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When casually speaking English I use the word "actually" a lot at the beginning of a sentance, or as part of the flow of my speech. e.g.

Actually, next semester doesn't start for a month.

Actually, I don't have any siblings.

I would like to be able to continue this speech habit in Mandarin Chinese, I have been using 事实上 (shìshíshàng), but from my listeners' reactions I am not sure if this is really the same.

What is the closest equivalent expression?

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  • 5
    Starting your sentences with "actually" can be an effective way to annoy people.
    – Orion
    Dec 15, 2011 at 5:49
  • 3
    mandarin chinese is the perfect opportunity for new beginnings. Dec 15, 2011 at 23:10
  • @NullUserException Actually, not always. ... :P ahah sorry, I couldn't help it.
    – Alenanno
    Dec 22, 2011 at 22:36

3 Answers 3

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"其实" or "其实呢" is more similar to what you wanted, casually. E.g.

其实我没有兄弟姐妹.

"事实上" is not wrong, but it is literally "in fact" or "as a matter of fact".

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    实际上... Will be ok too
    – Alex Chen
    Dec 15, 2011 at 3:29
  • @AntiGameZ That's right. At first, I thought "实际上" is more similar to "事实上" without thinking too much. Now I get it...
    – Flake
    Dec 15, 2011 at 3:43
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Following on from Flake, I also often hear people saying 那么 (那) or just as a way to begin sentences, or 那个 when stopping to think in mid sentences. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

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  • sort of.. but I was after something conveying the sense that I am attempting to clarify the topic under discussion
    – jsj
    Dec 15, 2011 at 2:47
  • @trideceth12 Do you want to imply that others in the conversation need you to clear it up for them? Sep 27, 2013 at 16:34
  • @ColinMcLarty yeah
    – jsj
    Sep 28, 2013 at 1:06
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An addition to other great answers:

反正 can be used as "actually" too sometimes.

Example:

  • 谢谢你过来帮我 (Thanks for coming over to help me)
    Xièxie nǐ guò lái bāng wǒ
  • 反正我刚好在这边附近而已 (Actually, I happened to be just around the corner)
    fǎn zhèng wǒ gāng hăo zài zhè biān fù jìn ér yǐ
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  • I corrected the examples but they need to be peer-reviewed first. I wrote a _ (underscore) where I didn't know the pinyin. Who knows it, feel free to add it and correct possible mistakes! :)
    – Alenanno
    Dec 22, 2011 at 22:40

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