-2 C

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

When you pronounce -2 C do you have to add ''degrees?'' Or do you say ''minus 2 Сelsius?''

 

[Yankee]

Hello.

When you pronounce -2 C do you have to add ''degrees?'' Not usually. Or do you say ''minus 2 Сelsius? Or just "minus 2'' If within the context of temp and a Celsius measurement locale.

Y

 

[GoesStation]

You might hear minus two see, minus two Celsius, or minus two degrees Celsius. Some people would say "negative two​".

 

[SoothingDave]

With Fahrenheit, some people will say "two below (zero)."

 

[emsr2d2]

I can't help it but when I see the "C" in temperatures, I still use "centigrade" rather than "Celsius".

 

[SoothingDave]

"Centigrade" is how I first learned it in elementary school. It was supposed to be coming soon to common use.

Luckily, that never happened.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't ever remember being taught anything other than "centigrade". I just noticed, over the years, that "Celsius" was taking over.

 

[bubbha]

I would just say "two below".

 

[emsr2d2]

And in BrE, most people would just say it's "minus two". We don't tend to bother with the name of the scale.

 

[GoesStation]

And in BrE, most people would just say it's "minus two". We don't tend to bother with the name of the scale.

Nor do we Americans. But we're thinking of a different scale when we say it's "minus two" or, I think more commonly, "two below". And it's a good deal chillier.

 

[bubbha]

You don't have to mention the scale when it's -40 degrees. That's the point when the two scales meet.

 

[Rachel Adams]

And in BrE, most people would just say it's "minus two". We don't tend to bother with the name of the scale.

And is adding "degrees" also optional in BrE?

 

[emsr2d2]

See post #9.

 

[GoesStation]

The full name of the scale is "degrees Celsius". You can include both words if you want to be very precise (there's little need for this). You can always omit "degrees". You can omit "Celsius" when context makes it unlikely you'd be using any other scale.

This applies to degrees Celsius, Kelvin or Fahrenheit. You should probably include the full name if for some reason you're using an obscure scale like degrees Réaumur.