How do you say "What does that mean?" in Japanese?

Name: You Asked Them to Say It Again. They Said the Same Word Again, Just Slower.
Uploaded: 2026-09-05T14:05:46Z
Duration: 26 s
Description: Learn to say どういう意味ですか？ (dō iu imi desu ka?) — What does that mean?. A 30-second Japanese lesson for travelers from Kōfuku.

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You Asked Them to Say It Again. They Said the Same Word Again, Just Slower.

To say What does that mean? in Japanese, say どういう意味ですか？ (dō iu imi desu ka?).

You asked them to say it one more time. They said the exact same word again, just slower. Now you both know it isn't working.

どういう意味ですか？ dō iu imi desu ka? What does that mean?

Beginner Common Mistake #learnjapanese #japantravel #japanesephrases #japantips #beginnerjapanese

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Why this phrase

Every app teaches もう一度お願いします and ゆっくりお願いします, and both do exactly what you asked: they buy you the same word, repeated. That's useless when the problem was never the speed: you've simply never heard the word before. The line that actually breaks the loop asks for the meaning, not the repeat. Kōfuku plays the traveller stuck at a counter asking for it slower a third time; Hana plays the patient staff member obligingly saying the same word slower, until he finally asks the right question and she can just explain it.