What does なんていうか mean in this sentence


A person asks another if he knows the meaning of a certain word and he
replies:

> ううん、なんとなく使っているけど、でも、こう、 **なんていうか** 、...
>
> No, I somehow use it but ??? ...

My guess is that it means "Why do I say it?" but なんて doesn't mean "why". Can
this phrase be decomposed or is it a fixed thing I should learn?




なんていうか (or なんというか) in this context is a filler phrase used when one is trying
to find an appropriate phrase. It's an equivalent of "let's see", "what can I
say" or "you know", and you should memorize it as-is.




It's a filler phrase.

It doesn't really mean much, but it's like asking yourself "How should I put
it?" The speaker doesn't quite know what to say next, so they say that. We do
the same thing in English sometimes.

