How to say “kind of” like a native speaker
This means a type of something, or informally “somewhat”. In casual speech it can soften a description rather than identify a literal category.
All phrases · Common idioms
Hear “kind of” in real speech
Clip 1 · Learn English with Bob the Canadian
Let's Learn English! Topic: Flowers! 🌷🌹🌻 · 19:16
About this video
Bob the Canadian teaches common English flower names with example sentences. He shows flowers provided by Jen and discusses their uses, including an example with a dahlia.
In context
So, what I like about snapdragons is, if you squeeze them, let's get it to focus.It kind of opens up.
See that? So it's quite a beautiful little flower.
Clip 2 · Bill Gates
Innovating to zero! | Bill Gates · 13:54
About this video
Bill Gates talks about energy, climate and the need to reduce emissions. He explains why climate changes affect people living in poverty and discusses possible energy technologies, including a nuclear-fuel idea.
In context
the one percent, which is the U235 -- we decided, "Let's burn the 99 percent, the U238."It is kind of a crazy idea.
In fact, people had talked about it for a long time, but they could never simulate properly whether it would work or not,
Clip 3 · Derek Sivers
TEDxPhnomPenh - Derek Sivers- Why You Need to Fail · 2:07
About this video
Derek Sivers encourages listeners to try things they fear failing at. He discusses learning through mistakes and introduces a pottery-class story to illustrate the value of repeated attempts.
In context
And neuroscientists have studied why, it's when you are looking at these words and you find a little gap, your brain has to struggle for a second.It actually is kind of failing.
It doesn't know what it is at first and it takes a second to fill in the gap, and then it figures it out.
When to use “kind of”
- Softening an opinion: “The ending was kind of strange.”
- Asking about a category: “What kind of music do you like?”
Common learner mistake
Distinguish “a kind of music” from the softener in “kind of tired”; the softener does not take “a”.
Possible connected-speech patterns in “kind of”
“Of” often weakens and may lose its V, giving a “kinda” sound. Keep the full form available for more careful speech.
Related phrases
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A slow line to begin with: listen to how “don’t need to” runs together, then say it at the speaker’s pace.
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