Filler words in Spanish, French and Japanese

Every language has words speakers use to hold the floor while they think. For native speakers they are invisible. For learners they are a shortcut to sounding natural, because a well-placed filler in the right language sounds fluent, while an English "um" in the middle of Spanish sounds foreign.

That is why learners often want to add filler words rather than remove them. Use them lightly. One or two in a conversation sounds natural. One per sentence sounds nervous in any language.

• este: the classic Latin American hesitation, like "um"
• eh: a short pause sound, common everywhere
• pues: "well", often at the start of an answer
• bueno: "well" or "okay", to start or change topic
• o sea: "I mean" or "in other words"
• entonces: "so", to move a story on
• a ver: "let's see", while thinking
• ¿sabes? or ¿viste?: "you know?", seeking agreement, with ¿viste? common in Argentina

Usage varies by country. "Este" is very common in Mexico and much of Latin America, while speakers in Spain often use "eh" and "pues" instead.

• euh: the French "um", the most common hesitation sound
• ben or bah: "well", very casual
• alors: "so" or "then", to start or move on
• bon: "right" or "okay", to wrap up or shift topic
• du coup: "so" or "as a result", hugely common in modern speech
• en fait: "actually" or "in fact"
• genre: "like", used by younger speakers
• tu vois: "you see"
• quoi: added at the end of a sentence for emphasis, as in "c'était bien, quoi"

"Euh" is the one to learn first. Replacing an English "um" with "euh" is one of the quickest ways to sound more natural in French.

• eeto (ええと): "um, let me think", very common
• ano (あの): "um, excuse me", often used to start speaking or to soften
• ee (えー): a lengthened hesitation sound
• sono (その): "that, um", while looking for a word
• maa (まあ): "well", to soften a statement or show mild agreement
• nanka (なんか): "like" or "kind of", casual
• etto (えっと): a shorter, casual form of eeto

In Japanese, fillers also signal politeness and softness. "Ano" before a question sounds considerate. Overusing "nanka" sounds very casual, so avoid it in formal situations.

Listen for fillers in native content such as podcasts, interviews and films, and note which ones speakers actually use. Then practise by recording yourself speaking for two minutes, and listen for any English fillers that slip in.

Replace English fillers one language at a time. Learners who stop saying "um" in Spanish and start saying "este" or "eh" immediately sound more fluent, even with the same vocabulary.

If you record podcasts or lessons in another language, transcription tools help you review your speech. Hilite transcribes several languages, including Spanish, French and Japanese. Automatic filler word detection currently works in English only, so in other languages search the transcript for the fillers above and remove the ones you want to cut.