Besides なるほど, what phrases express that I’m actively listening to someone during a conversation?

21 comments

1. はい、はい、はい、そう？えーー。。。そうか？うんうん

2. えっ?マジ?

3. えええ！本当？！

4. Google あいづち

5. I had a friend who used 確かに a lot.

   Some others that come to mind are ですよね and あるある but they’re more to signify that you agree with or relate to the other party.

6. This is called 相槌 (aizuchi). 相槌を打つ means to nod or give a nodding / agreeable response.

7. Im surprised 「そうですね」 and 「そうですか」 were not mentioned.

8. I spam うんうん

9. Here’s a video about aizuchi
   https://youtu.be/r0io_xgmcSs

10. 確かに、　そうですね〜、うん、本当？、そうですか？、マジで？、え—？、ヤバ！

11. うん is one that gets used to indicate agreement, or that you’re following along, but do not confuse it with うんん.

12. My personal favorite to add into the mix is 「へえええー！」 when surprised by a bit of information I’m hearing for the first time. Very fun to say

13. Regardless of the language, if I am talking to someone, I am always 聞き流す. Talking is hard.

14. It’s a slightly complicated topic, Japanse has a thing called aizuchi 相槌, they are used exactly to show that you are listening to someone. There are many different 相槌 and they are used in different situations, you can google 相槌 for additional information. The most common and universal should be はい or more casual うん.

15. ああ。ええ。おお。へー。はい。うん。Btw, you have to say them every time the other person pauses their speech, like a ping pong match.

16. Remember the さしすせそ trick 🙂
    さすが
    知らなかった
    すごい！
    センスありね
    そうなんだ

    Modify to meet your needs.

17. なるほど is used when someone tells you something, and it makes sense to you. 確かに（たしかに） is similar, but is used when someone tells you something, and it not only makes sense, but you then also realize it to be self-evident.

18. Watch [NativLang’s video on Aizuchi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-GQRYA_yMw). That’s the name of this specific phenomenon and he breaks down the best ways to go about using it when having conversations in Japanese.

19. よき means well, you can do something like よくわかりました

20. そうなんや。
    せやんな。
    ほんま?

21. あ、そうなんだ。
    うん、うん。
    へー。
    あ、そうか!