Can’t find a word in English? Five ways to keep talking

You recognise a word when you read it. You understand it when someone says it in a video. Then, in the middle of a conversation, it will not come to you. When that happens, there are still several ways to express your thought.

You can ask for a moment, choose a simpler expression or describe what you mean. Afterwards, you can return to the missing word with a real example of why you needed it.

1. Say that you need a moment

Instead of searching silently, let the other person know that you are thinking. These three phrases give you different ways to do that:

• “Let me think for a second.” — Ask for a little time.
• “I can’t remember the word.” — Explain what is holding you up.
• “Let me put it another way.” — Start again with a different expression.

Choose one and practise saying it aloud. While describing your day, deliberately pause, say “Let me put it another way,” and try a shorter sentence. This gives the phrase a place in your speaking, beyond a list you have read.

2. Describe what it does

If you cannot remember the name of an object, describe its use. For a place, explain what happens there. For a feeling, describe the situation that brought it on.

In the second example, two small pieces of information take the place of one adjective. Once the other person understands, you can ask “Is there a word for that?” Then try the word in a new sentence: “The café was crowded.”

3. Break a long thought into shorter sentences

Sometimes the difficulty is the number of details you are trying to include at once. If a sentence beginning “The place I was planning to go yesterday, before I changed my mind because of the rain…” gets you stuck, tell the events in order:

After completing the thought, you can try connecting the sentences. You do not have to fit every detail into one sentence on your first attempt.

4. Make asking for help part of the conversation

You can ask “How do you say … in English?” or check your understanding with “Do you mean …?” When someone suggests a word, use a short example to see whether it expresses what you intended.

If you share another language, you can briefly use it to fill a gap before returning to English. The Frankenstein Sentence approach focuses on reconstructing that mixed expression entirely in the target language afterwards. If the other person does not share your language, a description or example is more likely to help.

5. Return to one missing expression afterwards

Rather than trying to fix every mistake from a conversation at once, choose one thing you really wanted to say. Try this small practice cycle:

1. Write down the thought you could not finish.
2. Find the expression in a reliable dictionary; check an example sentence and the pronunciation.
3. Say your own thought again using it.
4. The next day, use the expression with a different topic.

If “postpone” was the word you needed while talking about the weekend, do more than write down its definition. Work with the thought you wanted to express: “We postponed our trip because of the rain.”

Before going to an English conversation club

You could prepare two things you would like to share and one question you would like to ask. A film you watched, a meal you tried or a skill you want to learn is enough to start. British Council also recommends preparing a few topics and words before speaking.

The questions from Atelier Düzce’s first meetup can give you a starting point. Answer a question, explain your reason and be curious about the other person’s answer. Speaking practice needs room for listening as well as preparing what you want to say.

Further reading: British Council — How to be a confident speaker.