How to explain in English: 20 essential and useful phrases

How to explain in English/ Explaining something in a different way

When we need to explain, clarify, or simplify, we usually use phrases which show the listener that we are going to say the same thing in a different way.

How to explain in English

Here is a list of expressions that can be used when explaining something in a different way:

1. To put it simply, ……..
2. Which simply means…….
3. Which basically means……
4. Which just means…..
5. What I mean by that is……
6. And what it means is…..
7. And what this means is…….
8. And what that means is…….
9. By which I mean……
10. In other words,…..
11. What I’m trying to say is……
12. Which is to say…….
13. That is to say, ………
14. To put it another way, ……
15. The thing is, ……
16. Let me explain, ………..
17. To put it in a nutshell, …………
18. To put it mildly, ……
19. One possible explanation is that……
20. I’d say that…..

Some of the expressions above can be used to explain or paraphrase something in writing.

In writing, we can also use “i.e. (= that is) to paraphrase or explain something.

 

You may like these expressions for “expressing lack of understanding and asking for clarification“