Simplified Chinese - Social Fillers

Lesson 85 of 156

A friendly café scene with people chatting in Simplified Chinese about daily plans — lesson topic: social fillers.

Goal: Short words and phrases that keep conversation smooth

Free Simplified Chinese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome — let’s warm up your conversational toolkit. This short lesson focuses on small spoken phrases (fillers) that glue conversations together.

Level A2: In Lesson 85 you’ll practice four common fillers used in everyday Chinese: 总之 (Zǒngzhī), 说实话 (Shuō shíhuà), 我觉得…吧 (Wǒ juéde… ba) and 我想想 (Wǒ xiǎngxiang). These help you summarize, soften opinions, and buy thinking time. CEFR-aligned and very practical — use them to sound more natural in chats and meetings.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Recognize and use the four fillers: 总之 (Zǒngzhī), 说实话 (Shuō shíhuà), 我觉得…吧 (Wǒ juéde… ba), 我想想 (Wǒ xiǎngxiang).
  • Make polite, tentative opinions with 我觉得…吧 (Wǒ juéde… ba).
  • Pause and organize your thoughts smoothly with 我想想 (Wǒ xiǎngxiang).
Two friends at a table practicing Chinese fillers like 总之 (Zǒngzhī) and 我想想 (Wǒ xiǎngxiang) while deciding what to do.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

总之，___

Zǒngzhī, ___.

Anyway, ___.

Meaning: Anyway, ___.

When to use: Use 总之 (Zǒngzhī) to wrap up a point, return to the main idea, or give a brief summary.

总之，我们先等半小时再决定吧。

Zǒngzhī, wǒmen xiān děng bàn xiǎoshí zài juédìng ba.

Anyway, let's wait half an hour before deciding.
事情很复杂，总之，你先别着急。

Shìqíng hěn fùzá, zǒngzhī, nǐ xiān bié zhāojí.

It's complicated — anyway, don't worry for now.

说实话，___。

Shuō shíhuà, ___.

To be honest, ___.

Meaning: To be honest, ___.

When to use: Use 说实话 (Shuō shíhuà) when giving a candid feeling or gently preparing the listener for your opinion.

说实话，我没太喜欢那部电影。

Shuō shíhuà, wǒ méi tài xǐhuan nà bù diànyǐng.

To be honest, I didn't really like that movie.
说实话，我也不知道怎么回答这个问题。

Shuō shíhuà, wǒ yě bù zhīdào zěnme huídá zhège wèntí.

To be honest, I don't know how to answer that either.

我觉得___吧。

Wǒ juéde ___ ba.

I guess ___.

Meaning: I guess ___.

When to use: Say 我觉得…吧 (Wǒ juéde … ba) to soften a suggestion or show you’re not 100% certain.

Tip: Beginners sometimes drop 吧 and make the sentence sound too direct — 吧 softens the tone.

我觉得我们坐地铁去吧，比较快。

Wǒ juéde wǒmen zuò dìtiě qù ba, bǐjiào kuài.

I guess we should take the subway; it's faster.
如果下雨，我觉得我们改天再去吧。

Rúguǒ xiàyǔ, wǒ juéde wǒmen gǎitiān zài qù ba.

If it rains, I guess we should go another day.

我想想，___。

Wǒ xiǎngxiang, ___.

Let me see, ___

Meaning: Let me see, ___.

When to use: Use 我想想 (Wǒ xiǎngxiang) to pause briefly while you think — it buys time and sounds natural in conversation.

Tip: Don’t confuse 我想想 (let me think) with 我想 (I want) — they feel similar but mean different things.

我想想，明天上午我应该有空。

Wǒ xiǎngxiang, míngtiān shàngwǔ wǒ yīnggāi yǒu kòng.

Let me see, I should be free tomorrow morning.
你要哪种口味？我想想……巧克力还是香草？

Nǐ yào nǎ zhǒng kǒuwèi? Wǒ xiǎngxiang... qiǎokèlì háishì xiāngcǎo?

Which flavor do you want? Let me see... chocolate or vanilla?

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Deciding whether to go to a concert

Anna and David talking in a living room, using phrases like 说实话 (Shuō shíhuà) and 我觉得…吧 (Wǒ juéde… ba) to share opinions and think aloud.

What are Anna and David trying to decide?

Portrait of Anna in a Simplified Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

说实话，我有点累，不太想出门。

Shuō shíhuà, wǒ yǒudiǎn lèi, bù tài xiǎng chūmén.

To be honest, I'm a bit tired and don't really want to go out.

Portrait of David in a Simplified Chinese lesson dialogue

David

我想想，票是不是很贵？

Wǒ xiǎngxiang, piào shì bù shì hěn guì?

Let me see, are the tickets expensive?

Portrait of Anna in a Simplified Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

我看了，是有点贵。

Wǒ kàn le, shì yǒudiǎn guì.

I checked — they're a bit expensive.

Portrait of David in a Simplified Chinese lesson dialogue

David

我觉得我们先省这次吧，改天再去。

Wǒ juéde wǒmen xiān shěng zhè cì ba, gǎitiān zài qù.

I guess we should skip it this time and go another day.

Portrait of Anna in a Simplified Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

总之，改天再看情况。

Zǒngzhī, gǎitiān zài kàn qíngkuàng.

Anyway, we'll see how things are another day.

Portrait of David in a Simplified Chinese lesson dialogue

David

好，那就先这样。

Hǎo, nà jiù xiān zhèyàng.

Alright, let's leave it at that for now.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which phrase means 'To be honest'?

Choose the best filler to soften a suggestion: 'I think we should ask for help, ___.'

Which filler buys time while you think?

Which is the best way to start a brief summary?

To be honest, it might rain tomorrow.

A: 我们去爬山吗？ B: ___，明天可能会下雨。

Anyway, let's state the main points first.

开会马上要开始了，___我们先说重点。

I guess I want spicy food.

你想点什么吃的？___，我比较想吃辣的。

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

总之，___

Zǒngzhī, ___.

Anyway, ...

Say this phrase out loud:

说实话，___。

Shuō shíhuà, ___.

To be honest, ...

Say this phrase out loud:

我觉得___吧。

Wǒ juéde ___ ba.

I guess ...

Say this phrase out loud:

我想想，___。

Wǒ xiǎngxiang, ___.

Let me see, ...