The Difference Between e.g. and i.e.?

The Latin abbreviations e.g. and i.e. are used extensively in English. Not everyone, however, is aware of the difference in their usage. Some people use them interchangeably. Others even invert their meaning. If you are not completely sure when to use each of those abbreviations, keep reading!

e.g.

e.g. stands for the Latin phrase “exempli gratia,” which means “for the sake of example.” You should use it when presenting examples or more possibilities for the term in question. An easy way to remember this is to associate e.g. with “example given.”

I like citrus fruits (e.g., oranges and lemons)

i.e.

i.e. Stands for the Latin phrase “id est,” which means “that is.” You should use it when explaining or rephrasing a sentence. Usually it has the same meaning as “in other words.”

I like all fruits (i.e., I eat pretty much anything)

Some considerations

You can use the e.g. and i.e. abbreviations both inside and outside the parenthesis. If you are writing in a formal style, however, they must go inside the parenthesis
They appear in lower case letters even if at the beginning of the sentence
Always separate the letters with a period, and follow the abbreviation with a comma

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Daniel Scocco on June 1, 2007 | Filed Under Misused Words

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43 Responses to “The Difference Between e.g. and i.e.?”

Wendy Piersall on June 1st, 2007 3:04 pm

I have ALWAYS wondered about these - excellent! Thanks!!!
Daniel on June 1st, 2007 3:57 pm

Wendy, thanks for stopping by!

I used to wonder about that as well, in fact if you go to my other blogs I think you will be able to find e.g. or i.e. used improperly…
Stephen Ward on June 1st, 2007 4:57 pm

I feel good that I’ve been using them in the right context, even if I had the meaning slightly off. I also didn’t know about the comma rule. Thanks for getting me up to speed.
Andrew Flusche on June 1st, 2007 5:04 pm

Hi Daniel,

Very smooth article! I was going to argue your point about always using a comma, but a little quick research revealed the accuracy of your post. I shall not doubt you again!

Andrew
Daniel on June 1st, 2007 5:47 pm

Thanks Andrew! Please doubt me in the future hehe, I am learning this stuff just like you guys.
Roberto Alamos on June 1st, 2007 6:09 pm

Wow, I always misused “i.e.”, hehehe, I should be using “e.g” all this time and that’s a little embarrassing since I have never used .e.g.

Good to see you finally wrote this post I know from first hand that you had it planned since a lot of time ago (as well as this entire blog). Good luck!
Ingrid on June 1st, 2007 7:38 pm

I want to thank you for this excellent site. English not being my first language, posts like these make my day!
Rehuel on June 2nd, 2007 2:43 am

This was one of the things on my “to-research” list, cause I did see some people use them accordingly, but I wanted confirmation. Thanks Dan.
Pravin on June 2nd, 2007 6:51 am

I always remember “i.e.” as “in essence” and I thank you for teaching me “example given” for e.g.
Daniel on June 2nd, 2007 11:10 am

Pravin, good point with “in essence”, I had never thought about it!
Dana Mark on June 3rd, 2007 2:26 pm

Thanks for another very helpful post. I had never heard of “example given” for e.g. either. I hope current English teachers know as much as you do and are teaching it to their students!
Ruth Lanham on June 10th, 2007 2:02 pm

Thank you so much for the info. I have always wondered what the difference was.
hisham3 on June 11th, 2007 6:56 pm

Thank u very much for ur good explanation. That helped me telling my students the difference between e.g. & i.e.
Brittany Fletcher on June 15th, 2007 2:21 am

Thanks! I have made the mistake of using these interchangeably–now I know better.
Lia Sarmiento on June 15th, 2007 8:58 am

Thank you for helping us to know the meaning of e.g & i.e
Muhammad Hanif on June 15th, 2007 10:21 am

I much ambitious about to learn english and write. But certian words creates problem. The folloiwng words may clarify
“to be”
“by”
Felix Jizmundo on June 19th, 2007 6:56 am

Daniel, while I have always used those abbreviations in the correct context because I knew their individual English meanings, I never had the chance to find out the exact Latin phrase for which they stood for. Thank you for doing the work for us.
Zainab Musa on June 26th, 2007 9:41 am

Good day,
I am a Nigeria, Pls i would like to be part of your organisation as in i want to be fluent in English language, how can i start learning to be flueng.
Daniel on June 26th, 2007 10:22 am

Zinab, what can I say, keep reading the blog!
Roshawn on July 2nd, 2007 12:48 pm

Excellent site. It’s a must read for aspiring bloggers and writers/authors alike.

Keep the posts coming. We’ll read them.
Daniel Nordstrom on July 18th, 2007 6:42 pm

Another nice post!

I found out about the e.g. one a few weeks ago, didn’t know about the i.e. though. I’m a Swede so I though it stood for “in example” or something like that. But latin… I see.

Very useful!
Abdullah on July 31st, 2007 2:49 pm

Thank you, I always tried to know about them.
Jenny on August 9th, 2007 9:06 pm

Wow. I didn’t know this. I’ve learned something new!
guppyman on August 26th, 2007 10:44 am

Ha ha… This is interesting and informative. Thanks for the sharing.
rani on August 30th, 2007 11:09 am

very very thanks you very very!
Benny Giri on September 20th, 2007 12:52 am

Thank you for the info. many of English learner still don’t realize the difference between the terms, including me..
Keep me informed for such a good info..
Özhan on September 30th, 2007 7:46 am

I always thought “i.e.” as “in example”
Rani Lean on October 12th, 2007 11:29 am

Thanks. This info on ‘difference between i.e and e.g ‘ with given examples is really very helpful. This site is great!!!
lemuel on November 19th, 2007 1:16 am

well i’m so happy to know that you guys are searching for the very simple details in grammar.great! now i could use them properly..
PreciseEdit on January 12th, 2008 9:02 pm

Just a reminder: Don’t forget the comma after “i.e.” or “e.g.” Many of the writers with whom we work forget this comma.

We have an article about these two terms in our training manual, found on our site, because they are so often mistaken.
Kaboggoza Abdallah. on January 31st, 2008 12:44 pm

I would like to know the meanig of the following word: pro rata.
Otherwise, thank you very much for teaching us .

God bless you all.
Jim Clary on February 6th, 2008 3:42 am

Thanks for the great tip. It will help me in the future.
MIN HAN on February 14th, 2008 6:48 pm

How wonderful your teaching is ! I am very lucky I have had new knowledge. Special thanks for your presentation.
Editor, The SciTech Journal on March 21st, 2008 5:45 pm

GREAT POST. VERY HELPFUL. THANKS FOR SHARING THE THOUGHTS. GOOD LUCK Thumbs Up to you
Charlie Gilkey on March 22nd, 2008 8:27 pm

Thanks for the great explanation here. I, too, have been using them somewhat interchangably. Keep up the great work!
Diane Drinkwater on April 12th, 2008 11:10 pm

Hey that so simple! Thanks for that. I’ll be able to explain this one to my son!

And am bookmarking your site right now!