<p>My mother is Chinese and I heard this word “ nigah” all the time .  She told me it means “um, ummmm”. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-14T02:15:29.200Z
2019-09-14T02:15:29.200Z
Fred Smith
<p>The word your hear is probably 那個 (in traditional characters) / 那个 (in simplified characters). It is pronounced <em>nàge</em> or <em>nèige</em> (in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin" rel="noreferrer">Pinyin transcription</a>), and it's basic meaning is ‘that’ or ‘that one’.</p>

<p><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page" rel="noreferrer">Chinese Grammar Wiki</a> has a nice explanation of <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/The_filler_word_%22neige%22" rel="noreferrer">how nèige is used as a filler word</a> (follow the link to see examples):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>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 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.) </p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T17:20:08.387Z
Yes, that's it! That's was one of the answers that Google Translate voice to text gave me as well, so I'm sure this is correct. Thank you so much. This is extremely helpful! So, it can be used as "umm" even in a context where the literal translation ("that one") wouldn't make sense, correct?
Hack-R
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T17:30:33.143Z
Yup, that's correct. By the way, it's pronounced differently than the English N-word: the first syllable of 那個 is more like ‘nei’ in ‘neighbour’.
米好 '-'
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T23:48:11.670Z
That depends on who is saying it. I hear 'nigga' a lot too.
Gangosa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-12T09:47:46.727Z
@Hack-R It can be used as "umm" in any spoken context regardless if "that one" is a concrete reference. The underlying semantic is "speaking of that".
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-10T07:17:47.373Z
I think it's like "you know...." in English.
AGamePlayer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-09T03:27:37.977Z
@Gangosa The pronunciation of 'nigga' is more like 尼个 in Chinese. 那 and 尼 are very different in Chinese and people won't mix them. People don't say 那个 as 尼个. However, I do often see English speakers claim they hear 那个 as 'nigga'. I wonder why.
Betty
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T17:18:28.073Z
2016-12-11T17:32:20.903Z
2016-12-11T17:32:20.903Z
米好 '-'
<p>I work in a group where I am the only person that does not speak Chinese, thus I hear Chinese conversations all day every day.</p>

<p>I've noticed that there's a word which is used <em>extremely</em> frequently, in almost every sentence, sometimes 2 - 3 times per sentence.</p>

<p>It sounds like "nicka" or "nigah"... two syllables, "ni", "nig", or "nic" is the first and then "ah" or "uh" is the 2nd.</p>

<p>I heard one person explain it once offhand to another English speaker in the office as meaning "something", "that", or "that thing right there", but I'm not sure how good of an explanation that was. I was wondering if you could tell me what the word is and how you'd describe its usage?</p>

<p>Without having any real idea of what it means, it almost seems to me like it's being used like the word "uh" in English (like "I want to you pull that data and uh, then make a PowerPoint showing the summary and uh..."). I've taken some very basic Chinese on Coursera.org and via Pimsluer tapes, but neither explained this to my knowledge.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong>
I tried speaking this word into the speech-to-translation part of the Google Translate iPhone app and one time it came out as "That one" and one time it came out as "Your".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T16:55:12.617Z
Why don't you ask where you work?
Colin McLarty
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T16:57:54.367Z
@ColinMcLarty Well, the explanation I mentioned was given by my best friend at work, but I thought it would be useful to get an explanation from another source as well. The people where I work speak very well in both languages, but I don't like to overburden them with translation question as they seem to feel unsure and under pressure when asked. In addition, then person who asked my friend about it before told him that it sounds like a racial slur in English, so I didn't really want to bring it up again because I'm not sure how that made him feel.
Hack-R
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T18:49:36.247Z
Possible duplicate of [Pronunciation of 那个](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/1663/pronunciation-of-%e9%82%a3%e4%b8%aa)
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-11T18:50:55.240Z
@DrunkenMaster That question starts off knowing the word and asking its pronunciation. Mine is the exact opposite -- I knew the pronunciation but not the word or its definition. Other readers who hear Chinese conversations may be in the same situation as me and would have no way to know that post has information on the word.
Hack-R
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-14T21:13:21.747Z
For real. That word is thrown around here a lot. I also work in a Chinese environment. I had wondered the same. That's why I searched and found this information.
Curious
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T08:38:31.977Z
To explain something, it may be 你看， you see.
lxg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-11T19:52:10.063Z
Thank you for this. I heard this when teach English to people in China, on-line. At first I was trying to figure out what English word they were saying. I realized it was Chinese, then I was thinking they were saying the word first in Chinese to be able to generate the English version, but then it would be repeated throughout the lesson. When I started hearing other people do it, I realized it must be a filler word....I usually only hear it with people whose English isn't that strong. Which is not very often. I usually have medium to high level English speakers. But it comes out every once in
France 
<meaning><word>
Very frequently used word in Mandarin that sounds like "nica" or "nigah"
# Very frequently used word in Mandarin that sounds like "nica" or "nigah"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-12-11)

I work in a group where I am the only person that does not speak Chinese, thus I hear Chinese conversations all day every day.

I've noticed that there's a word which is used *extremely* frequently, in almost every sentence, sometimes 2 - 3 times per sentence.

It sounds like "nicka" or "nigah"... two syllables, "ni", "nig", or "nic" is the first and then "ah" or "uh" is the 2nd.

I heard one person explain it once offhand to another English speaker in the office as meaning "something", "that", or "that thing right there", but I'm not sure how good of an explanation that was. I was wondering if you could tell me what the word is and how you'd describe its usage?

Without having any real idea of what it means, it almost seems to me like it's being used like the word "uh" in English (like "I want to you pull that data and uh, then make a PowerPoint showing the summary and uh..."). I've taken some very basic Chinese on Coursera.org and via Pimsluer tapes, but neither explained this to my knowledge.

**Update:**
I tried speaking this word into the speech-to-translation part of the Google Translate iPhone app and one time it came out as "That one" and one time it came out as "Your".

**Tags:** meaning, word

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Why don't you ask where you work?  
> **username_0**: @ColinMcLarty Well, the explanation I mentioned was given by my best friend at work, but I thought it would be useful to get an explanation from another source as well. The people where I work speak very well in both languages, but I don't like to overburden them with translation question as they seem to feel unsure and under pressure when asked. In addition, then person who asked my friend about it before told him that it sounds like a racial slur in English, so I didn't really want to bring it up again because I'm not sure how that made him feel.  
> **username_2**: Possible duplicate of [Pronunciation of 那个](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/1663/pronunciation-of-%e9%82%a3%e4%b8%aa)  
> **username_0**: @DrunkenMaster That question starts off knowing the word and asking its pronunciation. Mine is the exact opposite -- I knew the pronunciation but not the word or its definition. Other readers who hear Chinese conversations may be in the same situation as me and would have no way to know that post has information on the word.  
> **username_3**: For real. That word is thrown around here a lot. I also work in a Chinese environment. I had wondered the same. That's why I searched and found this information.  
> **username_4**: To explain something, it may be 你看， you see.  
> **username_5**: Thank you for this. I heard this when teach English to people in China, on-line. At first I was trying to figure out what English word they were saying. I realized it was Chinese, then I was thinking they were saying the word first in Chinese to be able to generate the English version, but then it would be repeated throughout the lesson. When I started hearing other people do it, I realized it must be a filler word....I usually only hear it with people whose English isn't that strong. Which is not very often. I usually have medium to high level English speakers. But it comes out every once in  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2016-12-11. Score: 20 | Accepted answer

The word your hear is probably 那個 (in traditional characters) / 那个 (in simplified characters). It is pronounced *nàge* or *nèige* (in the [Pinyin transcription](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin)), and it's basic meaning is ‘that’ or ‘that one’.

[Chinese Grammar Wiki](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page) has a nice explanation of [how nèige is used as a filler word](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/The_filler_word_%22neige%22) (follow the link to see examples):

> 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 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.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Yes, that's it! That's was one of the answers that Google Translate voice to text gave me as well, so I'm sure this is correct. Thank you so much. This is extremely helpful! So, it can be used as "umm" even in a context where the literal translation ("that one") wouldn't make sense, correct?  
> **username_7**: Yup, that's correct. By the way, it's pronounced differently than the English N-word: the first syllable of 那個 is more like ‘nei’ in ‘neighbour’.  
> **username_8**: That depends on who is saying it. I hear 'nigga' a lot too.  
> **username_9**: @username_0 It can be used as "umm" in any spoken context regardless if "that one" is a concrete reference. The underlying semantic is "speaking of that".  
> **username_10**: I think it's like "you know...." in English.  
> **username_11**: @username_8 The pronunciation of 'nigga' is more like 尼个 in Chinese. 那 and 尼 are very different in Chinese and people won't mix them. People don't say 那个 as 尼个. However, I do often see English speakers claim they hear 那个 as 'nigga'. I wonder why.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2019-09-14. Score: 1

My mother is Chinese and I heard this word “ nigah” all the time . She told me it means “um, ummmm”.


---

