erm
erm — 感嘆詞
1. a spoken filler sound produced when a speaker hesitates or thinks briefly before
呃
說話猶豫時發出的聲音
a spoken filler sound produced when a speaker hesitates or thinks briefly before continuing their sentence — commonly used in British English in the same way that 'um' is used in American English.
Erm, I'm not sure that's the right platform for the London train.
呃,我不太確定那是去倫敦的火車月臺。
opening hesitation marker at turn start
Erm, I meant we should wait for Vikram to arrive before starting.
呃,我是想說我們應該等 Vikram 到了再開始。
erm opens the utterance, then repeats core idea
Erm, let me just check the directions on my phone before we leave.
呃,我出發前先看一下手機上的路線說明。
Megan paused and said, 'Erm, I think we could try a different approach.'
Megan 停頓了一下說:「呃,我覺得我們可以試試不同的方法。」
Erm, do you have a moment to talk about the project deadline?
呃,你有空談一下專案的截止日期嗎?
文法句型
used alone as a hesitation marker
followed by a pause, then the speaker's next utterance
用法筆記
Only used in spoken English or in written dialogue that imitates speech. Never used in formal writing. 'Erm' is the standard British English form; the equivalent in American English is 'um'. The 'r' in 'erm' is not pronounced as a separate consonant — it colours the vowel, producing a longer, more drawn-out sound than plain 'um'.