hmm
French, interjection
hmm is spelled H-M-M (3 letters) and appears 5.8 times per million words in written French, the 10,141st most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Hmm is a French interjection meaning “expressing skepticism” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Variante de hum, hm, exprime l’hésitation”.
What does hmm mean in English?
interjection
- 1
expressing skepticism
Paul viendra mardi. - Hmm.. j'en suis pas si sûr.
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
interjection: 1. Variante de hum, hm, exprime l’hésitation. 2. Variante de mm, marque l'appréciation positive.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
How do you pronounce hmm?
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is hmm in French?
hmm appears 5.8 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).