7 SPANISH FILLER WORDS That Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker

Summary

In this video, the host teaches Spanish learners how to use filler words, known as 'muletillas' in Spanish, which help to sound more fluent and natural. These words are equivalent to 'right,' 'like,' or 'um' in English. The content highlights several common Spanish fillers such as 'este,' 'bueno,' 'osea,' and 'pues,' explaining their use in conversation to help learners integrate them smoothly, make their Spanish sound more native, and avoid sounding like a beginner. The host also shares entertaining examples from personal anecdotes and interactions with Mexican locals to illustrate these points.

Highlights

• Introduces 'muletillas,' Spanish filler words, which are essential for sounding fluent. 🌟
• Examples of using 'este' in narratives and casual conversations, marking nervousness or hesitation. 🎙️
• Describes how 'bueno' is employed in stories and phone conversations, and its cultural significance in Mexico. 📞
• Showcases 'osea' and its elongated pronunciation among 'fresas,' resembling 'I mean' in English. 🎵
• Explores the popular use of 'pues' across Mexico, adding an authentic regional flair. 🌎
• Demonstrates how 'entonces' is a go-to filler in storytelling, especially among children. 🧒
• Detailed transformation of a regular phrase using fillers for a native feel, illustrating practical application. 🔄

Key Takeaways

• Mastering Spanish filler words (muletillas) can significantly enhance fluency and make you sound more native. 😄
• Common filler words include 'este,' 'bueno,' 'osea,' and 'pues,' each with unique uses and contexts in conversation. 📚
• Using filler words appropriately can help ease the flow of conversation and display a better command of the language. 💬
• Embedding these fillers into regular phrases can transform them to sound more native, offering a practical tip for learners. ✨
• The video mixes humor and personal anecdotes to make learning fun and engaging while focusing on practical language skills. 😂

Overview

Hey Spanish learners! If you want to sound like a native speaker, mastering 'muletillas,' or filler words, is a game-changer. Today, we'll explore essential Spanish fillers like 'este,' 'bueno,' 'osea,' and 'pues' - think of them as the Spanish equivalent of 'like,' 'right,' and 'um.' Get ready to take your Spanish fluency to the next level!

Ever wondered how native speakers keep their conversations flowing so naturally? The secret lies in filler words! In this entertaining guide, you'll discover how to use fillers like 'este' during hesitations, 'bueno' to answer calls or fill silences, and how Mexicans sprinkle 'pues' in everyday dialogue. Our host's playful examples illustrate how these fillers give your speech an authentic touch!

Let’s spice up your Spanish with some muletillas magic from this delightful lesson! See how a simple statement transforms when embedded with fillers, suddenly sounding more native. Plus, what’s learning without a bit of humor? Throughout the video, there are plenty of laughs and insider quirks about Mexican culture, ensuring you enjoy every bit of your language journey!

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Spanish Filler Words The chapter titled 'Introduction to Spanish Filler Words' focuses on the importance of mastering muletillas or Spanish filler words. It emphasizes that using these words, similar to English fillers like 'right', 'like', 'umm', can help learners sound more like native Spanish speakers. The chapter aims to teach these muletillas to enhance conversational fluency in Spanish.
• 00:30 - 01:30: The Word "Este" The chapter discusses the use of the Spanish word 'este' as a filler word or 'muletilla' commonly used in Spanish, particularly when speaking a foreign language to sound more natural. It is noted that 'este' literally translates to 'this' in English and is frequently used by students during presentations, especially in secondary school settings. The use of 'este' is prevalent, constituting about 80% of what students say in these contexts.
• 02:00 - 03:30: Using "Bueno" and "Y Bueno" The chapter discusses common fillers used during presentations, specifically focusing on 'bueno' and 'y bueno.' It mentions the nervousness that often accompanies class presentations, leading to the frequent use of filler words such as 'este.' An example is given using a presentation about the Maya civilization, highlighting the tendency to fill pauses with 'este' while discussing its location in the Yucatan Peninsula and its classic period between 250 and 900 AD.
• 04:00 - 07:30: Special Guest Gaby Talks About Tacos The chapter features a discussion with a special guest named Gaby who talks about the nuances of the Spanish language, particularly focusing on the use of 'este'. The conversation reveals that the frequent use of 'este' can imply someone might be lying or hiding something. The dialogue includes a humorous element where Gaby mimics a typical conversation with her mother, emphasizing the cultural and linguistic quirks in everyday exchanges. The guest uses an anecdote involving a conversation with her mother trying to gauge her location and condition, highlighting the challenges of interpreting truthfulness in casual conversations.
• 07:30 - 09:00: The Word "Pues" This chapter focuses on the usage of the word 'pues' in Mexican Spanish. The speaker highlights how 'pues' is commonly used as a filler word in everyday conversation. An example is given where 'pues' is employed to answer the phone as well as to fill spaces while telling a story. The chapter emphasizes the cultural significance and multifaceted applications of 'pues' in Mexican dialogue.
• 09:00 - 10:00: The Word "Entonces" The chapter titled 'The Word "Entonces"' deals with the speaker's reflections on their origin and identity. The speaker addresses a controversy regarding their place of origin. They clarify that they were born in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. However, their parents moved to Cancún when they were very young, and thus, the speaker grew up in Cancún. Despite this, they still hold a connection to Guerrero.
• 10:00 - 11:00: The Phrase "Sí, No" The chapter titled 'The Phrase "Sí, No"' explores the personal connection and pride the speaker feels towards Cancún and the broader Quintana Roo region. The speaker refers to Cancún as their ancestral home, highlighting it as a place of familial heroes. They express a deep love and sense of identity tied to their heritage. Additionally, the chapter includes a playful reference to the way Niurka Marcos might pronounce 'verdad' as 'veldá,' underscoring the cultural nuances in language usage. The narrative is interspersed with a conversational filler, indicated by a 'Chunk Alert!'
• 11:00 - 12:00: Using Fillers to Sound Like a Native The chapter explains how to use the Spanish word 'Bueno' as a filler to express a lukewarm agreement, similar to a mediocre 'yes' in English. An example conversation demonstrates this usage in context. The chapter also encourages downloading a free Essential Spanish Chunking Kit for more useful phrases and fillers to enhance natural Spanish speaking.
• 12:00 - 14:00: Conclusion and Next Lesson The chapter concludes with tips on engaging in conversations in Spanish, emphasizing the use of filler words common in Mexican Spanish. A guest, Gaby, is introduced, with whom the narrator shares a personal anecdote about meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The focus is on an engaging demonstration of local conversational styles, using Gaby's answers about her favorite tacos as an example.

7 SPANISH FILLER WORDS That Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Hola amigos, hoy este... es super especial porque, pues, les voy a enseñar a hablar con muletillas que los van a hacer sonar o sea como todo un nativo. Mastering muletillas, you know, Spanish filler words equivalent to words like: Right, like, umm, yeah, like this, like umm, is one of the secrets to sound very fluent
• 00:30 - 01:00 when you speak a foreign language, so stay here to watch all the muletillas that you need to sound super natural en español. Here's our first muletilla: Este... Literally, it translates as "this". The word este constitutes about 80% of everything that students say when they have a presentation. Is very common when we are like in secondary school
• 01:00 - 01:30 and we have to hacer exposiciones, you know, like class presentations, it's very typical that we get a little nervous and that we fill all the information with este. Este… Los Mayas fueron una civilización este... Mesoamericana, que este... que este... se localizó más que nada en este... la península de Yucatán y este... su periodo clásico fue este... del 250 este... al 900.
• 01:30 - 02:00 Often I can tell that people are lying to me when they use este a lot. I don't know, it feels a little sketchy. Judge for yourself. Is it judge for yourself or judge by yourself? Hola hijita ¿cómo estás? Este… bien ¿Dónde estás? Este... en la casa ma. Debes estar reposando. Acuérdate que te dijo el doctor que debes estar en reposo.
• 02:00 - 02:30 Sí, ma, sí, sí. Bueno. Cuídate mucho mi niña. Te amo, bye. Bueno or y bueno. In Mexico, we actually use the word bueno to answer the phone. But we also use "bueno" and "y bueno" to fill the spaces when we are telling a story. Don't believe me? Watch me unedited.
• 02:30 - 03:00 ¿De dónde soy de verdad? Bueno, últimamente ha habido una pequeña controversia tanto aquí en YouTube como en la vida real sobre de dónde soy. Y bueno, quería aclarar que yo nací en Acapulco, en el estado de Guerrero, México. Ahí nací, pero mis papás se fueron a vivir a Cancún cuando yo era muy chiquita y bueno ahí en Cancún yo crecí. Y bueno aunque yo considero a Guerrero
• 03:00 - 03:30 como mi hogar ancestral, el lugar de donde provienen los héroes de mi familia, pues bueno la verdad es que amo mucho Cancún y también me considero orgullosamente cancunense y dignamente quintanarroense. Y bueno, esa es mi verdad. O cómo diría Niurka, "mi veldá". It is like saying "and well" and other than being a filler word, it's also a good… Chunk Alert!
• 03:30 - 04:00 Bueno is a great way to agree to something that you are not too excited about. It's like giving a mediocre yes! Ma, ¿puedo salir al parque? Sí, pero primero tienes que levantar los juguetes. Bueno, está bien. For more useful chunks like this, make sure you download our free Essential Spanish Chunking Kit! That contains all the main chunks of Spanish that you will need to use alongside these fillers to sound very natural
• 04:00 - 04:30 when you have a conversation en español. Now, for the next section, I have a surprise! I invited my good friend Gaby! Gaby, whom I met in Kuala Lumpur, by the way. So, I asked Gaby some questions about her favorite type of tacos. And, you know, to show you how when we Mexicans give an explanation we tend to use so many filler words. Also, a little extra, pay attention
• 04:30 - 05:00 to the intonation of her speech. I find the way she speaks very fresa. Hola Paulísima, hoy te quiero contar dos tipos de tacos que me fascinan. O sea. Osea, is the closest equivalent that I can think of of the expression "I mean". Yeah, everyone uses it in Mexico, everyone, even the president. Everyone, everyone really. And los fresas, the posh ones, they have a very particular way of pronouncing it.
• 05:00 - 05:30 It's like more elongated. To find out more about los fresas check out María Fernanda's video about it, up here! ¿Gaby, cuál es tu taco favorito? Es el taco de suadero. O sea, es una cosa. Deli, deli, deli. Gaby, ¿cómo es un taco de suadero? Es algo excepcional y es algo super super super rico,
• 05:30 - 06:00 porque, pues como te puedo decir, o sea no es un taco normal, es un taco grasiento. Así, así como and cómo It is very similar to the English: Like this, like that, or just "like". Let's hear it from Gaby one more time. Gaby, ¿y qué es el suadero? ¿Y cómo se comen los tacos? Viene de la carne de res
• 06:00 - 06:30 que está muy cerca de la costilla. Entonces es como que la carne, pero pues todavía un poco más grasiento. Y luego le pones así, le pones el cilantro y la cebolla y aparte le pones una salsa roja y una salsa verde. A mí me encantan las dos porque, híjole, la verdad es que son super super deli. Y así un chorro de limón y ¡o sea! Como es el suadero, es una carne así, osea super super suavecita que olvídate,
• 06:30 - 07:00 se te deshace así y te los están haciendo así, en el momento cuando los pides. Pues Remember my confession? Y bueno, quería aclarar que yo nací en Acapulco, en el estado de Guerrero, México. Well, people from Acapulco, and other coastal towns in Mexico are famous, are notorious for their abundant use of the word pues.
• 07:00 - 07:30 Y pues es la verdad, pues así soy ¿y qué? And we have a funny way to pronounce it, it's more like puej, puej. I don't say it like that so much anymore but if I spent a week in Acapulco instead of saying pues I always end up saying puej. More like a J at the end. Órale pues, sí pues, no pues, órale pues, ya pues. But, hey, not only Acapulqueños use it, all Mexicans use it, just sprinkle it
• 07:30 - 08:00 all over your Spanish, you're going to be fine. Mi familia es de Guerrero, pero pues, en los 80's las cosas no estaban yéndoles muy bien y pues, decidieron mudarse al sureste de México, a Cancún pues. Entonces. This is equivalent to "then" or "and then" and we use it a lot, when we are telling a story particularly. I find it so cute when children use the word
• 08:00 - 08:30 entonces to feel the spaces in their stories. Let's hear it from my beautiful niece, Amanda. Oye, ¿qué hiciste el fin de semana? Pues fui a un hotel y entonces… las gemelas, era su cumpleaños, y entonces Victor bailó con ellas, y entonces era muy divertido,
• 08:30 - 09:00 y entonces había música pero bien divertida, y entonces bailamos… ¿No? Sí ¿no? This is the Mexican equivalent of saying, right? When you're talking to somebody and you are looking for reaffirmation from the person with whom you're speaking. Well, in Spanish we do it in the negative,
• 09:00 - 09:30 well, in Mexican Spanish. It can be very funny and sometimes get a little confusing because we say yes, no, at the same time ¡Ay, me encantan estas flores! Se llaman bugambilias. ¿Sí, no? Me encanta este perfume. Es el L'Interdit, ¿no? And now, how do we transform sentences to make them sound, you know, more native like using a lot of fillers? Let's see. Let's take a regular phrase.
• 09:30 - 10:00 El suadero es carne de res. Viene de una parte cerca de la costilla. Now let's say the same phrase but sprinkled with muletillas to make you sound like a native! Este el suadero, es este, carne de res. Este viene de una parte así cómo, cerca, como de la costilla.
• 10:00 - 10:30 O sea, el suadero es carne de res. ¿Sí, no? Y viene de una parte como cerca, como así como cerca como de la costilla. See how easy it is? Now, lets focus on typical mistakes that Spanish learners make and that prevents them from sounding natural. I have 5 typical gringo mistakes that you can learn about to prevent making them, of course! In the next part of the lesson,
• 10:30 - 11:00 just click on the image that is appearing on your screen right now to continue the lesson and make sure you are not making these gringo mistakes.