Per Se or Per Say: Which One Is Correct?

Unlike a pair of two valid choices, per se and per say are not both correct: per se is the standard spelling of a Latin phrase, and per say is simply a misspelling of it. Per se means by itself, in itself, or as such, it flags that something is true of a thing on its own, apart from its effects or surroundings: "the rule isn't unfair per se," "she has nothing against the idea per se." The phrase comes straight from Latin, where per means "by" or "through" and se means "itself," so per se literally reads by itself. The wrong version, per say, swaps that Latin se for the English word say because the phrase is pronounced "pur SAY", but say has nothing to do with the meaning, and no current dictionary lists per say. This places per se vs per say among the commonly confused words where a foreign phrase gets respelled by ear. This guide explains what per se means, why the spelling is Latin, why per say keeps tempting people, and a reliable way to keep it right.

Which One Is Correct?

There is a clear answer here: per se is correct, and per say is not. Every major dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford, Cambridge, lists per se as a Latin phrase and records no variant spelled per say. It is a fixed borrowing, so it does not bend to English spelling the way ordinary words sometimes do.

If you want the phrase that means by itself or in itself, you want per se, two short words ending in the Latin se. "The design isn't the problem per se," "he isn't opposed per se, just cautious." There is no context in modern writing where per say is the right choice.

The practical rule of thumb: the phrase is Latin, so keep the Latin spelling. Whenever you reach for it, write per se, the same se you would see in other Latin borrowings. If you find yourself typing say, pause, that spelling comes from the sound of the phrase, not its meaning. Because per say is not a stylistic variant but an outright error, keeping the Latin se is all you need to get it right every time.

What Per Se Means and Where It Comes From

Understanding the phrase makes the spelling feel logical rather than arbitrary. Per se is Latin, imported whole into English centuries ago. In Latin, per means "by," "through," or "for," and se is a reflexive form meaning "itself" or "himself/herself." Put together, per se means by itself or in itself.

That core meaning, considered on its own, is what the phrase does in a sentence. When you say something is not true per se, you mean it is not true of the thing in isolation, though it might be true once you add context or consequences:

• "The medication isn't dangerous per se, but it interacts badly with alcohol." (not dangerous by itself)
• "I don't dislike the plan per se; I dislike the timing." (nothing against the plan in itself)
• "Speed isn't the goal per se, accuracy is." (speed is not the goal as such)

In each case, per se isolates the thing from everything around it. That is why lawyers, philosophers, and careful writers reach for it: it draws a clean line between what a thing is and what it causes or implies. The Latin se carries that "itself" meaning; the English say carries none of it, which is exactly why the correct spelling has to stay per se.

Why People Write Per Say

If per se is the only correct form, why does per say keep appearing? The confusion comes from a few understandable sources.

The biggest is pronunciation. Per se is said "pur SAY," and the second syllable sounds precisely like the everyday English word say. Writers who have only ever heard the phrase, never seen it in print, reach for the spelling their ear supplies, and say is the obvious guess. This is the classic route to an eggcorn: a familiar English word replaces an unfamiliar foreign one that sounds the same.

A second cause is that the Latin se looks incomplete to English eyes. A bare two-letter se can feel like a typo or an abbreviation, so writers "fix" it into a word they recognize. But se is a complete Latin word, not a fragment, and it is the part that carries the "itself" meaning.

A third factor is false reassurance from real say phrases. English has plenty of legitimate expressions with say, "needless to say," "so to say", so per say slots in without setting off alarm bells. The fix is not a better ear, since the ear is what causes the trouble, but a memory anchor: this phrase is Latin, and its second word is se, the same way segway vs segue hides a French-Italian spelling behind an English-sounding guess.

Examples in Sentences

Seeing the correct spelling in context, next to the error, makes the Latin se stick.

Correct uses of per se:

• The book isn't boring per se, just slow to start.
• Gluten isn't harmful per se unless you are intolerant.
• It's not a rule per se, more of a guideline.
• Money isn't the motive per se; recognition is.

Wrong -> right corrections:

• The policy isn't unfair per say. -> The policy isn't unfair per se.
• He didn't lie, per say, but he left things out. -> He didn't lie, per se, but he left things out.
• It isn't a promotion per say. -> It isn't a promotion per se.

In every correction the fix is the same: the English-sounding say becomes the Latin se, matching the phrase's real origin and meaning.

Per Se vs Per Say: Side by Side

The table sets the correct spelling against the error.

Aspect	Per se	Per say
Status	correct, standard	misspelling, nonstandard
Origin	Latin (per + se)	mishearing of the Latin
Meaning	by itself, in itself, as such	none (not a real phrase)
Second word	se ("itself")	say (wrong, from the sound)
Pronunciation	pur SAY	pur SAY
Use it?	always	never

The key row is "second word": per se keeps the Latin se, which means "itself," while per say wrongly swaps in the English say, which means nothing here. Keep the se and the phrase is always right.

How to Remember

The cleanest trick ties the spelling to the origin. Per se is Latin, and Latin does not use the English word say. Picture the phrase as a small imported label that arrived already spelled p-e-r s-e, you do not get to respell it by ear any more than you would respell versus or vice versa. It sounds like "say," but it is written se.

A second cue uses meaning. Per se means by itself, and the "self" idea lives in the Latin se, think se for self. If you can swap the phrase for in itself or as such and the sentence still works, you want per se. And if you are ever tempted to spell a borrowed phrase the way it sounds, remember its neighbors segway vs segue, where an English guess replaces a French-Italian original, and nitch vs niche, where the sound again pulls writers away from the correct spelling. The pattern is steady: for borrowed words, trust the origin, not the ear, so it is per se, never per say.

Related Spelling Mixups

Per se sits in a whole family of borrowed words that English speakers respell by ear, and recognizing the family makes each one easier to trust. A word that arrives from Latin, French, or Italian keeps its original spelling even when that spelling clashes with English sound patterns, which is why segway vs segue and nitch vs niche trip up so many writers, and why embassador vs ambassador hides its correct vowel behind a tempting guess. Even homegrown words with silent or shifting letters, like presense vs presence, fall to the same instinct. The lesson is constant: for imported or tricky-sounding words, trust the source spelling over the sound.

Conclusion

Per se is the only correct spelling in modern English, and per say is a phonetic misspelling that counts as an error. The phrase comes straight from Latin, per ("by") plus se ("itself"), so per se means by itself, in itself, or as such, and it lets a writer isolate what a thing is from what it causes: "not illegal per se," "nothing against it per se." People write per say because the phrase is pronounced "pur SAY," because the bare Latin se looks incomplete, and because English has many legitimate say expressions that make the wrong form feel normal. The remedy is a single memory anchor: this phrase is Latin, its second word is se (think self), and you never respell a borrowing by ear. Keep the Latin se, and you will write per se correctly every time. For more pairs where a word gets respelled the way it sounds, browse the full collection of commonly confused words.