In conversation, you may find yourself at a loss for words, unable to
find the correct phrase you are looking for, or simply needing time to
gather your thoughts. When you experience this feeling, in English, you
may say "umm" or "uhhh" or another filler word. In Chinese, the word for
this is 那个 (nèige). (The word 那个 can be pronounced both "nàge" and
"nèige," but for this usage, "nèige" is normally used.)

Structure
---------

In English, words like "ummm" and "uh" are used as filler[^1] words when
you're thinking about what to say. In Chinese, 那个 (nèige) is also used
for this purpose. To English speakers not fortunate enough to be fluent
in Mandarin this may raise an eyebrow because it can sound a bit
"racist," but it's very common in Mandarin and you'll hear it quite
often around Chinese speakers.

<div class="jiegou">
(那个⋯⋯) (那个⋯⋯) + \[anything\] + (那个⋯⋯)

</div>
那个 (nèige) can be inserted into sentences wherever you need to pause
for thought.

Examples
--------

<div class="liju">
-   <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 我 不 跟 你们 一起 去 了，可以
    吗？<span class="pinyin"><em>Nèige</em>... wǒ bù gēn nǐmen yīqǐ qù
    le, kěyǐ ma? </span><span class="trans">So, ummm... I won't go with
    you guys, OK?</span>
-   我 想 吃 <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 湖南
    菜。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiǎng chī <em>nèige</em>...
    <em>nèige</em>... Húnán cài.</span><span class="trans">I want to
    eat that... ummm, you know... Hunan cuisine.</span>
-   <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 我 明天 不 来
    了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Nèige</em>... wǒ míngtiān bù lái
    le.</span><span class="trans">Ummm... I'm not coming
    tomorrow.</span>
-   <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 这样 做 不 好
    吧？<span class="pinyin"><em>Nèige</em>... zhèyàng zuò bù hǎo
    ba?</span><span class="trans">Ummm, it's not good to do it this
    way?</span>
-   <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 你 可以 做 我 的 女 朋友
    吗？<span class="pinyin"><em>Nèige</em>... nǐ kěyǐ zuò wǒ de
    nǚpéngyou ma?</span><span class="trans">Like... could you be my
    girlfriend?</span>
-   <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 不好意思 ， 我 要 走
    了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Nèige</em>... bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ yào zǒu
    le.</span><span class="trans">Ummmm... sorry, but I've gotta
    go.</span>
-   她 很 漂亮 ， 就 像 <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 明星
    一样。<span class="pinyin">Tā hěn piàoliang, jiù xiàng
    <em>nèige</em>... míngxīng yīyàng.</span><span class="trans">She's
    very pretty, just like, you know, a celebrity.</span>
-   我 想 看看 你 买 的 <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯
    iPhone。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiǎng kànkan nǐ mǎi de
    <em>nèige</em>... <em>nèige</em>...
    iPhone.</span><span class="trans">I'd like to take a look at your,
    ummm, you know... iPhone you bought.</span>
-   <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 我 要 去 开会
    了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Nèige</em>... wǒ yào qù kāihuì
    le.</span><span class="trans">Ummm... I have to attend a
    meeting.</span>
-   昨天 <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ <em>那个</em> ⋯⋯ 小笼包 真
    好吃。<span class="pinyin">Zuótiān <em>nèige</em>...
    <em>nèige</em>... xiǎolóngbāo zhēn
    hǎochī.</span><span class="trans">Yesterday the, you know, steamed
    soup dumplings were so delicious.</span>

</div>
References
----------

<references/>

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")

[^1]: [Filler
    (linguistics)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_(linguistics)) on
    Wikipedia