cioè
/choh-EH/ · conjunction / filler
that is / I mean / like
look it up on WordReference ↗In context
È un po' timido, cioè, non parla molto.
He's a bit shy, I mean, he doesn't say much.
Cioè is how Italians clarify, backtrack, and rephrase mid-sentence. It's the equivalent of English's I mean or that is to say — and, among younger speakers, very much the equivalent of like.
Used properly it introduces a clarification: "Arrivo tardi, cioè verso le nove" — I'll be late, that is, around nine. Used as a filler, it just buys time while you reorganise your thought.
A small word that makes your speech sound spontaneous rather than rehearsed.