i mean

Question

i mean (to explain).
and i mean (to correct)

for example:

-we should study spanish everyday, i mean we can`t improve our spanish if we don`t study.

-we shouldn`t learn spanish, oops, i mean we should learn spanish.

how do we say i mean in spanish?

i would say maybe digo....'

Answer 1

James Santiago said:

I only mentioned that in passing, and wouldn't have posted just to correct it. Just thought there might be another trivia-phile out there.
Mayhap there is.

Answer 2

thank you all,, and wow, that was really helpful

Answer 3

Natasha said:

Only James would correct my spelling of a slang expression

I only mentioned that in passing, and wouldn't have posted just to correct it. Just thought there might be another trivia-phile out there.

Answer 4

Only James would correct my spelling of a slang expression . . . . OED agrees with him, though.

Answer 5

"correct from the getgo", here

You may (or may not) be interested to learn that that phrase (which should be hyphenated as get-go) dates back only to circa 1966. It came from African-American slang, and was a transformation of the phrase "get going," which was transformed into a noun meaning the start of something. Once in a while you'll hear characters say this in movies set in the Old West, which is pretty funny to people like me who care about such things.

Answer 6

"correct from the getgo", here

Eddy said:

Way to go Punisher, you were correct from the off. (just some colloquialism from my part of the world and before I am corrected, it may also be used in other parts of our planet.)

>

Answer 7

Way to go Punisher, you were correct from the off. (just some colloquialism from my part of the world and before I am corrected, it may also be used in other parts of our planet.)

Answer 8

Natasha said:

Radio announcers often say "rather" instead of "I mean" if they make a mistake, presumably on the assumption that it sounds better. Is there an equivalent in Spanish?

"más bien"

Answer 9

Radio announcers often say "rather" instead of "I mean" if they make a mistake, presumably on the assumption that it sounds better. Is there an equivalent in Spanish'

Answer 10

sometimes say digo i doubt that´s correct if you want to be a stickler since it means i say instead of i mean, or i meant

Digo is absolutely, positively correct for "I mean" in the sense of "what I meant to say was." Using the literal translation of "I mean" (significo) in this context would be completely wrong.

It's pointless to compare languages word by word. We have to compare situations. And in a situation where we say "I mean" in English, we say "digo" in Spanish.

Answer 11

I like quiero decir, or es decir to be more impersonal, but I also say "mejor dicho..." like if you want to elaborate or add to what you just said

Deberíamos estudiar español todos los días. Mejor dicho, no podemos mejorar si no estudiamos.

but i wouldn´t really say it if you accidentally said the wrong thing. also i hear and even sometimes say digo but i doubt that´s correct if you want to be a stickler since it means i say instead of i mean, or i meant

Answer 12

To clarify:

He is not very tidy. I mean, he is a mess.
No es muy ordenado. Es decir, es un desastre.
No es muy ordenado. O sea, es un desastre.

To correct:

I'm going to the cinema, I mean the theather.
Voy al cine, digo, al teatro.

Answer 13

Other very common options to express "I mean" in the sense of "that is to say" are o sea, es que, and es decir.

-We should study Spanish every day. I mean, we can't improve our Spanish if we don't study.
-Deberíamos estudiar el español todos los días. O sea, no podemos mejorar nuestro español si no estudiamos.
-Deberíamos estudiar el español todos los días. Es que no podemos mejorar nuestro español si no estudiamos.
-Deberíamos estudiar el español todos los días. Es decir, no podemos mejorar nuestro español si no estudiamos.

-We shouldn't learn Spanish, oops, I mean we should learn Spanish.
-No deberíamos aprender el español, ¡ay!, digo, sí deberíamos aprender el español,

Answer 14

...quiero decir

Answer 15

thanx,
but how about "digo"?

in daily conversations, i believe that i mean comes up alot.

is quiero decir or me refiero used in daily conversations among friends? or there is other way to say it?

i heard "digo" once but i am not sure if it was used for that meaning.