English–Japanese

“um” in Japanese

Japanese

Pronunciation

Romajietto

Example

えっと、これは何ですか？e tto ko re wa nan de su ka

Um, what is this?

Illustration for えっと (um)

How to say “um” in Japanese

“Um” in Japanese is えっと (etto).

Marks a moment of hesitation without ending the speaker's turn.

Full entry for えっと: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with えっと

えっと、もう一度説明していただけますか。e tto mō ichi do setsu mei shi te i ta da ke ma su ka

Um, could you explain it one more time?

Tips for using えっと

  • In natural conversation, えっと (etto) may be repeated when a speaker is still planning an answer while holding the floor.

“um” in other languages