che cosa significa?
The English phrase "what does that mean" is translated into Italian as che cosa significa?
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase che cosa literally means "what thing", while significa is the third-person singular form of the verb significare, meaning "it means" or "it signifies".
Which one should you use?
che cosa significa? is the standard way to ask the question, but che vuol dire? is a very common alternative used in everyday conversation and is often perceived as slightly more colloquial or informal.
How does it change in a sentence?
To ask what multiple things mean, change the verb to the plural form significano? to get che cosa significano?
Did you know?
- While significa refers to the definition, the common alternative vuol dire literally means 'it wants to say', treating the word or phrase as if it has its own will.
- The word cosa in the phrase che cosa is a clipping of the Latin word causa. This word originally referred to a 'legal case' or 'cause' rather than a physical thing.
- If you encounter a confusing social gesture or a subtle wink, you can use the exact same phrase che cosa significa? to ask for the meaning of the action as you would for a word.
Examples in context
- Scusa, che significa "melodramma"?Excuse me, what does "melodramma" mean?
- Scusi, che cosa significa?Excuse me, what does that mean?
Example conversation
Sofia is reading an Italian book and asks Francesco for help.
- FrancescoHai capito la frase?Did you understand the sentence?
- SofiaNo, che cosa significa?No, what does that mean?
- FrancescoSignifica che è molto difficile.It means that it is very difficult.
- SofiaAh, grazie per l'aiuto!Ah, thanks for the help!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries che, cosa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
