Sometimes after finish explaining something, people will say, "You see me?" or "You get me?"
I wonder if they are equivalent to "Do you understand what I mean?"
-
3Also, "You hear me?" or "You feel me?", to some extent.– beatgammitCommented Sep 27, 2011 at 15:45
-
It's a lot like "You know?"– DanielCommented Sep 27, 2011 at 22:04
-
Related: What is the meaning of "I got you"?– DanielCommented Sep 27, 2011 at 22:06
-
@Sun: Where are you hearing "you see me?" (what country, what context)? Do many people use the phrase, or just one? If the latter, I'd warn against using it because it's an unfamiliar usage in the US and UK. People might think that you are literally asking if they can see you. :p– Stop Slandering Monica CellioCommented Sep 28, 2011 at 15:45
-
@sequoia mcdowell : I heard from my teacher, in Vietnam :D– JatSingCommented Sep 29, 2011 at 1:17
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
"You get me?" most certainly means "do you understand me?" "You see me" is unfamiliar to me (US EN), perhaps they mean "Do you see what I mean?"
In any event the context you provided (question asked after an explanation) makes it almost certain that the latter question, like the other, is used to mean "Do you understand?"
answered Sep 27, 2011 at 15:46
Stop Slandering Monica CellioStop Slandering Monica Cellio
1,1431 gold badge9 silver badges19 bronze badges
-
2"You see me" is also unknown to me in UK English. "Do you see?" is quite common Commented Sep 27, 2011 at 16:52
-
@Colin: and even more common, perhaps, is just “You see?” I’d be interested to know where
@Sun is hearing “You see me?” — I could easily imagine it being common usage somewhere, especially under the influence of some other languages.– PLLCommented Sep 27, 2011 at 22:27 -
Typically "do you see?" or "you see?" is, in my understanding, short for "do you see what I mean?" rather than "do you see me?" Thank you Colin for the UK perspective and I'm curious whether PLL's guess is correct (that it's common somewhere). Commented Sep 28, 2011 at 15:42
Rather than being used to mean "Do you understand?", in ordinary American speech the phrase "You get me?" is used as near-meaningless filler; that is, like "You know" it is a discourse particle. ("In linguistics, a discourse particle is a lexeme or particle which has no direct semantic meaning in the context of a sentence, having rather a pragmatic function: it serves to indicate the speaker's attitude, or to structure their relationship to other participants in a conversation.")
I don't recall hearing or reading "You see me" with any relation to "Do you understand?". I have heard it said (or have said it) in sentences like "You see me on the left in this picture." Of course if I heard a person say "You see me?" several times in a conversation, I would class it as a discourse particle in that person's vocabulary.
answered Sep 27, 2011 at 21:33
-
This is interesting and insightful, but a bit of an overstatement, I feel. “You get me?” seems a little bit of the way towards becoming a discourse particle — it usually carries its meaning rather less heavily than a full “Do you understand?” would — but I don’t think it’s usually, and certainly not always, lost it anywhere as much as most discourse particles have lost theirs.– PLLCommented Sep 27, 2011 at 22:25
-
I don't think it's safe to assume that "you get me?" after an explanation carries "no semantic meaning." Depending on context, the person may be looking for a verbal response, a nod, or, as you suggest, nothing at all. Someone may well ask "you get me?" then wait until they get affirmation; not answering could suggest that one is not paying attention. Without more context, it's hard to know but I wouldn't assume "no meaning." Commented Sep 28, 2011 at 15:40
-
A person I knew used "Get me?" (rather than "You get me?") much like "You know?", i.e., would throw in a "Get me?" every two or three sentences. I've never heard "You get me?" or "Get me?" or "You know?" used in any manner other than, primarily, verbal filler, and, secondarily, as perhaps a prompt for a response. Commented Sep 28, 2011 at 18:50
Yes. Both phrases mean that... Another way of use is simply stating them, instead of questioned. ex. "you get me" ...just like an affirmation of the fact that "you understand me", "you feel who I am", "you see what I'm about", "you see ME". Used this way, both phrases "you get me" and "you see me" acquire a bit more of a sensory-like meaning; perhaps more like a recognition of emotional understanding and synchronism rather than just the comprehension of what's verbally expressed.
