Thread: Uh...er...um....eh...

Get the Picture? :P Things have been "coming together" and I even spoke my first russian sentence the other day. Rather, I was able to communicate in Russian something I really wanted to say. Pats self on back. Thanks you guys for all the help. This community is IT. But and so, I have a dillema. When I speak there are often sounds that I make in lieu of the spoken words, or rather, when I am talking (english) and haven't found the right word or concept yet I say things like er, um, uh, ect. This might be a redundant question ... what is this in russian? What are the words or sounds made when one is thinking and talking at the same time or is looking for the right word?

I am sure I did not communicate this well. But I am sure someone knows. Pravit? Um er... how is this done in Russian language?


?!?Help?!? paжaloosta?

In fact, it is better not to use such "filler" sounds since they are not better than saying nothing while you are thinking on what to say next. Native Russian speakers will not expect you to speak Russian fluently anyway.
It is sometimes fun to hear a person whose speach is 50% these "аээээ" sounds.
You may stretch the final vowel of preceeding words if you absolutely need to fill pauses.

Ну (noo) means well..., so....
So if someone asked a question and you didn't know how to answer, you could go

Ну... не знаю


Whilst on the subject of Ну,
Ну и что means "so what?"

Um er... how is this done in Russian language?

Surprisingly, the world's various peoples all make "ahhh" and "uhh" noises when they're unsure of what to say.

Это... как его... это самое... как бы сказать.... ну, в общем, понятно.

ээээ панимааааааашь...

Is this an acceptable variant? "Это... как его... это самое... как бы сказать.... ну, в общем, значит, понятно"

Yeah, you may insert "значит" anywhere, or even "значится".

вот ...это...типа...тут ....короче...того...ну ...значит ...в-общем...ээээ...в-принципе...ммм...вот.

What about?

Так.

My landlord in the Ukraine said "Так" quite often, followed by a long pause.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

What about?

Так.

My landlord in the Ukraine said "Так" quite often, followed by a long pause.

Ну так без этого типа никак нельзя, вот такие вот пироги

Be careful: in Ukranian "так" means "yes". But was he actually speaking Ukranian?

Actually she was speaking in English.
I would ask her something like, "Where can I buy some good CDs?"
She would mention a couple of places and then say "Tak....."
Then there was an awkward situation. Am I suppose to say something?
Or is she supposed to say something?

I just assumed she was thinking of other things to say since she had a pondering look on her face.

Based on context, I thought "Tak....." means something like "Well ...." or "Hmmm...." or something like that.

One of my colleagues was telling me about his trip to Siberia. He said that the Russians he spoke with told him to not say "да" and "это" so much. Only say these words when you need to, not just as filler, because otherwise you come off as sounding unintelligent. I don't know if it's any worse than saying "like" constantly in English.

Originally Posted by Geoduck

One of my colleagues was telling me about his trip to Siberia. He said that the Russians he spoke with told him to not say "да" and "это" so much. Only say these words when you need to, not just as filler, because otherwise you come off as sounding unintelligent. I don't know if it's any worse than saying "like" constantly in English.

Thanks for that Geo

and also "так сказть" or is it так скзть?

Originally Posted by chaika

and also "так сказть" or is it так скзть?

Шутливое: "тасазать" .