When a French speaker has just said something complex, technical, or potentially unclear, they often follow it up with a restatement — c'est-à-dire, autrement dit, en d'autres termes. These are clarification markers, and choosing the right one shapes the texture of your speech and writing. C'est-à-dire is the universal workhorse, used in every register from family chat to academic prose. Autrement dit and en d'autres termes signal a deliberate reformulation. Soit is a literary alternative used in mathematics and formal writing. À savoir introduces an enumeration. Each does a slightly different job.
This page sorts out the five most useful clarification markers, distinguishes them from the closely related family of example-introducers (par exemple, comme, notamment), and pins down the abbreviation rules — including the often-misspelled c.-à-d.
The headline summary
| Marker | Core meaning | Pragmatic flavour | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| c'est-à-dire | that is (to say), i.e. | universal clarification | neutral, very common |
| autrement dit | in other words | same content, different wording | neutral |
| dit autrement | put differently | variant of autrement dit | neutral |
| en d'autres termes | in other terms | technical reformulation | neutral/written |
| soit | that is, i.e. | mathematical / literary equivalence | literary/technical |
| à savoir | namely, that is | introduces a list or specification | neutral/written |
A working rule: c'est-à-dire is the safe default for any clarification; autrement dit signals a deliberate rewording; à savoir introduces a specific list; soit lives in mathematics and formal essays.
C'est-à-dire: the universal clarifier
C'est-à-dire literally means that is to say — c'est (it is) + à dire (to say). It is by far the most common clarification marker in French and works in every register. The English equivalent is closest to that is, i.e. — and indeed c'est-à-dire is regularly abbreviated in writing.
Il a dix-huit ans, c'est-à-dire qu'il est majeur.
He's eighteen — that is, he's of legal age.
C'est un long métrage, c'est-à-dire un film d'au moins une heure trente.
It's a feature film, that is, a film of at least an hour and a half.
On se voit demain, c'est-à-dire jeudi.
We're meeting tomorrow, that is, Thursday.
The pragmatic function is clarification by restatement — the speaker has just used a term, phrase, or claim that may not be transparent, and follows up with a more explicit version.
C'est-à-dire + clause
C'est-à-dire most often introduces a full clause with que:
Le projet est en stand-by, c'est-à-dire qu'on attend la décision du directeur.
The project is on hold, that is, we're waiting for the director's decision.
C'est compliqué, c'est-à-dire que je ne sais pas par où commencer.
It's complicated — that is, I don't know where to start.
The que is mandatory when a clause follows. C'est-à-dire je ne sais pas is ungrammatical; the structure must be c'est-à-dire que je ne sais pas.
C'est-à-dire + noun phrase
When clarifying with a noun phrase, no que is used:
Un quadragénaire, c'est-à-dire un homme entre quarante et cinquante ans.
A man in his forties, that is, a man between forty and fifty.
Une heure de retard, c'est-à-dire soixante minutes perdues.
An hour late — that is, sixty minutes lost.
C'est-à-dire in dialogue: hesitation
In spoken French, a frequent use of c'est-à-dire is to stall while you think — a kind of polite hesitation:
— Vous viendrez demain ? — C'est-à-dire... je dois encore vérifier.
— Will you come tomorrow? — Well... I still need to check.
C'est-à-dire que je ne suis pas sûr.
The thing is, I'm not sure.
This use of c'est-à-dire signals: I'm about to qualify or hedge what I'm about to say. It is a soft refusal or a careful nuance, and it is extraordinarily common in polite spoken French.
Punctuation and abbreviation
C'est-à-dire is hyphenated (three hyphens) and abbreviated as c.-à-d. — with periods after each fragment. The shorter abbreviation c-à-d (no periods) and the latinate i.e. are also seen but less standard.
Les pays francophones, c.-à-d. ceux où l'on parle français.
The francophone countries, i.e., those where French is spoken.
Autrement dit: in other words
Autrement dit literally means otherwise said — in other words. The pragmatic role is to signal a deliberate reformulation: the speaker is saying the same thing, but in different words, often clearer or more pointed.
Tu as dépensé tout ton salaire ; autrement dit, tu n'as plus d'économies.
You've spent your entire salary; in other words, you have no savings left.
Il refuse de coopérer. Autrement dit, il fait obstruction.
He refuses to cooperate. In other words, he's obstructing.
Le client n'a pas répondu. Autrement dit, le contrat est mort.
The client hasn't replied. In other words, the deal is dead.
The flavour is one of interpretation — the speaker is drawing out the implication of what was just said. Compare with c'est-à-dire, which is more often a neutral specification: c'est-à-dire explains what the term means; autrement dit explains what it amounts to.
Autrement dit vs dit autrement
The variant dit autrement exists and means the same thing — put differently. It is slightly less common than autrement dit and feels a touch more deliberate, even slightly ironic in some uses.
Dit autrement, vous me proposez de partir ?
Put differently, you're suggesting I leave?
Dit autrement, ils n'ont pas le budget.
In other words, they don't have the budget.
Both word orders are correct French; autrement dit is more frequent.
En d'autres termes: the technical reformulation
En d'autres termes (in other terms) is similar to autrement dit but slightly more (written) and technical. It signals a careful translation of one expression into another, often with a sense of explaining a specialised term.
Le patient présente une bradycardie, en d'autres termes, un rythme cardiaque trop lent.
The patient has bradycardia, in other words, a heart rate that is too slow.
Cette politique est inflationniste, en d'autres termes, elle fait monter les prix.
This policy is inflationary — in other terms, it pushes prices up.
Vous êtes licencié pour faute grave. En d'autres termes, vous partez sans indemnité.
You are dismissed for serious misconduct. In other terms, you leave without severance.
En d'autres termes is at home in academic writing, news commentary, and professional French. In casual conversation it can sound slightly bookish — most native speakers would prefer autrement dit in everyday talk.
Soit: the literary equivalence
Soit is the third-person singular subjunctive of être (let it be) and works as an equivalence marker in mathematical, scientific, and literary contexts. The pragmatic effect is that is, equal to — a precise restatement, often with a numerical or definitional flavour.
Le total s'élève à 250 euros, soit environ 1 600 yuans.
The total comes to 250 euros, that is, around 1,600 yuan.
La réunion durera deux heures, soit jusqu'à dix-sept heures.
The meeting will last two hours — that is, until five o'clock.
Trois plus quatre, soit sept.
Three plus four, that is, seven.
In mathematical and technical French, soit is the standard equivalence marker — soit x = 5 means let x = 5 or that is, x = 5. In everyday writing it functions as a polished alternative to c'est-à-dire. In casual speech it can sound bookish but is well understood.
Soit... soit... — a different construction
Be careful: soit... soit... is also the French either... or... construction, which has nothing to do with the clarification marker.
Soit tu viens, soit tu restes.
Either you come, or you stay.
On peut prendre soit le train, soit la voiture.
We can take either the train or the car.
The same word, two unrelated functions. The clarification soit always sits between two equivalent expressions; the disjunction soit... soit... repeats with two alternatives.
À savoir: namely, that is
À savoir (literally to know) is a clarification marker specialised for enumerations and specifications. It introduces a list or a precise identification of what was just mentioned in general terms.
Trois pays sont concernés, à savoir la France, la Belgique et la Suisse.
Three countries are affected, namely France, Belgium and Switzerland.
Il a passé cinq examens, à savoir maths, physique, chimie, biologie et philosophie.
He sat five exams, namely maths, physics, chemistry, biology and philosophy.
Une seule personne peut signer ce document, à savoir le directeur.
Only one person can sign this document, namely the director.
À savoir is neutral/written. It is most natural when a list follows, but can also introduce a single specification (une seule personne, à savoir le directeur).
À savoir vs c'est-à-dire
The two markers overlap but are not synonymous. À savoir says here are the specific items I mean; c'est-à-dire says here is what that term means.
Trois pays, à savoir la France, la Belgique et la Suisse.
Three countries, namely France, Belgium and Switzerland. (specific items)
Le pays voisin, c'est-à-dire la Belgique.
The neighbouring country, that is, Belgium. (clarifying what *neighbouring* refers to)
In the first, you are picking out members of a class; in the second, you are clarifying a referring expression. Both are correct — but à savoir is more natural for enumeration.
Voire: a different family — clarification or escalation?
Voire (even, or even) is sometimes grouped with the clarification markers, but its function is different. It introduces an upgrade — a stronger version of what was just said.
Le voyage prendra deux heures, voire trois.
The trip will take two hours, or even three.
Il est doué, voire brillant.
He's gifted, or even brilliant.
C'est imprudent, voire dangereux.
It's reckless, or even dangerous.
Voire does not restate — it pushes the claim further. It belongs to a different family (escalation) and is neutral/formal. The common spelling mistake is voir (to see) — they are different words.
Side-by-side comparison
The same proposition followed by each clarifier:
Il est polyglotte, c'est-à-dire qu'il parle plusieurs langues.
He's a polyglot, that is, he speaks several languages.
Il est polyglotte, autrement dit il parle plusieurs langues.
He's a polyglot, in other words he speaks several languages.
Il est polyglotte, en d'autres termes il maîtrise plusieurs langues.
He's a polyglot, in other terms he masters several languages.
Il est polyglotte, à savoir qu'il parle français, anglais, allemand et japonais.
He's a polyglot, namely he speaks French, English, German and Japanese.
Il parle quatre langues, soit français, anglais, allemand et japonais.
He speaks four languages, that is, French, English, German and Japanese.
All five are correct. C'est-à-dire is the most universal; autrement dit signals a more deliberate rewording; en d'autres termes fits technical or formal writing; à savoir is for enumeration; soit feels mathematical or polished.
Combining clarification with other markers
In real prose, clarification markers are often combined with other discourse functions:
Le projet est ambitieux, c'est-à-dire qu'il vise la totalité du marché européen, mais il est aussi risqué.
The project is ambitious — that is, it targets the entire European market — but it's also risky.
Autrement dit, et pour reprendre l'expression du président, nous sommes en crise.
In other words, and to use the president's expression, we are in a crisis.
C'est-à-dire qu'en fait, je ne suis pas sûr.
That is, actually, I'm not sure.
The combination c'est-à-dire qu'en fait is extraordinarily common in spoken French — it stalls while introducing a hedged or qualified statement.
Common mistakes
❌ C'est-à-dire je ne sais pas.
*C'est-à-dire* requires *que* before a clause
✅ C'est-à-dire que je ne sais pas.
That is, I don't know.
❌ Le voyage durera deux heures, voir trois.
*Voir* is the verb *to see*; the marker meaning *or even* is *voire* with final *e*
✅ Le voyage durera deux heures, voire trois.
The trip will take two hours, or even three.
❌ Trois pays sont concernés, c'est-à-dire la France, la Belgique et la Suisse.
For an enumeration *à savoir* is more natural
✅ Trois pays sont concernés, à savoir la France, la Belgique et la Suisse.
Three countries are affected, namely France, Belgium and Switzerland.
❌ Soit tu viens soit la France.
*Soit* in clarification sits between two equivalent expressions, not as the disjunction *either*
✅ Le pays voisin, soit la France.
The neighbouring country, that is, France.
❌ C'est à dire qu'il faut partir.
*C'est-à-dire* is hyphenated, not three separate words
✅ C'est-à-dire qu'il faut partir.
That is, we have to leave.
❌ Le résultat est négatif, en autre terme c'est un échec.
The expression is *en d'autres termes* (plural, with elision)
✅ Le résultat est négatif, en d'autres termes c'est un échec.
The result is negative; in other terms, it's a failure.
The first error is the missing que before a clause — a small but very visible learner mistake. The second is the voire / voir spelling trap, frequent even among native writers. The third is using a generic clarifier where an enumerative one (à savoir) is more elegant. The fourth confuses two unrelated functions of soit. The fifth is the common hyphenation mistake — c'est-à-dire is one hyphenated unit. The sixth is the common malformation of en d'autres termes: the expression is plural and uses elision (d'autres, not d'autre).
Why clarification markers matter
A French speaker who never clarifies sounds either lazy or arrogant — French rewards explicit reformulation. Native writers chain clarifications across sentences (c'est-à-dire qu'autrement dit en d'autres termes) far more than English writers do, and this layered restatement is one of the textural features of well-written French.
For learners, the takeaway is simple: when in doubt about whether a term will be understood, follow it up with c'est-à-dire. If you have just made a complex claim, reformulate with autrement dit. The result is prose that reads as careful and considered, even when the underlying idea is straightforward.
Key takeaways
- C'est-à-dire is the universal clarifier — works in every register, every context.
- C'est-à-dire que
- clause; c'est-à-dire
- noun phrase (no que).
- clause; c'est-à-dire
- Autrement dit signals a deliberate reformulation, often drawing out the implication.
- En d'autres termes fits technical and formal writing.
- Soit is the literary, mathematical equivalence marker.
- À savoir introduces a list or specification.
- Voire (with final e) means or even — a stronger version, not a restatement; do not confuse with voir (to see).
- The abbreviation is c.-à-d. with periods, c'est-à-dire with hyphens — get the punctuation right.
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