How common is it for a native speaker to use "i.e." in their conversation?

Answers

Not very common. But it would always be pronounced "eye ee" /ai i:/ The Latin phrase is not well known by English speakers.

It is more likely that a speaker would say "that is" instead of speaking "i.e."

James K

Posted 2020-07-01T21:14:18.303

Reputation: 80 781

I would call someone who said "i.e.", "e.g.", "w.e.f." etc a very clumsy communicator. – Michael Harvey – 2020-07-01T21:37:07.073

Although I have heard people triumphantly saying "QED!" after proving something. – Michael Harvey – 2020-07-01T21:38:34.347

1Initialisms in spoken English are not that unusual, particularly in informal contexts. from omg to wtf. – James K – 2020-07-01T21:39:51.940

I sometimes say omfg. – Michael Harvey – 2020-07-02T05:58:05.583

1By the way, only a small thing, but look up the meaning of "native". It doesn't mean the same as "a native speaker of English". – James K – 2020-07-02T00:07:14.177

@JamesK Yes, it was a good point. You hit the nail on the head. But as this website is for learning English, my mean was a native speaker of English, and not, for instance, a native speaker of French. – Alan – 2020-07-02T08:12:44.793