What are they? Fillers are sounds, words or phrases that we use while we think about what to say. The word filler comes from the word “fill”+er, for example “fill a glass with water”, “fill a page with words”, and in this case, “fill silence with sound”.
Do you use fillers in Japanese?
Some common fillers in English:
| Sounds | Words | Phrases |
| Hmm | So | I mean |
| Uhh | Well | You know |
| Ahh | Actually | I guess |
| Mm | Like | |
| Right | ||
| Man |
Task 1
Have a conversation about the following topic in Japanese.
Do you like ramen?
Do not use fillers – えー、なんだろう、なんか、まぁ、なんというだけ ×
Task 2
Have the same conversation, in English.
Each group member, choose two fillers from the list above.
Use that filler every time you stop to think about what to say.