Recommended resources
The freely available resources this lesson will direct you to.
Hei! In the last lesson, you practised checking a partly understood message by saying back what you thought it meant. But a conversation also needs attention between those checks: a brief sound to show you are listening, or a phrase that gives you a moment to find your words.
This lesson focuses on those small contributions. You will learn how to keep someone else talking with mm, ja, and similar responses, and how to keep your own turn when you need time to think. These are useful in everyday conversations even when you understand everything perfectly.
Keep the speaker’s turn open
A backchannel is a short response you make while someone else is speaking. Its main job is to say, “I’m here; go on,” not to take over the conversation.
Read the backchannel section of Fillers, Hesitation and Backchannels from Elon.io. It provides a useful range of responses, though the best choice depends on what you have actually understood.
Fillers, Hesitation and Backchannels | Norwegian Grammar | Elon.io
Read the backchannel section to see how a listener can participate without taking the speaker’s turn.
Find the subsection “Backchannels: mm, ja, akkurat — the sound of listening.” Start at the definition of a backchannel, then read the list and dialogue, ending after the explanation of the short exchange about calling the doctor. Notice which responses simply encourage the speaker and which convey stronger understanding or agreement.
The safest starting point is mm. Say it briefly at a natural pause and let the other person continue:
Speaker: Jeg var innom butikken etter jobb …
I stopped by the shop after work …You: Mm.
Speaker: … men den var allerede stengt.
… but it was already closed.
Ja can also mean “I’m following” in this position. It does not always mean that you have considered and agreed with every part of what was said. Context matters, however: if someone asks Kommer du i morgen? (“Are you coming tomorrow?”), ja is an answer, not merely a listening signal.
Other responses make a more specific claim:
| Response | Useful when you mean… |
|---|---|
| mm | “I’m listening; continue.” |
| ja | “Yes, I’m following.” |
| skjønner | “I see what you mean.” |
| akkurat | “Right—that fits what you’ve said.” |
| nettopp | “Exactly; that is the point.” |
| ja vel | “Oh, I see.” It can also convey mild surprise, depending on tone. |
You do not need to use the whole range immediately. Mm, ja, and skjønner will carry many ordinary conversations. Save nettopp for a point you really recognize as exactly right; it is stronger than a neutral “uh-huh.”
Timing matters more than quantity
Place a backchannel where the speaker leaves you a little space—often after a short clause or at a pause. Keep it short and use a listening tone. You are helping the speaker continue, not asking them to stop.
Speaker: Jeg prøvde å ringe i går, men ingen svarte.
I tried calling yesterday, but no one answered.You: Mm.
Speaker: Så jeg sendte en melding i stedet.
So I sent a message instead.You: Skjønner.
I see.
The first reply says only that you are listening. The second comes after the speaker’s solution is clear. If you had not understood what happened, skjønner would be misleading; a clarification question from an earlier lesson would serve you better.
Listening is not the same as agreeing or confirming
Small responses are easy to confuse because English translations such as “right” and “I see” overlap. In Norwegian, choose according to what you can honestly signal.
Imagine someone says:
Jeg tror møtet er flyttet til torsdag.
I think the meeting has been moved to Thursday.
If you are simply hearing their thought, mm leaves room for them to explain. Akkurat may sound as though the information fits or makes sense to you. If you need to know whether Thursday is definite before changing your plans, neither response replaces a check:
Så møtet er på torsdag, ikke sant?
So the meeting is on Thursday, right?
Ikke sant? asks the other person for confirmation. It is not a substitute for a listener’s quiet mm, and you should not use it to make an uncertain detail sound settled. The distinction from last lesson is practical: backchannel when the speaker should continue; check or clarify when the answer changes what you will do.
There is also a difference between a listening ja and an answer to a direct question:
Speaker: Vil du ha kaffe?
Would you like coffee?You: Ja, takk.
Yes, please.
Here akkurat would not mean “yes, please.” It confirms a point; it does not accept an offer.
Keep your own turn while you think
Now change roles. Someone asks you a question, and you need a few seconds. A brief hesitation signals that you are still forming an answer rather than yielding the turn.
Return to the same Elon.io resource for its sections on hesitation sounds, fillers, and phrases used while searching for a word.
Fillers, Hesitation and Backchannels | Norwegian Grammar | Elon.io
Read these sections to distinguish a brief thinking sound from a phrase that tells your listener what kind of difficulty you are having.
In “The hesitation sounds: eh and øh,” read the explanation and examples. Continue to “Stalling fillers: altså, liksom, på en måte, du vet,” reading the examples and distinction between a filler and a meaningful use. Finally, in “Floor-holding: the stalling phrases,” read the opening and two examples; stop after the explanation of hva skal jeg si. Focus on what each phrase allows the speaker to do next.
For a moment’s pause, eh or øh is enough. You need not fill every silence, but one of these sounds can show that your answer is coming:
Når passer det for deg?
When suits you?Eh … fredag, tror jeg.
Uh … Friday, I think.
When you are searching for a name or word, hva heter det … means roughly “what’s it called …”:
Vi kan møtes ved, hva heter det, biblioteket.
We can meet by the, what’s it called, library.
When the difficulty is how to express an idea, hva skal jeg si … means “how shall I put it …”:
Filmen var, hva skal jeg si, litt langsom i starten.
The film was, how shall I put it, a little slow at the beginning.
Altså can help you restart or reformulate a thought—something like “I mean”:
Jeg kan komme på tirsdag. Altså, etter jobb på tirsdag.
I can come on Tuesday. I mean, after work on Tuesday.
These are useful because they give the listener a clue about what is happening. An eh asks for a beat. Hva heter det signals a word search. Altså suggests that you are adjusting what you just said.
You may also hear liksom (“like,” “sort of”) in informal speech. It can soften an approximate description, but it is not necessary for keeping a conversation going. For now, a clear pause or one purposeful phrase is more useful than inserting a filler into every sentence.
Put both roles together
Consider this ordinary exchange about weekend plans. Notice how the listener first supports the speaker’s turn, then takes a moment before answering a question.
A: Jeg så en film i helgen, men jeg husker ikke tittelen.
I saw a film at the weekend, but I can’t remember the title.B: Mm.
A: Den var ganske morsom, men litt lang. Har du sett noe bra i det siste?
It was quite funny, but a little long. Have you seen anything good lately?B: Eh … ja, jeg så en serie. Den var, hva skal jeg si, ganske spennende.
Uh … yes, I watched a series. It was, how shall I put it, quite exciting.A: Ja vel?
Oh, really?B: Ja, særlig de siste episodene.
Yes, especially the last episodes.
B’s “mm” does not interrupt the film description. After A asks a question, it becomes B’s turn, and eh buys a moment to retrieve an answer. Hva skal jeg si then signals a search for the right description. The phrases are doing different jobs; none needs to be said merely because there is a gap.
For a short speaking rehearsal, read the dialogue aloud twice, taking each role in turn. On the second pass, leave a small pause before mm, eh, and hva skal jeg si. Notice whether your mm invites the next sentence and whether your hesitation still sounds like part of your turn. This is about conversational timing, not speed.
What to take away
Use mm or a brief ja to show that you are following while someone else continues. Choose skjønner, akkurat, or nettopp only when their stronger meaning fits what you understood. When it is your turn and you need time, eh, hva heter det, hva skal jeg si, and altså can help you hold the floor without abandoning Norwegian.
Next, you will turn words you could not catch or retrieve in a conversation into a personal phrase bank, so those moments become material you can review.