Hi and welcome to the show! I’m Nikki from Sydney, and this is Broaden Your Horizons with English, a podcast that will help you speak English more accurately and fluently, the way native speakers do.
I hope you’re all having a great weekend. Now I got a really good question from one of our listeners Mina the other day. Mina asked:
「When talking with others, or in an IELTS exam, what can I say if I need time to think for a while? It’s kind of awkward to keep others waiting in a conversation.」I’m sure a lot of you have had this problem of an 「awkward silence」 before. Awkward, by the way, means embarrassing or uncomfortable.
So let’s learn some useful 「filler expressions」 for when you’re gathering your thought!
The easiest / most common expression:
最簡單 / 最常見的說法
Well, let’s see
讓我想一想
If someone asks you a difficult question, you can say:
如果有人問你一個特別難回答的問題
Wow, that’s a hard / tricky (informal) / difficult one
這個問題有點難
In a more formal situation such as an interview or speaking exam, you could also say:
在更正式的場合，比如面試或口語考試，你也可以說
Can you give me a moment to think about that?
可以給我一點時間想一想嗎？
If it’s a topic you』ve never thought about, you can just say:
如果是一個你沒有考慮過的話題，你可以直接說:
I』ve never thought about that, to be honest
說實話，我沒有想過這個問題
I』ve never given that much thought, to be honest
說實話，我沒有怎麼考慮過這個問題
Or if you are not sure that your opinion is going to be accurate or correct, you can try:
或者，要是你不確定你的想法是否準確或正確，你可以試試：
I don’t know enough about that to give you an informed opinion
我不夠知識 (資格) 給你一個有見識的觀點
That’s not something I』ve had much experience with
我沒有多少關於這方面的經驗
Of course, you can just give your first impressions:
當然你也可以說出你的第一印象
I’m not really sure but the first thing that comes to mind is…
我真是不確認，但是我的第一想法是...
But sometimes we just really don’t have any idea! In that case, you can say:
但是有時候我們真是不知道! 在這個情況下你可以說
I don’t really have an opinion on that
我對這個沒有什麼看法
I don’t really know what I think.
我不知道我對這個是怎麼看的
And finally, maybe you’re just stuck because you can’t remember a word or phrase in English. Then you should say:
最後，你卡住了的原因可能是因為你想不起一個英文字或短語。那你可以說:
What’s the word?
那個字怎麼說呢？
Oh, I can’t remember the word but it’s on the tip of my tongue…
我想不起那個字，但是我知道的!
How do you say… in English
...用英語怎麼說？
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So, there you go, I hope that gives you some good ways to fill in the silence next time you feel stuck in a conversation or want to buy some extra time before answering in an interview or exam!
And if you found today's post helpful, don't forget to share it with your friends!
Enjoy the rest of your day or night, and see you next time!
Please leave me a message!
有問題，有意見？請給我留言!