Learn These “Filler” Words to Speak French Properly — Spoken French vs Written French

Tiens means to hold on and take it, but we rarely use it that way. Instead, we use it to grab someone’s attention or express surprise.
– Tiens, il est pas là, Claude ? = Oh, Claude is not here? (surprise)
– Tiens, toi, viens ici. = Hey, you, come here. (grab their attention)
– Tiens, regarde, c’est ça que je faisais. = Hey, look, that’s what I was doing. (grab their attention)

Du coup (silent p) originally means “as a result”, but it’s generally used as any transition between ideas. Or even between any parts in a sentence, in everyday spoken French. It’s as versatile as “so” in English.
– Du coup, voilà Romain. = So, here is Romain.
– Tu fais quoi, du coup ? = So what are you doing?
– Du coup je pars. = So, I’m leaving.
Some people started using it way too much, but that’s because it’s a great expression that can fit anywhere.

The extra mile: lyrics analysis

In the video lesson, I’m using a short clip from a song about using “du coup” way too much. In this blog post, let’s take a look at the lyrics of that extract, together.

Listen to the song:
Les Wriggles – Du coup (lyrics)

Lyrics of the short extract (in French with English translation) :

“Euh, du coup, faut voir, on était un peu crevé, tu vois. Mais, du coup, on l’a quand même fait. Alors, ça donne un truc, quand même, du coup, assez intéressant. Il manquerait plus, du coup, qu’à trouver, genre, des paroles dessus…*
Uh, so, we’ll see, we were a bit tired, you know. But, so, we did it anyway. So, it turned out to be something, still, so, quite interesting. Now all that’s left, so, is to find, like, some lyrics for it…

Guitare classique ? Ca change ouais…
Ouais… Bah du coup, c’est pour savoir ce que t’en penses parce que…
Bah écoute, je vais écouter, je vais t’dirе, ouais
Du coup, nous, on était plutôt cont…
Par contre, je… Je pеux te dire un truc ?
Bah, du coup, Steph, tu peux tout m’dire, hein.
Tu dis beaucoup « du coup » !”

Classical guitar? That’s a change, yeah-
Yeah… So, I just wanted to know what you think because…
Well, I’ll listen, I’ll tell you, yea
So, we were quite pleased
However, I… Can I tell you something
Well, so, Steph, you can tell me anything, hu
You say “so” a lot

Key informal vocabulary:

1. Du coup: as you can see, we use this filler word to fill in gaps, to conclude something, or to imply causality simply. Its meaning varies depending on the surrounding context. It’s commonly used in informal conversations to keep the dialogue smooth and expressive. It can be translated by “well”, “so”, “hence” etc.
2. Crevé: it is a French slang word for fatigué (“tired“) or épuisé (“exhausted”) It literally means “dead”, so we use it to say we are “deadly tired”.
3. Ouais: it’s an informal way to say “oui” in spoken French, like the English “yeah”.
4. Bah écoute: a common French expression used informally to say “well, listen” or “well, you see”. This conversational filler introduces a comment, suggestion, or opinion. It’s a way to catch the listener’s attention or signal that the speaker is about to share their thoughts. It makes the conversation more engaging and can be followed by a statement or explanation.
5. Un truc : informal French for “quelque chose” (= something) or “une chose” (= a thing)

Extra practice:
In these lyrics, find the filler words that we’ve seen before. Even better if you do it by listening to the song, not just reading the lyrics!