By the Way, What Was That Shop Called? ところで・といえば・っけ

ところで shifts to a new topic (“by the way”). といえば brings up something associated with a word or topic (“speaking of…”). そういえば introduces a related memory that has just occurred to the speaker (“come to think of it”). から言うと marks the standpoint from which a judgment is made. なんか and なんて can soften or dismiss a topic, but tone can become belittling. っけ appears in casual questions when the speaker is trying to remember or confirm something. それぞれ means “each” or “respectively.” では・それでは and casual じゃあ can close one stage of a conversation and lead into the next; さて similarly signals a fresh step, often “now then.” 一体 adds emphasis to a question such as 一体どうしたの, “what on earth happened?”

ところで introduces a new topic, often after the previous one has wrapped up. Sentence-final っけ shows the speaker is retrieving or checking information they partly remember: 明日は休みだっけ, “Was tomorrow a day off?”

といえば links a topic with a familiar association. から言うと identifies a perspective: 私の経験から言うと, “speaking from my experience.”

なんか / なんて can make an example sound casual or diminish its importance, as in 私なんかまだまだです, “someone like me still has a long way to go.” Use carefully, since it can sound dismissive toward a person or thing.

Vocabulary