Modal particles set the tone of a sentence from inside the middle field. This page is about a different toolkit: the words that organize the flow of conversation — opening a turn, hesitating, adding an aside, returning to the main point, confirming. Unlike modal particles, these connectors typically stand at the very front of an utterance (the Vorfeld) or are set off entirely, often followed by a comma. Master them and your German stops sounding like a sequence of disconnected sentences and starts sounding like real, connected talk. We'll cover also, na ja, übrigens, jedenfalls, plus the handy confirmers genau and tja.
also — "so / well / right then" (a false friend!)
The single most important fact on this page: German also does NOT mean English "also." English "also" is German auch. The false friend trips up nearly every English speaker. German also is the conversational "so / well / right then / okay," used to open a turn, draw a conclusion, resume after a pause, or signal that you're getting to the point.
Also, fangen wir an.
Right then, let's get started.
Also gut, ich mache mit.
Okay then, I'll join in.
Also, ich finde, wir sollten warten.
Well, I think we should wait.
Also, was ich eigentlich sagen wollte: ...
So, what I really wanted to say is: ...
It also draws a conclusion ("so/therefore"), which is the same logical "so" — „Du bist also einverstanden?" ("So you agree?"). As a connector it sits in the Vorfeld, set off by a comma; as the conclusion-drawing adverb it can also sit inside the clause.
Du warst nicht da — du hast es also nicht gesehen.
You weren't there — so you didn't see it.
na ja — "well... / sort of / I guess"
na ja (also written naja) is a hedge. It signals hesitation, mild reservation, qualification, or gentle resignation — you're not fully committing, you're softening, or you're a bit unimpressed. English "well...", "I mean...", "sort of," or "eh" all land in its territory.
Na ja, so toll war der Film auch nicht.
Well, the film wasn't all that great either.
— Wie war das Essen? — Na ja, es ging so.
— How was the meal? — Eh, it was so-so.
Na ja, mal sehen, was passiert.
Well, we'll see what happens.
The reduplicated na ja na ja or a drawn-out „Naaa ja..." signals even more reluctance. It is firmly informal — you wouldn't write it in a formal email.
übrigens — "by the way"
übrigens adds a side remark, a piece of incidental information that's related but not part of the main thread. It's the German "by the way / incidentally," and it can stand in the Vorfeld or float a bit later in the sentence.
Übrigens, dein Paket ist heute angekommen.
By the way, your parcel arrived today.
Das war übrigens nicht meine Idee.
That wasn't my idea, by the way.
Übrigens, hast du schon gehört, dass Anna umzieht?
By the way, have you heard that Anna's moving?
Unlike na ja, übrigens is register-neutral — it's perfectly fine in semi-formal writing and speech alike. Note the orthography: ü-umlaut and a single word, übrigens.
jedenfalls — "anyway / in any case / at any rate"
jedenfalls does two related jobs. First, it returns to the main point after a digression — "anyway, ...". Second, it limits a claim to what you can be sure of — "in any case / at any rate," conceding that other details may be uncertain.
Ich weiß nicht, warum er sauer war — jedenfalls ist er gegangen.
I don't know why he was annoyed — anyway, he left.
Ich jedenfalls bleibe hier.
I, at any rate, am staying here.
Das Wetter wird vielleicht besser; ich nehme jedenfalls einen Schirm mit.
The weather might improve; in any case I'm taking an umbrella.
Because jedenfalls is a conjunctional adverb (like trotzdem, deshalb), when it sits in the Vorfeld it triggers verb-second word order: „Jedenfalls *ist er gegangen."*
genau and tja — the quick confirmers
Two more you'll hear constantly:
- genau — literally "exactly/precisely." As a backchannel it's the all-purpose "exactly / right / that's it," confirming what the other person just said. Germans use it the way English speakers use "right" or "exactly" — sometimes several times a sentence.
- tja — a resigned, slightly helpless "well... / hmm... / oh well," said when there's not much to be done or you're stalling for a beat. It carries a shrug, similar in mood to
halt/eben.
— Du meinst, wir sollten früher losfahren? — Genau.
— You mean we should leave earlier? — Exactly.
Tja, da kann man nichts machen.
Well, there's nothing to be done about it.
Position: these go up front, not in the Mittelfeld
The big structural contrast with modal particles: connectors like also, na ja, übrigens, jedenfalls, tja typically open the utterance and are set off by a comma (or are a turn of their own), whereas modal particles like ja, doch, mal sit unstressed inside the clause. Some — also, übrigens, jedenfalls — can move into the sentence as adverbs, but their default discourse-organizing slot is the front.
| Marker | Function | Register | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| also | open / conclude / resume | neutral | so / well / right then (NOT "also") |
| na ja | hedge / mild reservation | informal | well... / sort of |
| übrigens | add a side remark | neutral | by the way |
| jedenfalls | return to / limit the point | neutral | anyway / in any case |
| genau | confirm / agree | neutral–informal | exactly / right |
| tja | resigned stalling | informal | well... / oh well |
Common Mistakes
1. Using also to mean English "also." The classic false friend. English "also/too" is auch.
❌ Ich mag Tee. Also mag ich Kaffee.
Wrong — this reads as 'So I like coffee'; you meant 'too'.
✅ Ich mag Tee. Ich mag auch Kaffee.
Right — auch means 'also/too'.
2. Treating na ja as a strong agreement. It's a hedge, not enthusiasm — saying it after a compliment can sound unimpressed or dismissive.
❌ — Toller Vorschlag! — Na ja. (meaning to agree warmly)
Wrong — na ja signals reservation; it deflates the compliment.
✅ — Toller Vorschlag! — Ja, genau! / Finde ich auch!
Right — for warm agreement use genau or finde ich auch.
3. Forgetting verb-second after a front-position jedenfalls. As a conjunctional adverb it pushes the verb to second position.
❌ Jedenfalls er ist gegangen.
Wrong word order — verb must be second after Vorfeld jedenfalls.
✅ Jedenfalls ist er gegangen.
Right — 'ist' in second position.
4. Missing the umlaut on übrigens. It's ü, and it's one word.
❌ Ubrigens habe ich es vergessen.
Wrong — needs the umlaut: übrigens.
✅ Übrigens habe ich es vergessen.
By the way, I forgot it. (correct spelling)
5. Putting these connectors deep in the Mittelfeld like modal particles. Their natural home is the front of the utterance.
❌ Wir sollten also gut jetzt anfangen.
Awkward — the opener belongs up front.
✅ Also gut, wir sollten jetzt anfangen.
Right then, we should start now. (connector in front)
Key Takeaways
- also = "so / well / right then" — a false friend; English "also/too" is
auch. It opens, concludes, and resumes turns. - na ja = a hedge ("well... / sort of"); informal, signals reservation, not agreement.
- übrigens = "by the way" (a side remark); register-neutral, mind the ü-umlaut.
- jedenfalls = "anyway / in any case"; returns to or limits the main point, and triggers verb-second word order in the Vorfeld.
- genau confirms ("exactly/right"); tja is a resigned "well..." with a shrug.
- These connectors organize conversation from the front of the utterance — unlike modal particles, which sit unstressed inside the clause.
Now practice German
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning German→Related Topics
- Discourse Markers and Modal Particles: OverviewB1 — The two systems that make German sound human instead of robotic: discourse markers that organize talk (also, naja, übrigens) and modal particles (ja, doch, mal, halt) that color attitude — unstressed, mid-field, and untranslatable.
- The Particle jaB1 — The modal particle ja (not the answer-word 'yes'): in statements it appeals to shared or obvious knowledge ('as you know'), in exclamations it marks surprise ('why, you're already here!'), and stressed in a command it becomes a stern warning.
- The Versatile dochB1 — The Swiss-army-knife particle: doch rebuts a negative question ('yes I do!'), insists against a contradiction, softens commands and invitations, recalls shared knowledge, and voices wishes — one word covering what English splits across yes/but/do/after all.
- False Friends (Errors)B1 — The wrong German sentences English speakers produce when they trust look-alike words — bekommen for 'become', also for 'also', eventuell for 'eventually' — and exactly how to fix each one.
- Conjunctional Adverbs (deshalb, trotzdem, jedoch)B2 — The connectors that link clauses but behave as adverbs — deshalb, trotzdem, jedoch, also and the rest fill the Vorfeld and force verb inversion, unlike coordinators or subordinators.
- Conversation Management and Turn-TakingB2 — The mechanics of German conversation: opening and closing talk, holding the floor (Moment mal, lass mich ausreden), interrupting politely, shifting topic (übrigens, apropos), and backchannel signals (mhm, genau, ach so) — plus German interruption and silence norms.