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I recently found out the phrase "correct me if I am wrong" I searched it on internet and I understood it's meaning but I am little confused in its usage . my question is when should one use this phrase .In what situation and with what intention it is usually said.

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Commonly it is used when:

  1. You are stating a 'fact' (usually an opinion or a truth that you know/believe in), and you think the listener(s) or the audience or the person/people you are talking to probably have something else to say (or there might be other possible 'facts'/opinions.)

e.g. "Correct me if I'm wrong. There are 4 cats in the attic."

  1. When you are re-stating the recent message of another person, to confirm if you remember correctly what was said.

e.g. "Correct me if I'm wrong, doctor. So, I need to take this medicine twice a day for two weeks?"

There might be other usage(s), will update this answer if something comes up (or let's wait for other answers)

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It can also be used sarcastically:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I'm concerned the capital of Germany is still Berlin.

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  • I'm not from Germany, nor have a substantial knowledge of its history. May I request for context and explanation regarding this answer's example? (I'm just curious re: sarcasm and capital. Thanks.)
    – shin
    Commented Mar 19, 2016 at 13:33
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    It is abbreviated as CMIIW and commonly used here.
    – Student
    Commented Mar 19, 2016 at 14:46
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    @shin - Simon's answer really has little to do with Germany and world capitals; it's saying that when we use the phrase in front of an undisputable fact, it's often interpreted sarcastically. In other words, if I said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but, last I checked, ELL is not in beta anymore," then I'm not expecting anyone to correct me. Instead, I am using CMIIW for emphasis, to make it more plain that I'm stating a fact, not an opinion. In other words, "Correct me if I'm wrong" can be a way of (sarcastically) saying, "There's no sense in disputing what I'm about to say..."
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 10:57
  • @J.R., thank you for this explanation. It's new to me. We never really stop learning here. Again, thanks!
    – shin
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 2:06
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I'm non-native but whereever I hear this phrase "Correct me of I'm wrong" it mostly means "Tell me if something that I am saying is incorrect or not true".

  • Excuse me, correct me if I'm wrong but this book belongs to Michael and not Lily.

In some cases it means "I know what I'm telling you (I am sure that it should be true)"

  • Mom, correct me if I'm wrong but Canada is larger than USA.
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