Hmmmm, so, well, erm… This edition of our Learning French conversation blog opens up with some words which, um, don’t exactly feel like words. But nonetheless, we’re sure that you recognise them as a key feature of any conversation in English. We call these ‘filler’ words.
In this blog, you’ll learn about filler words and phrases that you might hear in French conversation. Sometimes these words can feel difficult for learners, as they might almost seem to get in the way of the thread of a conversation. But they’ll almost certainly play a part in the French conversations you participate in as a learner, so you’ll need to know what you’re listening out for.
The best way to understand French filler words and expressions is to think about how we might use them in English. We might open or close a sentence or a conversation with one, we might use them to punctuate a sentence, or to emphasise a certain point.
Let’s start by going through a big list of examples. While they do all have some sort of approximate translation in English, bear in mind that these meanings might change depending on the tone of the speaker or the context of the conversation:
(et) donc ; du coup so (as in ‘therefore’ or ‘as a result’)
alors; bon so; well, then; right
en tout cas ; bref so or anyway or in short
genre like (in the same way we use ‘like’ as filler in English)
Ah bon ! Oh really!; Is it?
tu sais ; tu vois you know (y’know)
en fait actually
(mais) en vrai ; sérieux no, really; seriously
enfin in the end; finally
quoi? eh?; innit? (emphasis at the end of a phrase)
In terms of formality and register, the principles are similar to those in English. If we’re giving a presentation or talking in a formal way, or speaking to someone we don’t know well, we’re generally less likely to use filler words and talk ‘properly’. If we’re chatting to friends or telling someone a funny story, then we might let our level of formality slip a bit and use a lot more filler words. You’ll notice the same in French.
After getting to grips with our list of basic terms, you might hear French speakers use them in all kinds of combinations with each other. But that’s not to say that these combinations mean anything different, or add anything more information that’s worth translating at all!
Let’s compare a couple of examples:
- Bon, je suis parti plus tôt que lui. So, I left earlier than him.
- Enfin bon, bref, du coup je suis parti plus tôt que lui. Right so anyway, in the end I left earlier than him.
Granted, the second example uses a lot more words, but what are they really adding to the story? The most important thing is awareness of the main point of the sentence – ‘I left earlier than him.’
Fillers not only keep conversation flowing, but they have a more useful purpose for learners. You can use filler words to give yourself time to think about how to phrase the next part of a sentence, or what you want to say in response to something you’ve heard or been asked.
Believe it or not, using filler words in your conversations will make you sound more fluent, as it’s a very natural thing to do when speaking French. On top of the words we’ve already looked at, there are two important exclamations you need to use and understand: euh and bah. In fact, they’re so common and important that they even have their own dictionary entries, where you can also hear sound clips of how to pronounce them:
It’s all well and good reading our blog, but the best way to hear filler words and sounds in action is to listen to as much French as possible: put on the radio, download a podcast, or watch some sort of reality TV in French. Then get out there and try to fill your conversations with some of the new words you’ve learned, hein?
Written by Holly Tarbet, freelance copywriter and editor.
All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.
