5 German Filler Words To Talk Like A Native German Speaker (With Examples)

Hello and welcome to, you know, Spring German!

Today is all about German filler words because you know, yeah … if you use filler words, you know, you will somehow sound like a German native speaker.

You know all those Füllwörter (filler words) in English like “like”, “you know” or “right”.

There are, of course, some of them in German, too. In this lesson, we will show you 5 filler words in German, that will make you sound like a native speaker.

So let’s start with the first one.

1. ähm (uhm)

In our opinion, ähm (uhm) is the most used filler word in German.

We always used it when having to do a presentation in class because of the nervousness. That way we had a bit more time to think and wanted to avoid a moment of silence in the classroom.

This is what it should have sounded like:

In case you don’t know what chunks are: chunks are word combinations that are often used by native speakers and that you can learn as a whole, without knowing the grammar behind it. We have more helpful chunks like this for you in our free essential German chunking kit.

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2. Halt (just)

In German, the word “halt” is a filler word that is commonly used in conversation.

Its primary function is to add emphasis or to indicate a slight pause, similar to the English word “just” or “well.”

For example, if someone is telling a story, and they want to emphasize a particular point, they might say: Und dann hat er halt gesagt, dass er nicht kommen kann. (And then he just said he couldn’t come.) The word “halt” in this context emphasizes the speaker’s certainty about what was said.

Stay tuned because at the end of the lesson we will do a summary.

3. also (so)

Maybe you have noticed that we used this Füllwort (filler word) in the first dialogue of this lesson:

DENISA
Also heute erzähle ich euch die Geschichte von den Gebrüder nGrimm. Ich will erstmal sagen, wo sie geboren sind und dann, welche Märchen ihr bestimmt kennt.
(So, today I’m going to tell you, like, the story of the Grimm brothers. I want to talk firstly, you know, about where they were born and then which of their fairy tales you might know.)

In German, the word also (so) is a filler word that can have various meanings and uses, je nach Kontext (depending on the context). In this context also (so) draws attention to a new topic.

Other examples would be:

In these cases, also (so) serves as a way of redirecting the conversation. But this filler word can also be used in another way:

One of the most common uses of also (so) is to introduce a conclusion or a result, similar to the English word “so”.

For example:

• Ich habe keine Zeit, also kann ich nicht kommen. (I don’t have time, so I can’t come.)

In this context, also (so) indicates the logical connection between the first and second clause of the sentence.

4. quasi (sort of/kind of)

As you could see in the dialogue, quasi (kind of) can be translated as kind of or sort of. It’s used as something that is almost, but not quite, accurate. If you leave it out, the conversation would totally make sense, too.

But it makes you sound like a native speaker if you use it. Just make sure not to use it too often, otherwise it becomes distracting.

Other examples with quasi (kind of):

In these cases, quasi (kind of) is used to indicate that the statement is not entirely accurate or precise, but is close enough.

Another common use of quasi (kind of) is to indicate that something is being done in a way that is not ideal, but is the best available option.

Zum Beispiel (For example):

• Wir haben quasi keine andere Wahl (We have almost no other choice).

5. tja (well)

Let’s see how the conversation from before went on.

Here tja (well) has two different meanings.

• Tja, da kann man wohl nichts machen. (Well, there’s nothing you can do about that.)

In this context, tja (well) indicates a sense of resignation or acceptance of the situation.

• Tja, ich weiß nicht so recht. (Well, I’m not really sure.)

Here, tja (well) indicates a sense of hesitation or uncertainty about what to say or do.

6. Summary of German filler words

Here’s a summary of the 5 German filler words: