and I are meeting up with the owner of the restaurant, that is to say, our friend, for dinner." I used it to clarify my relationship with our friend. ("Mi jefe y yo hemos quedado con el dueño del restaurante, es decir, con nuestro amigo, para cenar". Lo utilicé para aclarar nuestra relación con el dueño del negocio).

 

“I mean” it is more commonly used to say (o sea) in Spanish, although it has multiple meanings such as; “Me refiero a” “Tengo la intención de” “quiero decir” “Digo” entre otras.

·        You don't feel like going to the party tonight. I mean, we don't have to go if we don't want to, right? (No tienes ganas de ir a la fiesta esta noche. O sea,  no tenemos que ir si no queremos, ¿verdad?).

·        I mean, it will be our first time at a party with our co-worker. (Quiero decir, será nuestra primera vez en una fiesta con nuestro compañero de trabajo).

·        There are limited places, mate, I mean, here in the company. (Hay plazas limitadas, amigo, digo, aquí en la empresa).

·        Of course, I mean Mr. Palermo.

·        How are you feeling today? I mean, have you recovered completely from your illness? (¿Cómo te sientes hoy? Quiero decir, ¿te has recuperado completamente de tu enfermedad?).

 

"Namely" also, it’s considered an adverb and is one of the least used, but when it is used it is to speak more specifically or concretely, so would be used to pointedly indicate or highlight something. It is similar to the other three, but with specifics examples.

·        Angel always wanted to succeed in life; namely, he wanted to get rich. (Ángel siempre quiso tener éxito en la vida; concretamente, quería hacerse rico).

·        The facilities were improved, mainly the dormitories and dining rooms. (Se mejoraron las instalaciones, en concreto los dormitorios y los comedores).

·        I'm talking about Infertility, namely the inability to have children. (Me refiero a la infertilidad, es decir, a la incapacidad de tener hijos).

·        The international community, namely, the League of Nations, recognized the poor state of the Haitian country. (La comunidad internacional, o sea la Sociedad de las Naciones, reconoció el mal estado en que se encuentra el país de Haití).

·        He does not favor create subsidiaries in all countries, namely not in China and Japan. (No es partidario de crear filiales en todos los países, concretamente no en China y Japón).

 

The differences are much nuanced. It's not something many English students will fully grasp until essentially fluent.

Las diferencias tienen muchos matices. No es algo que muchos estudiantes de inglés entiendan del todo hasta que lo dominen.

 

Bonus extra.

Other ways to say In Other Words!

To put it simply,

Simply put,

i.e.

That is,

In short,

This means,

To wit,

Let me put it to you this way,

What I mean is…

To put it another way,

Let me paraphrase that,

To put it differently,

To put it in other words,

What I wanted to say is,

To rephrase it,

To clarify.

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