How to Say “You were saying?” in Chinese
Small talk and travel · HSK 3
"You were saying?" in Chinese is 你刚才说什么来着？ (Nǐ gāngcái shuō shénme láizhe?). The little particle 来着 (láizhe) is pure northern Mandarin flavor; it softens the question and implies 'I heard you a moment ago but lost the thread.' Beijingers and northerners use it constantly; southerners and Taiwanese speakers often drop it and just say 你刚才说什么？ In Taiwan you'll hear 你刚刚说什么 more naturally.
Primary translation
你刚才说什么来着？
Nǐ gāngcái shuō shénme láizhe?
Traditional: 你剛才說什麼來著？
Variants by register
Formal
您刚才说什么来着？
Nín gāngcái shuō shénme láizhe?
Casual
你刚说啥来着？
Nǐ gāng shuō shá láizhe?
When to use it
The little particle 来着 (láizhe) is pure northern Mandarin flavor; it softens the question and implies 'I heard you a moment ago but lost the thread.' Beijingers and northerners use it constantly; southerners and Taiwanese speakers often drop it and just say 你刚才说什么？ In Taiwan you'll hear 你刚刚说什么 more naturally. Use this when the WiFi cut out on a call or you got distracted mid-conversation.
Example sentences
不好意思，你刚才说什么来着？信号不太好。
Bù hǎoyìsi, nǐ gāngcái shuō shénme láizhe? Xìnhào bù tài hǎo.
Sorry, you were saying? The signal wasn't great.
我走神了，你刚说啥来着？
Wǒ zǒushén le, nǐ gāng shuō shá láizhe?
I spaced out; what were you saying?
您刚才说的那个地方叫什么来着？
Nín gāngcái shuō de nàge dìfang jiào shénme láizhe?
What was the name of that place you mentioned again?