While learning French, we often think about grammar, vocabulary, and verb conjugations, but if you want to truly know how to sound as close to a native as possible, there’s something that you may be ignoring: filler words. Words such as “bah,” “hein,” and “alors” may be small but make up a large part of French spoken language.
At Albert Learning, we feel that learning these small words can give your French a natural rhythm and authentic flow. So let’s discuss how these fillers work, how to use them, and why they are essential for a fluent sound!
1. The Important Role of Fillers in French
Fillers, often known as discourse markers, are small single words or sounds that we as speakers use to:
- Take the floor while we think
- Indicate agreement or hesitation
- Make our speech more authentic and expressive
In English, we might say “well,” “um,” or “you know.” In French, these small words really do the same job, but because of the culture, they are linguistically unique. If you do not use them, your speech likely will sound choppy or overly formal, even you are making no grammatical mistakes.
2. “Bah” – Marking Hesitation or Surprise
This is probably the most useful filler. feeling free to use that on occasions with surprise, hesitation, or even resignation.
Bah… je ne sais pas. → Well…I don’t know
Bah oui! → Well, yes!
You will also notice it is often drawn out in speech as baah, for emphasis or conversational quality. Using bah makes your speech feel more natural and focused on everyday conversation in French, and less formal and stiff.
Tip from Albert Learning: Try adding bah when you want to pause and think through an idea. It can be a very subtle yet powerful way to strengthen your conversational style and work on sounding more native.
3. “Hein” – for confirmation
The French filler “hein” is one of the most common. It is often pronounced as in “han,” and is generally a request for confirmation or engagement with your listener.
Tu viens ce soir, hein? → You’re coming tonight, aren’t you?
C’est intéressant, hein? → It’s interesting, isn’t it?
Hein is a highly common expression in spoken French, especially in informal conversation. It gives a natural questioning or interaction quality to your sentence.
4. “Alors” – the omnipresent connector
“Alors” is one of the most omnipresent fillers in French. It can mean so, then, or just well, depending on the context.
Alors, qu’est-ce qu’on fait? → So, what should we do?
Alors… je crois que tu as raison. → Well, I think you’re right.
Il est parti, alors … → He left, so…
“Alors” is a common turn in storytelling, and is often used to help explain. Using the word “alors” helps to organize your speech and connect, especially when you have completed talking or are transitioning between sentences.
Albert Learning tip: Remember to practice your use of ‘alors” in sentences of daily life. It will encourage you to think in French as opposed to translating words from English!
5. Other common French fillers
There are various additional fillers that are worth your time to learn, specifically outside of bah, hein, and alors.
For example, “Euh” is similar to “um” or “uh” in English. It is often used to pause while thinking.
Also, “Bon” means “well” or okay; it is often used to change topics or to signal the start of a new idea, as in, “Bon, on y va?” (“Well, shall we go?”).
Another example is “voilà,” which literally means, “there it is.”; however, it is often used to summarize or to end a statement, like in the following statement: “Et voilà ! C’est fini.” (“And there you go! It’s finished.”).
“Tu vois,” translates to “do you see,” and it is typically used to make our speech more casual or to check that listeners are following along; for example: “C’était incroyable, tu vois ?” (“It was amazing, you see?”).
The more of these fillers you learn, the more authentic the rhythm of your speech becomes, and the more your French will sound conversational versus sounding textbook.
6. How to practice French fillers effectively
At Albert Learning, we suggest a few practical strategies:
- Listen and repeat: Watch French movies, series, and YouTube videos — and pay attention to how native speakers are using fillers in natural speech. Pause, repeat, and attempt to mimic the rhythm.
- Use them in context: Don’t just memorize them — use them in sentences about your life.
Bah, je suis fatiguée ce matin…
Alors qu’est-ce que tu as fait tout le fin de semaine.. ?
- Record yourself: Speaking and recording your own voice lets you hear whether your fillers sound natural.
- Practice them with a partner: Practicing conversation is the fastest way to make fillers part of your active vocabulary. This can even happen with short dialogues with a friend or tutor. These help a lot.
7. Why fillers can do so much more than be mere “fillers”
Because they seem “unimportant,” many language learners will neglect these words. However, the truth is fillers imply critical information.
- Fillers make your speech sound fluent.
- They help refer to your thought process.
- Fillers help create a sense of engagement & interactivity with the listener.
8. Sample conversation using fillers
Here’s how a simple conversation might look like with fillers in real life:
- Bah… I don’t know if I can come. → Bah… je ne sais pas si je peux venir.
- Hein, but you said you wanted to go? → Hein, mais tu as dit que tu voulais y aller?
- So, are we going? → Alors, on y va quand même?
- Euh… yes, why not? → Euh… oui, pourquoi pas?
9. Summary tips
First, focus on fillers that are more common: bah, hein, alors, euh, bon, voilà, tu vois
Next, practice listening, repeating, and then using them in normal conversation daily
Remember fillers are not mistakes. They are key to sounding like a native.
At Albert Learning we aim to incorporate fillers into lessons and exercises to help students acquire real life speaking skills. When you practice using fillers properly, your French will sound more fluid, expressive, and natural.
