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How are i.e. and e.g. pronounced?

tchrist
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Lenik
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    Why do English use Latin abbreviations anyway?

    In norwegian we use "dvs." as short for "det vil si" ("that is"), and "f.eks." as short for "for eksempel" ("for example"), and we would never pronounce it as an abbrevation (unless you're trying to sound geeky).

     – Stein G. Strindhaug Mar 21 '11 at 11:33
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    @Stein: In English, it's used to sound smart. – endolith Apr 25 '11 at 21:57
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    @Stein -- Latin abbreviations are a holdover from the period where Latin was a standard part of the curriculum. I.e., e.g, and even etc. were common abbreviation used by scholars for centuries. We still invent and use abbreviations. Now we have lol and wtf. – Jay Elston May 22 '11 at 03:55
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    @Jay: Then, how to pronounce lol? loll or laugh out loud? The latter seems very prolix. – Lenik May 22 '11 at 09:44
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    As an exception, etc is pronounced et cetera. – Pitarou Dec 23 '11 at 12:09
  • @XièJìléi: If you're making fun of the person who used "lol", you pronounce it "lawl". – endolith Sep 21 '12 at 14:15
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    Interesting, if this question was asked today it would be closed as general reference and would get a dozen downvotes. The ELU community has become a lot more haughty and aggressive – Armen Ծիրունյան May 22 '13 at 20:58
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    This question has been answered, there can be no other alternative answer, there is no scope for detailed thoughtful discussion. Please close this question. – Mari-Lou A Nov 05 '14 at 04:13
  • @Mari-LouA, with all due respect, that a Stack Exchange 'question has been answered, [and] there can be no other alternative answer' is not generally regarded as a reason for closing it. If it were, thousands of questions that are currently open would need to be closed, and this site would considerably change its character. If the worry is that the question may invite frivolous answers from one-time visitors, it is always possible to 'protect' it, while leaving it otherwise open. – jsw29 Nov 17 '20 at 22:08
  • @jsw29 Not every question is the same. Not every question has the one single answer because as far as I can tell nearly all the answers say "eye-ee" and "ee-gee". This was posted in 2010, today it would be closed and deleted within days. How many acceptable ways are there to *pronounce* "i.e" and "e.g"? I'm all ears. P.S All the answers were posted in the same year, no one in over ten years looked at it and thought, I could write a better answer. – Mari-Lou A Nov 20 '20 at 10:47
  • Closing a question and deleting it are two very different things, please don't confuse the two. A closed question remains visible, and shows visitors that EL&U has since evolved. This question, despite its views and upvotes, today would be off-topic but not on ELL. – Mari-Lou A Nov 20 '20 at 18:51
  • @endolith You say that, but I see people mess up i.e. and e.g. more often than not, making them seem all the less smart. ;-) – SO_fix_the_vote_sorting_bug Jan 02 '23 at 05:41
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    @SO_fix_the_vote_sorting_bug comparing the closure of a simple English language question on SE to that of the Nazis and Fascists parties is incredibly insulting to all those people who were killed during their reign of power. How anyone compare the two is beyond me. – Mari-Lou A Jan 02 '23 at 07:25
  • @SO_fix_the_vote_sorting_bug Yes, that's the point. Like "thusly", it's used to sound smarter than you actually are. – endolith Jan 02 '23 at 12:22

7 Answers7

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i.e. stands for id est (Latin), which means "that is". You use it to link in a deeper explanation about something. Pronounce it "eye - ee".

e.g. stands for exempli gratia (also Latin), which means "for example". You use it to link in an example of a more generic term. Pronounce it "ee - jee"

Chris
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    Can I read them out as, 'that is' and 'for example'? (When there's some audience) – Lenik Aug 12 '10 at 23:18
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    It depends on who your audience is. Children, I think, would be distracted with the abbreviations. Educated adults wouldn't mind, though. – Chris Aug 12 '10 at 23:27
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    I have lived my entire adult life thinking "i.e." stood for "in essence". Thanks for this! – Paul Lammertsma Aug 13 '10 at 00:42
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    @Ray: I always read them aloud as such, and it can get amusing when reading the work of others who have used them incorrectly. Oh, if only I had the chance to read more bad literature aloud... – Jon Purdy Nov 05 '10 at 20:18
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    @Paul I have a friend who thought e.g. stood for “example given.” At least the mnemonic would prevent inappropriate substitution of i.e. – Greg Bacon Jun 05 '11 at 19:57
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    exempli gratia does not mean "for example", it means "free example", which is essentially the same thing. – Malfist Jul 25 '11 at 19:18
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    You are not supposed to pronounce these as read-out letters; you are supposed to pronounce them as their English equivalents. – tchrist Sep 30 '12 at 20:22
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    @Malfist EXEMPLI GRATIA does not mean free example, it means "for the sake of an example". One shouldn't mistake the Latin noun grātia (grace, thankfulness, sake, present only in Romance languages) for the Latin adjective gratis (free, present both in the Romance and the Germanic languages). – Talia Ford Sep 22 '13 at 07:46
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    I always pronounce them, along with etc. in the fully Roman, maximum show-off way when possible. – Simon Kuang Jun 02 '14 at 03:52
  • a bridge word between 'free' and 'grace' might be 'favor' – AmI Jan 28 '16 at 20:55
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    @SimonKuang So [ekˡsempliː ˡɡɾaːtiʲaː] and [et ˡketeɾa]? I suspect most English speakers wouldn't even understand what you meant. Do you also pronounce § as [ˡskiːliket] or [ˡsiŋna sektiʲoːnis], depending on meaning? – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 14 '17 at 03:03
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For i.e. I usually say "that is", occasionally "eye-ee".

For e.g. I always say "for example".

Edward Tanguay
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When I was in college, one of my philosophy professors instructed us to use translated English for abbreviated or initialized latinisms when reading a text aloud. I would agree that in most cases you should speak the translated English rather than speaking the letters of the initialization.

  • i.e. is used for clarification and should be spoken "that is". While most English speakers will recognize the meaning of "eye ee" when spoken, saying "that is" is clearer.
  • e.g. is used for providing one or many examples and should be spoken "for example".

While i.e. and e.g. are relatively common, other abbreviated or initialized latinisms, such as viz., are less frequent and their English translation should certainly be provided when reading from a text that includes a latinism.

For example, take the following quote from Plato:

Perfect wisdom has four parts, viz., wisdom, the principle of doing things aright; justice, the principle of doing things equally in public and private; fortitude, the principle of not flying danger, but meeting it; and temperance, the principle of subduing desires and living moderately.

When reading that quote aloud, the translation for viz. should be provided.

  • Incorrect:
    • "Perfect wisdom has four parts, viz, wisdom, the principle..."
    • "Perfect wisdom has four parts, videlicet, wisdom, the principle..."
  • Correct:
    • "Perfect wisdom has four parts, namely, wisdom, the principle..."
    • "Perfect wisdom has four parts, that is to say, wisdom, the principle..."

Speaking the translation for initialized and abbreviated latinisms provides greater clarity for the audience than simply speaking the initials or the latin.

Ben McCormack
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    Plato was Greek and lived at a time when the Romans had little (if any) influence on Greek language or culture. I wonder how he came to use the abbreviation "viz." :-) – Jay Elston May 22 '11 at 04:07
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    +1 But how will blowhards satisfy their pomposity needs without liberal seasoning with vocalized latinisms? – Greg Bacon Jun 05 '11 at 20:01
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    @Greg, remember "Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur," which translates into "Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound." – Andrew Neely Oct 20 '11 at 12:01
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    This is the correct answer: you pronounce them as their English equivalents. – tchrist Sep 30 '12 at 20:22
  • +1, I have been pronouncing 'viz' as 'viz'. 'namely' is appropriate. Thanks for sharing the correct usage. – Ashwin Dec 28 '12 at 05:51
  • @AndrewNeely It doesn't. It doesn't translate into anything, because viditur is not a word. Quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur, on the other hand, translates into “Anything which is said in Latin appears deep”. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 14 '17 at 03:17
  • @JanusBahsJacquet, I bow to your greater knowledge. – Andrew Neely Jan 25 '17 at 16:51
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Just pronounce the letters: "Eye eee" and "eee gee".

I have never met anyone who actually said "id est" and "exempli gratia", which is what they really stand for.

mmyers
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I can't believe this wasn't addressed in the Oatmeal Comic but I usually say the letters or replace it with "for example" (and now, thanks to the comic, I'll replace it with "in other words" instead and use e.g. when I mean "for example").

tooshel
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and as for the pronunciation of the Latin:

i.e. = id est

e.g. = IgzemplI gra:tI

(NB a: is pronounced like the "a" in car or can't)

but remember - as has been mentioned here; it's much better practice to use the English long-forms in speech:

i.e. - "that is" / "or"
e.g. - "for example"

Adam FG
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    What happened to the "a" at the end of "gratia"? Is it not pronounced? (I'm a beginner to Latin, especially pronunciation which I haven't been paying much attention to…) – ShreevatsaR Nov 05 '10 at 20:47
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    A more modern an common (British) pronunciation would be {gra:tI} However classical Latin would retain the "a:" sound at the end - {gra:tIa:} – Adam FG Nov 07 '10 at 15:33
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    Which pronunciation are you trying to indicate here? a) reconstructed Latin pronunciation b) restored pronunciation of Latin for English speakers c) traditional English pronunciation of Latin? As it is, your indicated pronunciations are an inconsistent hybrid of b and c (you indicate a voiced /gz/ rather than /ks/ for the "x", but a broad /a:/ for "a" and monophthongal /I/ for "i"). – herisson Jun 30 '15 at 15:42
  • @herisson, good points. And is the first e in exempli really pronounced /I/? Only asking because I've never heard any civilized Latin-based language speakers pronounce an e like that. – SO_fix_the_vote_sorting_bug Dec 31 '22 at 22:25
  • @SO_fix_the_vote_sorting_bug: You probably wouldn't have heard it: English speakers rarely have occasion to pronounce exempli gratia as part of an English sentence. But just as English speakers often pronounce /I/ in the first syllable of example and exemplary, it would also be typical in an English pronunciation of Latin (the type of pronunciation whereby "stare decisis" rhymes with "vary the crisis") to use /ɪ/ in the first syllable of exempli gratia. – herisson Jan 01 '23 at 02:28
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Latin abbreviations

  1. i.e. = that is, such as, or "in other words"
  2. e.g = for example
  3. et. al. = and others (i get a lot of strange looks when I use this)

  4. NB. = nota bene; Note well (and this one as well... I have no idea why this one is capitalized)

  5. etc. = et cetera ("and other things", or "and so forth")

and yes when reading aloud I just use the translation to avoid confusion

Pronuciation: just say the letters for most cases; except etc. and et cetera are pronounced the same.

et. al. is pronounced et all

djm
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