Today's English Expression 28/30 · Level: Meetings & Chats. All example sentences were made up for this article. They are not taken from actual repository comments, and numbers and versions are examples.
Table of Contents
- At a Glance
- 1. Meaning and Nuance
- 2. Example Sentences
- 3. Similar Expressions and Differences
- 4. Common Mistakes Made by Koreans
- 5. One-Line Practice
- Sample Answer
- References
At a Glance
| Expression | For what it's worth, ... (Abbreviation FWIW) |
| Meaning | In case it helps ..., For what it's worth ... |
| Usage Context | Issue discussions, design discussions, Slack, meetings |
| Politeness | Humility. Does not force your argument |
1. Meaning and Nuance
worth means "value". Translating For what it's worth literally gives "for what value it has," but the actual meaning is "",I'm not sure how useful this comment will be". Merriam-Webster defines this expression as an idiom used "to say that you are not sure if what you are about to say will be helpful or valued," and Dictionary.com explains it as meaning "regardless of how useful or important the remark may be."
In open-source discussions, this expression is mainly used when adding your experience or small data points . Like "This is how it was in the environment I run," it is not strong enough to dictate a decision, but it is information worth referencing for judgment. External contributors without decision-making authority can also use it comfortably when joining a maintainer's discussion.
There is something to keep in mind. Depending on your tone, this expression can sound sarcastic. This happens when it reads like, "Well, as if my opinion would be worth anything." To avoid this, follow it immediately with a specific fact or experience. When a fact follows, it reads as a humble remark.
In chats, it is abbreviated as FWIW. It is safer to spell it out for people you meet for the first time.
2. Example Sentences
Situation 1: Adding experience to an issue
For what it's worth, we've been running with this flag enabled on about 50 nodes for three months and haven't seen any issues.
With numbers and a period attached, it reads as "experience worth referencing."
Situation 2: Stating a preference in a design discussion
FWIW, I'd lean towards keeping the old field as an alias for one release. It gives users time to migrate.
Used together with I'd lean towards from Episode 18, it becomes a very soft opinion.
Situation 3: Consoling someone else's hardship
For what it's worth, I hit the same error last week. Clearing the cache fixed it for me.
hit an error is a developer slang term.
3. Similar Expressions and Differences
- IMHO (in my humble opinion). Means "In my humble opinion." Used only for opinions and sounds awkward for experiences or facts. Because it contains humble, it sometimes sounds ironic.
- Just my two cents. An idiom meaning "To add my two cents' worth of opinion," added at the end of an opinion. Similar to FWIW but closer to an opinion.
- As a data point, ... Means "To add a data point," used when adding a measurement or case. It is the most fact-centric expression.
4. Common Mistakes Made by Koreans
- This is only my personal opinion, so please don't mind it. Excessive humility robs your words of their own weight.
- Corrected sentence: For what it's worth, I've seen the same behavior on v1.3.
- For what it worth, ... is is missing. it's is a contraction of it is.
- Corrected sentence: For what it's worth, ...
- Writing only a conclusion after FWIW without any basis. It can sound sarcastic.
- Corrected sentence: FWIW, the same setting worked fine for us with 200 VMs.
5. One-Line Practice
Rewrite the following Korean sentence as an issue comment.
For what it's worth, this problem disappeared in our environment after upgrading to v1.4.
Sample Answer
For what it's worth, this issue went away after we upgraded to v1.4.
go away 는 「(문제가) 사라지다」라는 자연스러운 구어입니다. 「저희 환경에서는」은 after we upgraded 안에 이미 담겨 있어 따로 쓰지 않아도 됩니다. 강조하고 싶으면 in our setup 을 덧붙입니다.
A Word from Titi. When you add even a small experience along with a single number, it becomes a decisive clue for someone.
References
- Merriam-Webster, "for what it's worth": https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for what it's worth
- Dictionary.com, "worth": https://www.dictionary.com/browse/worth