you know

You are aware, you see, do you remember, as in She’s very lonely, you know, so do go and visit, or You know, this exhibit ends tomorrow, or You know that black dog our neighbors had? She was run over a year ago. This phrase is also quite often a conversational filler, equivalent to “um” and occasionally repeated over and over (as in It’s a fine day for, you know, the beach, and, you know, we could leave now); this usage is more oral than written, and many consider it deplorable. [Late 1500s]