It’s happened to all of us at one point. You are having a conversation, either in person or over text or chat, and you get that dreaded conversation-killing response. “hmm”. How are you even supposed to respond to that? Is there even a way to correctly respond to “hmm”? It’s hard to think of one. But, don’t worry, below you will find 28 clever and witty responses to “hmm”. First, though, what does “hmm” even mean?
What do people mean when they write “Hmm” in a text message?
“Hmm” can mean a lot of things when said in a text message.
First, it can mean that the person is thinking about how to best respond to whatever was just sent but hasn’t come up with anything yet and they don’t want you to think they are ignoring you. The “hmm” could translate to “Give me a moment, I don’t have an answer for that yet.”
It can mean that they don’t know what to say next but don’t want to not respond. The “hmm” would then translate to “unfortunately, I don’t know what to say to that the answer to that question, but I don’t want to admit that, so I’ll make the impression that I’m thinking of the answer and hope the to but I don’t want to say nothing.”
It could also mean that they don’t want to say anything else but are saying “hmm” just to be polite but they really mean “I’m done with this conversation.”
It could be used as a space-filler. ‘Hmm’ can be used to break the silence. To try and instigate someone else to initiate a different course of conversation.
Another thing that it could mean is that they are simply thinking about what was just said. With the “hmm” meaning “that is interesting.”
Lastly, it could just mean that they are acknowledging something. With “hmm” meaning “I hear what you’re saying.”
Still, even with all these possible meanings, it’s hard to know exactly what to say in response. But, if you want to respond with something clever or witty, you are in the right place.
Read our full article on the topic: What Does “Hmm” Mean In Texting? (See The 6 Meanings Here!)
28 Best Replies To “Hmm”
No one really knows what to say when they get that dreaded “hmm”. Especially when “hmm” is all that you get from them in response to what you said. These are some responses you might want to keep ready in the back of your mind if you want to seem clever or witty.
Clever replies
Sometimes it’s just best to be clever in your response to make the other person seem dumb or silly.
1. hmm
Respond to their hmm with your own hmm. Whatever meaning they meant with their hmm just got sent back to them.
2. *change the subject*
The “hmm” might be implying that the other person has nothing left to say about the current topic of conversation, so a clever way to respond is to simply change the subject.
3. K.
Responding with “K” is a good clever way to show the other person that you are also done with the conversation, making it seem like a mutual end and not them ending by themselves.
4. Oh, sorry, sent that to the wrong person.
If the “hmm” was directly in response to what you had sent in your last message and seemed to be a conversation ender, lying and saying you meant to send it to someone else could salvage the conversation.
5. hmmm
Give them an extra m in “hmm” as a clever way to one-up them and to try and coax a response out of them.
6. *nothing*
Don’t respond to their “hmm” message. This response is clever because it works regardless of what they meant by “hmm”, if they meant they were thinking of a proper response then it shows you are politely giving them time to think of one and at the same time if they said “hmm” because they were trying to end the conversation, not responding shows them that them ending the conversation was not a big deal to you.
7. OK?
This response can be a clever way to coak a different response out of them if that’s what you want.
8. Expand on your previous message.
If they responded with “hmm”, it might be that they are confused and a clever response would to further explain your previous message.
Witty replies
Sometimes, you might be in a goofy mood or just want to laugh, so when someone responds “hmm”, you decide to give them a witty response. Here is a couple that should get a laugh or two:
9. And a hmm to you too!
This is just a wittier version of the clever response of just responding “hmm”.
10. What does that mean?
A witty response can be to pretend to not understand the statement. Forcing the other person to awkwardly explain what they meant by “hmm.”
11. I’m good, how are you?
A fun response to “hmm” is to answer a completely different question to confuse the other person.
12. Seen at *time*
A witty response to their non-answer is to respond with a message that says what it would say under their message if you had never responded. I.e. the little message saying when the message had been read. This will rub in their face that the “hmm” was not worth responding to.
13. Yes. I agree!
This response is witty because it will confuse the other person while also bring attention to the fact that their initial response of “hmm” was not sufficient.
14. Woah! I hadn’t thought of that!
A witty response to send is to pretend like they gave a real answer to whatever you had sent them prior to the “hmm:”
15. *person* just responded with “hmm” they are so annoying.
Pretending to have accidentally sent them a text meant for someone else complaining about how they only responded to you with a “hmm” is a witty way to show them how annoying you find that habit to be.
16. The sound of the “hmm” means it’s time to change the subject.
This witty response is supposed to read as if it’s being said by a sports announcer narrating the text conversation. It’s just a fun message that shows the other person that you know what they meant by “hmm”.
17. The sound of the “hmm” means it’s time to end the conversation.
This witty response is supposed to read as if it’s being said by a sports announcer narrating the text conversation. It’s just a fun message that shows the other person that you know what they meant by “hmm”.
18. Indeed.
This response is witty because it really doesn’t make sense as a response but is a fun, short response that might get a response in return.
19. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Just respond with “hmm” but with an obnoxious amount of “m”s.
20. Knock Knock.
The “hmm” might mean the conversation is dying, a witty way to save it is to tell a joke, like a knock-knock joke, that requires the other person to respond.
21. That’s interesting, care to elaborate.
This witty response works because it treats the dumb “hmm” as some sort of academic argument that has just been made.
22. Send them a meme.
As a response to the hmm, send them a meme that is relevant to the conversation and/or your relationship with the other person.
23. Send them a GIF.
As a response to the hmm, send them a GIF that is relevant to the conversation and/or your relationship with the other person. Or one of someone waiting, to imply you are waiting for their full response.
24. Send them a YouTube video.
As a response to the hmm, send them a video that is relevant to the conversation. Or maybe of the Jeopardy! theme music to imply you are eagerly waiting for their full response.
25. Woah, you must be writing a novel!
If they said “hmm” in response to a question but are taking a while to respond with a proper answer, this is a witty response because it implies they must be typing out a very long response because of how long it has been.
26. You have such a way with words.
This is witty because “hmm” is not much of a response but you give a sarcastic response like it’s something special.
27. mmh.
This witty response is just hmm backwards, it doesn’t mean anything and is as equally useless of a response as hmm.
28. I didn’t know you knew French!
Hmm is not french, but this witty response pretends it is. This works as a funny way to coax the other person into responding to correct you and revive the conversation.
How to choose the best reply to “Hmm”
It is hard to know what response to go with, clever or witty. It all depends on you and the situation. When someone says “hmm”, you have a choice to be clever or witty. Clever responses are better for when you are maybe a little annoyed by the “hmm” and you want the other person to know that it was not an appropriate response.
Witty responses are better suited for more casual scenarios like a conversation with friends. The witty responses are more for when you’re having a fun conversation with a friend over text and you get a “hmm”. YOu don’t want to be mean about it but you also don’t want the conversation to die, so you give a fun and witty response.
Also, sometimes saying nothing is the right response. If you got a “hmm” it might be that the other person doesn’t want to talk to you anymore for one reason or another. If this is the case, saying a clever or witty thing is not the right choice. It’s better to leave them alone and not annoy them.
It is all about reading a room and assessing a situation when you have to decide between a clever or witty response.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
