Filler-words in spoken Italian

Question

In casual, spoken English, there are certain "filler-words" which are very common, but don't really add much to the actual meaning of the sentence. For example: "like, you know..., look....".

The same thing seems to exist in Italian. I want to a) confirm that this true, b) find out what the common filler-words are.

For example, are these common filler-words?:

• guarda (look)
• dai (come on now)
• sai (you know)

What other Italian words or expressions would be in this category?

Answer 1

Yes, there are filler words. Those you mentioned actually can be used meaningfully ("dai" is an exhortation for example).

Aside from those you mentioned, other examples may be:

• cioè
• mah
• mmm (though not exactly a word)
• eh

and many others. An example dialogue using all of them:

A) Sai, ho visto Luca in giro con l'auto nuova.
B) Eh? Strano.
A) Perché?
B) Eh, guarda, non so se posso parlartene... cioè...
A) Dai...
B) Mmm, è che pensavo gli avessero tolto la patente... mah...

Answer 2

• Mah is used to convey uncertainty, as in: "Hai visto Marco ultimamente?" "Mah, sarà preso dallo studio" (I don't know where he is, but I think he might be busy studying) or "Cosa ne diresti se andassimo a correre domani?" "Mah, sono un po' stanco in questi giorni.." (I'm not interested in going jogging because I am tired. I want to be polite and not openly say "I don't want to come with you").
• Insomma / cioè / are used to better explain a point or to get to the real point of the conversation: "Maria ha un po' di problemi a casa e al lavoro, e esce meno con gli amici. Insomma, è sparita dalla circolazione" or "Ti richiamo dopo. Cioè...quando avrò finito di studiare e mettere in ordine la casa".
• Allora is kind of the equivalent of "so" in English. Used to start a conversation, to bring up a new topic or to call for attention: "Allora, come è andata in vacanza? Rcconta!" or "Allora, bambini, venite qui e mettetevi seduti" in cerchio".

NB "cioè" can sound like "c'è" in spoken language. I don't know if it is a northern Italy thing or not.

Answer 3

Insomma..., ecco una lista:

• allora
• cioè
• dai
• eh
• guarda
• insomma
• mah
• mmm
• quindi
• senti
• sai

Ho aggiunto 'quindi' e 'senti'.

Answer 4

I'll add the filler-words that I use the most, and which I also happen to find rather annoying (trying to get rid of this bad habit, with little success!):

• Tipo or tipo che (the equivalent of like)
• Praticamente or in pratica