どういうこと？
dō iu koto?
In Japanese, "what do you mean?" is expressed as どういうこと？ (dō iu koto?)
A question used to ask someone to clarify their statement when you do not understand it.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of dō iu (what kind of) and koto (thing/matter/circumstance).
Which one should you use?
While どういうこと？ asks for clarification of a situation or implication, the form どういう意味ですか？ is used specifically to ask for the definition of a word or a literal meaning.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form どういうこと？ is casual and should be used with friends or people of lower social status. For polite situations, such as speaking with strangers or superiors, you can use どういうことですか？ or どういう意味ですか？
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding da instead of desu to the end of the phrase creates a more blunt, assertive or masculine-sounding version: どういうことだ？
How do you pronounce it?
dō iu koto?
Did you know?
- If you use どういうこと？ to ask a superior for clarification, you might appear to be questioning their logic or competence rather than just your own understanding.
- The phrase どういうことだ？ can sound like a line from an old samurai film or a gritty detective novel due to its highly assertive and masculine ending.
- In Japanese media, a character repeating どういうこと… with a trailing voice often signals a moment of dramatic realization or sudden suspicion in a mystery plot.
Examples in context
- さっきの言葉、どういうこと？sakki no kotoba, dou iu koto?What do you mean by what you just said?
- 急に帰るなんて、どういうこと？kyuu ni kaeru nante, dou iu koto?What do you mean by suddenly leaving?
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui are talking about their weekend plans.
- 健太 Kenta今週末、予定があるんだ。konshuumatsu, yotei ga arunda.I have plans this weekend.
- 結衣 Yuiどういうこと？一緒に買い物に行く予定だったよね？dou iu koto? issho ni kaimono ni iku yotei datta yo ne?What do you mean? We were supposed to go shopping together, right?
- 健太 Kentaごめん、急に家族の集まりが入っちゃって。gomen, kyuu ni kazoku no atsumari ga haitchatte.Sorry, a family gathering suddenly came up.
- 結衣 Yuiそっか、それなら仕方ないね。sokka, sore nara shikatanai ne.I see, in that case, it can't be helped.
