A small sound in the throat, written down. People make it when they are thinking, when they are not sure, when they need a pause, or when they do not quite agree but do not want a fight. The meaning lives in the tone, not in the letters.

written down寫下來的、in the throat喉嚨裡發出的 a small sound一個小聲音。when they are thinking在思考的時候、when they are not sure不確定的時候、when they need a pause需要停頓的時候、or when they do not quite agree but do not want a fight或不太同意但不想吵架的時候，people make it人們會發出它。the meaning意思 lives in the tone在語氣裡，not in the letters不在字母裡。

A soft hm can mean “let me think”. A short, flat hm can mean “I doubt that”. A longer hmm often means “I am still working it out”.

a soft hm一個柔和的 hm can mean可以表示 'let me think'「讓我想想」。a short, flat hm一個短促、平淡的 hm can mean可以表示 'I doubt that'「我不太相信」。a longer hmm一個拉長的 hmm often means常常表示 'I am still working it out'「我還在想」。

In writing, people add m’s — hm, hmm, hmmm — to show a longer pause or a heavier doubt. It is not a word built from pieces, and it is not a name for a thing. It is the sound itself.

in writing在書面上，people add m's — hm, hmm, hmmm —人們會加上 m — hm、hmm、hmmm — to show a longer pause or a heavier doubt來表示比較長的停頓或比較重的懷疑。it is not a word built from pieces它不是一個由零件組成的字，and it is not a name for a thing也不是一個東西的名字。it is the sound itself它就是那個聲音本身。

In a text message, hmm can sound colder than you meant, because the other person cannot hear your kind voice; they only see the doubt.

in a text message在簡訊裡，hmm can sound colder than you meanthmm 聽起來會比你原本的意思還要冷淡，because the other person cannot hear your kind voice因為對方聽不到你溫和的語氣；they only see the doubt他們只看得到那份懷疑。

Though actually, English has a little family of these throat-sounds (uh, um, er), and hm is the one that most often carries “I’m not convinced” as well as “I’m thinking”.

though actually不過其實，english has a little family of these throat-sounds (uh, um, er)英文裡有一小群這樣的喉音（uh、um、er），and hm is the one而 hm 是其中 that most often carries "I'm not convinced" as well as "I'm thinking"最常同時帶有「我不太相信」和「我在想」這兩種意思的那一個。