也就是说 / 就是说【yě jiùshì shuō / jiùshì shuō】

也就是说 follows a statement and spells out what it amounts to: the same point put plainly, a figure worked out from it, or the conclusion the listener should draw. 就是说 without 也 is the more casual form.

Checking you've understood

Said back to someone with a question mark, it asks whether you've drawn the right conclusion: "so you're saying…?".

也就是说 or 换句话说

换句话说 rewords the same idea. 也就是说 can do that too, and it can also go a step further and draw out a consequence the first sentence only implies. For working out a date, a number or a result, 也就是说 is the natural choice.

A restatement, not an example

English speakers sometimes reach for 也就是说 where they mean "for example". 也就是说 says the same thing again; to pick out one case from many, use 比如.

• × 我喜欢很多水果，也就是说苹果 → 我喜欢很多水果，比如苹果