Get the Gist

Get the Gist or Jist? Which is correct?

Vocabulary / By

“To get the gist” is the correct expression in English. “Jist” is incorrect in English. 

Jist is a common misspelling of “gist” because the sound of the “g” in “gist” sounds like a “j”

Get the gist meaning

To “get the gist” of something is when you understand the main idea but haven’t yet understood the subject completely.

For example, when you are learning a language,and you are trying to understand someone. You might understand the topic of the conversation but you struggle to understand the details. This is understanding the gist.

“Listening for gist” is a great way to get started when you are learning a language as you need to understand the main ideas of a conversation before you can start to practice listening for detail. 

Examples

Teacher: Do you understand what I mean by nuclear fission?

Student: I get the gist of it… something about splitting atoms.

 

Student 1: Did you read “To kill a Mockingbird”?

Student 2: No, I didn’t, Can you give me the gist of it?

Student 1: Well, there is this lawyer and he is trying to prove that..

Student 2: Ok, Ok, I get it, a law book.

What is the gist of a story?

The gist of a story is a summary of both the main ideas and the plot. The example above of the gist of “to kill a mockingbird” really needs to include more about the characters and race relations in America to cover the gist of the story.

Conor
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