How to Use Per Se (in a conversation)

24,886 views ・ 2023-10-16

Rachel's English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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I recently got a question about  how to use the phrase, “per se.”
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This is a Latin phrase, and it's written S-E,  but it's pronounced just like ‘say’: ‘What did  
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00:11
you say? Per se. It means by itself, thought  of independently, away from another context.
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00:19
That's a little confusing. Let's go over a sample  sentence. “I'm not criticizing your cooking,  
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00:25
per se. I'm just saying we could  use a little bit more variety.”
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00:29
So, “I'm not criticizing your cooking, per se.”  That means by itself, on a whole aside from other  
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things, I'm not criticizing your cooking; I  like your cooking. But what I'm saying is,  
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in a bigger context, I could use a little bit  more variety. “I'm not criticizing your cooking,  
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00:47
per se. I'm just saying we could  use a little bit more variety.”
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