How to say "what does this mean?" in Chinese

When To Use It

"what does this mean?" maps to 这是什么意思？ (zhè shì shénme yìsi?), a neutral classroom phrase for learning situations.

Treat it as a core study phrase you should be able to recognize, pronounce, and recycle in your own beginner conversations.

Practice it first exactly as written, then swap in your own people, places, or objects so it becomes part of your active speaking repertoire.

Tone And Delivery

The register is neutral, which makes it flexible: safe in most daily situations without sounding stiff or overly intimate.

Because this is marked beginner, you should aim to recognize it instantly and reuse it with your own names, nouns, locations, or numbers.

A good practice target is the example sentence 老师，这是什么意思？ (lǎoshī, zhè shì shénme yìsi?). Once that feels natural, shorten your pause and try it at conversation speed.

Practice Ideas

This phrase becomes more useful when you learn it as part of a mini-sequence. After saying it, a natural next step could be 我们开始吧 (wǒmen kāishǐ ba).

A second nearby phrase to review is 请写下来 (qǐng xiě xiàlai), which helps you stay in the same topic instead of translating from scratch again.

• Read the example “Teacher, what does this mean?” aloud, then replace one detail with your own information.
• Pair it with “Let's start” next so your conversation does not stop after a single line.
• Match the phrase to your tone of voice: soft for polite requests, flatter and quicker for routine daily use.
• If you hear a slightly different version in the wild, compare the tone and context before treating it as interchangeable.