I know that “that is” comes from Latin “id est”, short “i.e.” and means “in other words”.
I would like to know whether there is a French equivalent for this phrase.
2 Answers
I think the closest translation of “that is” would be “c’est-à-dire”, which litterally means “that is to say”. It can be shortened to “c-à-d” or “c.a.d.”
“Autrement dit” and “en d’autres termes” also both exactly mean “in other words”.
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It’s exactly what I’m looking for, the more variants the better. Much obliged! Commented Apr 28, 2014 at 12:11
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6@LucianSava Note the the shortened version is not nearly as common as “i.e.” is in English, I think you should generally avoid it in formal writing.– RelaxedCommented Apr 28, 2014 at 18:05
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à savoir is the French equivalent of Latin's 'id est'
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2In some contexts à savoir might be a good equivalent. But would you care to elaborate a little more? Commented Apr 30, 2014 at 17:54
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1I think one can une à savoir and c'est-à-dire quite interchangeably, although the latter is more common.– VH-NZZCommented May 3, 2014 at 10:06
i.e.is also used in french as is, especially (but not limited) to refering scientific work (mathematical, for instance).