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In English, sometimes you'd say things like 'I see', 'All right', 'Got it', 'Go on', etc., to show the other guy that you're still listening to what he's saying.

How do you say the equivalent in German? Alles klar or Weiter probably don't quite cut it here.

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    hm, hm, ja, hm, aja, aha, hm, ja, ja, ok, ja, hm, hm, ahhh, oh, aha, hm
    – Em1
    Jan 29, 2015 at 11:36
  • @Em1 Really? Wow. My German boss used to interrupt me with a very loud Hmm, whenever we were speaking English. Up until now, I thought he was signaling me to shut up.
    – Mihai
    Jan 29, 2015 at 11:41
  • @Mihai: He could as well have been. Without knowing the intonation and your boss, it’s impossible to tell.
    – Wrzlprmft ♦
    Jan 29, 2015 at 12:04

2 Answers 2

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On a bit more serious note than my comment above (which is true, though), you can go with the following ones.

Request to continue:

OK, weiter.
Und weiter?
Und dann?

Express surprise(, and sometimes request approval):

Echt?
Wirklich?

Express understanding:

Verstehe.

Anyhow, there's a sheer endless list of variations, but these are the most common ones I guess.

The fillers hm, ja, ok, ah are used to merely show that you're still listening.

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  • Und daaannnn? NO UND DANN! Uunnnddd dddaaaannnnnnn? NO UND DANN!!
    – corsiKa
    Jan 29, 2015 at 19:24
  • @corsiKa Du hast zuviel "Ey Mann, wo ist mein Auto" geguckt. ;)
    – Em1
    Jan 29, 2015 at 19:25
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Neutral: ja, ok, (ich) verstehe, und dann? und weiter?

Approving: natürlich, sicher, klar

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