For your information / FYI [polite?] | WordReference Forums

"FYI" is certainly informal, but "for your information" can have a place in formal communication as well. The full phrase, written out, sounds a ... Forums Dictionarysearch:  English-Spanish English-French English-Italian English-German English-Dutch English-Russian English-Portuguese English-Polish English-Romanian English-Swedish English-Czech English-Greek English-Turkish English-Chinese English-Japanese English-Korean English-Arabic Spanish-English French-English Italian-English German-English Dutch-English Russian-English Portuguese-English Polish-English Romanian-English Swedish-English Czech-English Greek-English Turkish-English Chinese-English Japanese-English Korean-English Arabic-English Spanish-French Spanish-Portuguese Spanish-Catalan French-Spanish Portuguese-Spanish Englishdefinition Englishsynonyms Englishcollocations Englishusage Italiandefinition Spanishdefinition Spanishsynonyms Catalandefinition Spanish French Italian Login Register What'snew Search Rules/Help/FAQ Members InterfaceLanguage Menu Login Register Installtheapp Install Forums EnglishOnly EnglishOnly Youareusinganoutofdatebrowser.Itmaynotdisplaythisorotherwebsitescorrectly.Youshouldupgradeoruseanalternativebrowser. Foryourinformation/FYI[polite?] Threadstarter singsing Startdate Mar25,2011 S singsing SeniorMember Korean Hello, I'mjustwonderingiftheuseof"FYIorForyourinformation"isconsideredinformalorpossiblyimpoliteifyou'retalkingtoyourboss/teachers/professors..? Orisitperfectlyokay?(I'maskingaboutthatspecificphraseitself,notwhatwillbesaidfollowingthat). Thankyou!   Lastedited:Mar25,2011 roxcyn SeniorMember USA AmericanEnglish[AmE] Itdependsoncontextandyourtone.I'veheardpeopleuseitpolitely,andI'veheardothertimeswhereitwasrude. Tobesafe,youcoulduseanotherphrase,orkeepyourtonewhenyou'retalkingtoasuperior. RoxCyn   Lastedited:Mar25,2011 e2efour SeniorMember England(aged79) UKEnglish Ithinkitwouldbeeasiertocommentifyougaveussomecontextandanactualsentenceyouwanttosay. Idon'tthinkwepronounceitasFYI,butnodoubtsomeonewilltellmeotherwise!   Copyright SeniorMember Penang AmericanEnglish Well,"FYI,thisisthesuckiestclassI'veever,like,had"ispossiblygoingtobeperceivedasimpolite. Bothofthosearecertainlyinformal--FYIistooslangytobeusedinyoursituation,andForyourinformationismuchtoopushyandcanoftensoundarrogant.Avoidthemboth. Edit:Iseethate2fourhasrightlyaskedforcontext,butIwouldstillsuggestyouneverusethemforaboss,teacherorprofessor.Itdoesn'treallymatterwhatyouintend--whatmattersiswhatisheard,andthat'ssomethingyouhavenocontrolover.(Consideringyourcapitalization,I'massumingyouplanonstartingasentencewiththese.)   S singsing SeniorMember Korean Thankyou,roxcyn&e2efour. Itwouldbeusedtoinformyourbossofsomethingthatisnotdirectlyrelatedtotheconversationathand,butmaybeusefulforyourbosstoknow. Then,woulditbefinetosay"Foryourinformation"?   S singsing SeniorMember Korean Copyrightsaid: Well,"FYI,thisisthesuckiestclassI'veever,like,had"ispossiblygoingtobeperceivedasimpolite. Bothofthosearecertainlyinformal--FYIistooslangytobeusedinyoursituation,andForyourinformationismuchtoopushyandcanoftensoundarrogant.Avoidthemboth. Edit:Iseethate2fourhasrightlyaskedforcontext,butIwouldstillsuggestyouneverusethemforaboss,teacherorprofessor.Itdoesn'treallymatterwhatyouintend--whatmattersiswhatisheard,andthat'ssomethingyouhavenocontrolover. Clicktoexpand... Thankyou!That'swhatIwasconcernedabout. Then,isthereanythingthatcanreplace"foryourinformation"or"justsoyouknow"inthesituationthatIdescribedinmysecondpost? Andyou'rerightaboutyourassumption   roxcyn SeniorMember USA AmericanEnglish[AmE] Well,I'vetoldmesupervisorbefore,"FYI(yousaytheletterF,Y,I)we'reoutofpaper.Couldyougivememorepaper?"Youcansay"Foryourinformation","Justtoletyouknow"orasimilarphrasewillwork. RoxCyn   Copyright SeniorMember Penang AmericanEnglish singsingsaid: Itwouldbeusedtoinformyourbossofsomethingthatisnotdirectyrelatedtotheconversationathand,butmaybeusefulforyourbosstoknow. Then,woulditbefinetosay"Foryourinformation"? Clicktoexpand... Iwouldneveropenasentencethatway,unlessIwerejustusing"FYI"humorouslywithsomeoneIknewwell.Youcould,however,softenitbysaying,"Thisisjustforyourinformation.(It'ssomematerialIfoundyesterday.)" Normally,whenIsay,"Thisisjustforyourinformation,"ImeanthatIdon'texpectthemtotakeanyactionandoftenIwillmakethatclear:Thisisjustforyourinformation.There'snoneedtodoanything.   e2efour SeniorMember England(aged79) UKEnglish singsingsaid: Thankyou!That'swhatIwasconcernedabout. Then,isthereanythingthatcanreplace"foryourinformation"or"justsoyouknow"inthesituationthatIdescribedinmysecondpost? Andyou'rerightaboutyourassumption Clicktoexpand... YoucouldsayIjustthoughtyou'dliketoknowthat.....orYoumightbeinterestedtoknowthat....ThisismuchsaferthanusingaphraselikeForyourinformation,whichsoundsratherimpersonalaswellascondescending.   S singsing SeniorMember Korean roxcynsaid: Well,I'vetoldmesupervisorbefore,"FYI(yousaytheletterF,Y,I)we'reoutofpaper.Couldyougivememorepaper?"Youcansay"Foryourinformation","Justtoletyouknow"orasimilarphrasewillwork. RoxCyn Clicktoexpand... Thankyouverymuch!   S singsing SeniorMember Korean Copyrightsaid: Iwouldneveropenasentencethatway,unlessIwerejustusing"FYI"humorouslywithsomeoneIknewwell.Youcould,however,softenitbysaying,"Thisisjustforyourinformation.(It'ssomematerialIfoundyesterday.)" Normally,whenIsay,"Thisisjustforyourinformation,"ImeanthatIdon'texpectthemtotakeanyactionandoftenIwillmakethatclear:Thisisjustforyourinformation.There'snoneedtodoanything. Clicktoexpand... Iwillusethat.Thankyouverymuch!I'msogladIasked.   S singsing SeniorMember Korean e2efoursaid: YoucouldsayIjustthoughtyou'dliketoknowthat.....orYoumightbeinterestedtoknowthat....ThisismuchsaferthanusingaphraselikeForyourinformation,whichsoundsratherimpersonalaswellascondescending. Clicktoexpand... Yes,Iwasworriedaboutthecondescendingpartasyousaid. Yoursuggestionsareveryhelpful.I'llusethemaswell.Thankyousomuch!   Copyright SeniorMember Penang AmericanEnglish roxcynsaid: Well,I'vetoldmesupervisorbefore,"FYI(yousaytheletterF,Y,I)we'reoutofpaper.Couldyougivememorepaper?" Clicktoexpand... ThisisexactlywhenIwouldn'tuseit.FYIissimplyinformingsomeoneandnotcaringaboutanyaction.Soitmakessensetosay,"FYI,we'reoutofpaper"whenit'sthatperson'sjobtotakecareofthepaper--you'rejusttransmittinginformation. Butifyou'rethepersonwantingthepaper,it'snolongerinformational--youwantaction.Itwouldsoundmorelogicaltometosay,"We'reoutofpaper.Couldyougivemesomemore?" ButI'mnotonasoapboxaboutthedifference.Saywhatyouliketoyourboss.   Copyright SeniorMember Penang AmericanEnglish Ilikee2four'ssuggestionsalot.   S singsing SeniorMember Korean Thankyousomuch,Copyright,forthedifferentiation. It'sverycleartomenow.   A alittleedgy SeniorMember Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,USA English Ithinkitdependsoncontext,thenatureofyourrelationshipwithyourboss,andtheformalityofthesituation."FYI"iscertainlyinformal,but"foryourinformation"canhaveaplaceinformalcommunicationaswell.Thefullphrase,writtenout,soundsabitcoldandabruptunlessplacedinalargercontextwhereamorepolitemeaningisclear.Thatpolitemeaningcanbesomethinglike"Idon'texpectyoutodoanythingaboutthis,butIthoughtyoushouldknow." Forwhatit'sworth,Iuse"FYI"ine-mailstomybossallthetime.Iuseittoconveyexactlythatmeaning:I'mtellinghimsomethingthatIthinkheshouldknoworwouldbeinterestedinlearningbutthathedoesn'thavetotakeactionon.   S singsing SeniorMember Korean alittleedgysaid: Ithinkitdependsoncontext,thenatureofyourrelationshipwithyourboss,andtheformalityofthesituation."FYI"iscertainlyinformal,but"foryourinformation"canhaveaplaceinformalcommunicationaswell.Thefullphrase,writtenout,soundsabitcoldandabruptunlessplacedinalargercontextwhereamorepolitemeaningisclear.Thatpolitemeaningcanbesomethinglike"Idon'texpectyoutodoanythingaboutthis,butIthoughtyoushouldknow." Forwhatit'sworth,Iuse"FYI"ine-mailstomybossallthetime.Iuseittoconveyexactlythatmeaning:I'mtellinghimsomethingthatIthinkheshouldknoworwouldbeinterestedinlearningbutthathedoesn'thavetotakeactionon. Clicktoexpand... Itisveryhelpfultoknow.Thankyouverymuch.   roxcyn SeniorMember USA AmericanEnglish[AmE] Yes,itcanbecondescending,andit'sinformal.Typicallyit'susedforinformationalpurposesonly.Youaregivinginformationtotheperson.Perhapsmyexamplewasn'tthebest,buthereisabriefdefinitionthatIthinkwillbehelpfultoyou: "FYIiscommonlyusedine-mail,instantmessagingormemomessages,typicallyinthemessagesubject,toflagthemessageasaninformationalmessage,withtheintenttocommunicatetothereceiverthathe/shemaybeinterestedinthetopic,butisnotrequiredtoperformanyaction."Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FYI Hereisanotherdefinition: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/for-your-information-FYI.html Ihopeithelpsyoubetterunderstand. Roxcyn   S singsing SeniorMember Korean Thankyousomuch,roxcyn! Ithelpedverymuchindeed.   A alena_88 NewMember Spanish HowaboutFYFI??   Siavash2015 SeniorMember Iranian-Persian Hi, Ihaveaquestionaboutthemeaningof"foryourinformation"butIdecidedtopostithere. IreadthepostsbutIcouldn'tunderstandwhatitmeans.What'stherollandmeaningofitinasentence? Someonejokesabouthisfriend'sjobandbymeansofprize,encouragesanddareshertoplayjokesonherboss Butshereplies: Foryourinformation,mybossisgoingtogivemepromotionandI'mnotgoingtojeopardizeitbydoingthatstupidthing. Manythanksinadvance.   suzibr SeniorMember Cheshire English/England Inthatcaseitjustmean"Iamtellingyousomething". Intheexamplesentenceyouquotethemeaningisclearenoughwithoutit.Thisisoftenthecase,whichiswhyitoftensoundscondescending.Itishardtoputitintowriting,thedifference,butsaythissentence: "Foryourinformation,thereisnotrainonSunday." Youcansaythisreallypolitely,tosomeonewhowasplanningatripinanunfamiliarterritory,whomightneedtochangetheirplansbecauseofthisgenuineinformation.Equallythesamephrasecouldbesaidwithalltheemphasisontheword"your"andmean"youareadickwhothinkstheyknoweverythingbutyoumissedthisvitalsnippetaboutthetrainsthisSunday." Itishardtoknowwhatisintendedinwriting,butinspeechthedifferenceisallinthetoneofthespeaker.Thisiswhy,especiallyinwriting,wetendtobemoretenativeandhedgeabouttosuggestpoliteness:seetheanswersat#8and9.   Siavash2015 SeniorMember Iranian-Persian suzibrsaid: Inthatcaseitjustmean"Iamtellingyousomething". Intheexamplesentenceyouquotethemeaningisclearenoughwithoutit.Thisisoftenthecase,whichiswhyitoftensoundscondescending.Itishardtoputitintowriting,thedifference,butsaythissentence: "Foryourinformation,thereisnotrainonSunday." Youcansaythisreallypolitely,tosomeonewhowasplanningatripinanunfamiliarterritory,whomightneedtochangetheirplansbecauseofthisgenuineinformation.Equallythesamephrasecouldbesaidwithalltheemphasisontheword"your"andmean"youareadickwhothinkstheyknoweverythingbutyoumissedthisvitalsnippetaboutthetrainsthisSunday." Itishardtoknowwhatisintendedinwriting,butinspeechthedifferenceisallinthetoneofthespeaker.Thisiswhy,especiallyinwriting,wetendtobemoretenativeandhedgeabouttosuggestpoliteness:seetheanswersat#8and9. Clicktoexpand... Hisuzibr, Thankyouverymuchforyourniceexplanation! Ishouldbecarefulaboutit'suse. suzibrsaid: Foryourinformation,thereisnotrainonSunday." Youcansaythisreallypolitely,tosomeonewhowasplanningatripinanunfamiliarterritory,whomightneedtochangetheirplansbecauseofthisgenuineinformation. Clicktoexpand... So,youmeanIcanuseitpolitelywithagentletoneandthere'snoproblem? suzibrsaid: Equallythesamephrasecouldbesaidwithalltheemphasisontheword"your"andmean"youareadickwhothinkstheyknoweverythingbutyoumissedthisvitalsnippetaboutthetrainsthisSunday." Clicktoexpand... Youmean,ifIemphasizeon"your"thesenseiscondescending?   suzibr SeniorMember Cheshire English/England Wellmaybeyoucanuseit,butyoudoneedtobecautiousaroundit.Certainly,addinginafewmorepolitenessmarkerswillhelp. Itisveryhardtoexplainhowpeopleactuallysayittosoundsneery/condescending,butIsuspectitisusedmorethatwaythaninpoliteway,sothesafestthingistoavoiditunlessyouareverysurethatthepersonyoutalktowillfinditOK.Theotheranswersinthisthreadcoverthatquitewell,really.   KeithBradford SeniorMember Brittany,NWFrance English(MidlandsUK) suzibrsaid: ... Itisveryhardtoexplainhowpeopleactuallysayittosoundsneery/condescending,butIsuspectitisusedmorethatwaythaninpoliteway,sothesafestthingistoavoidit... Clicktoexpand... Iagreeentirely."Foryourinformation"asanintroductiontoasentenceis,inmyexperience,onlyusedbysarcasticteenagersinargumentswhichfinish"Sothere!" However,aspartofalongersentence(e.g.DearSir,Iamsendingtheencloseddocumentsforyourinformation...)it'sfine.OnlyabbreviatetoFYIinaveryshortroutinenoteore-mailamongcolleagues.   suzibr SeniorMember Cheshire English/England Yes,indeed,InoticedthatwhenIwastryingtothinkofexamplesIfoundmyselfadding"sothere"inmyhead!   Youmustloginorregistertoreplyhere. Share: Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Email Share Link Forums EnglishOnly EnglishOnly Top