ben

well, um (filler word)

particle BAN Less Common

Usage Note

Ben is the spoken, informal contraction of bien used as a discourse filler or softener, similar to English 'well' or 'um'. It appears at the start of a reply to hedge or indicate that the speaker is thinking: ben, je sais pas (well, I don't know). It is very common in casual speech but never written in formal contexts.

Examples

"Ben, je ne suis pas sûr."

Natural Translation

Well, I'm not sure.

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