Grammar 101 with Michael Kwan

Having a spell checker integrated into your operating system, word processor or web browser seems like such a great idea. You can easily pick up on your errors and typos as you go along, ensuring that you have the right spelling for everything you write… except when you come across a term like “per se” and you are tempted to over-correct it to “per say.” And that would be wrong.

The “per” part of the saying shows up just fine for most people, but the “se” will appear as an error under most spell checking utilities. And so, a good number of people switch “se” (which is pronounced like “say”) with “say” in an effort to remove the squiggly red line. The issue with a spell checker is that it’ll only check for one language at a time and “per se” is technically Latin, though it is commonly used as an English idiom.

But what does “per se” mean, anyhow? Like “for all intents and purposes,” it has become an idiomatic phrase that many of us insert even when it’s not really necessary to do so. It’s not that “per se” doesn’t carry any meaning, but it is more commonly used–both in casual writing and in speech–for impact or effect.

“Per se” can be roughly translated to be in itself, of itself, by itself, inherently or intrinsically. The most common usage is in a sentence structure similar to this:

I wouldn’t say that Terry is cheap, per se, but he is an avid coupon clipper.

When used in this way, it sounds like the speaker wants to say that Jerry is cheap, but he either wants to minimize the impact of the word choice of “cheap” or he recognizes that “cheap” isn’t quite the right word here.

Jessica got the promotion because she’s great at her job and not because she’s the manager’s daughter per se.

While the precise construction of this sentence is different, the fundamental usage here remains unchanged. You’ll also notice that I italicized “per se” in both of the example sentences. This is a common albeit hardly necessary stylistic choice. You’ll find this is true with a lot of Latin phrases that have become English idioms.

“Per se” is also used in a more precise legal context, but unless you’re actively engaged in that kind of “legalese” discussion, it’s not going to be particularly relevant to most of us per se.