Skip to content

ähm

um; er (hesitation filler)

interjection EHM Rare
Communication Expressions

Usage Note

Ähm is the standard German hesitation filler, equivalent to English 'um' or 'er'. It signals that the speaker is thinking or searching for the right word: Das ist ... ähm ... schwierig zu erklären. It is written as ähm or äh (shorter); both are common in transcribed speech. Considered informal but ubiquitous.

Examples

"Das war, ähm, eigentlich ganz anders gemeint."

Natural Translation

That was, um, actually meant quite differently.

Literal Translation

That was, um, actually quite differently meant.

Explore German by topic