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bedeuten

mean

verb be-DOY-ten Less Common

Also means

signify

Usage Note

bedeuten is the verb for what something signifies, not for what a person intends to say (that is meinen). The fixed phrase Was bedeutet das? ('What does that mean?') is the standard way to ask about a word or sign.

Examples

"Was bedeutet dieses Wort?"

Natural Translation

What does this word mean?

Literal Translation

What means this word?

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