Meanings of "Mean" - English Expressions

112,158 views ・ 2017-05-27

Learn English with Papa Teach Me


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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In this lesson we're looking at the meaning of "Mean"
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What does "mean" mean?
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It means a few things. Let's start
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When we ask "What do you mean?"
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We're asking for more explanation. We're saying
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I don't understand, please explain more
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For example: if someone said to you
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You know, if you give me £1,000, then I will give you £1,000,000
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This makes no sense!
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So maybe you want to say:
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"That makes no sense, what do you mean!?"
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Or maybe you want to translate something to your language
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and you want to ask:
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"Hmm in my language, what does blahblahblah mean?"
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For example: "Hiccup"
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What does "hiccup" mean? I don't understand this word
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Hiccup means the...
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This thing
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Write in the comments, in your language
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What does "hiccup" mean?
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Another meaning of "mean"...
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When you want to say something is your responsibility
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There is an expectation of you to do something
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For example: "I was meant to take my memory medicine, but I forgot!"
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haha I'm sorry really bad joke
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Another meaning of saying "to be meant to do something"
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People use this also to talk about fate and destiny
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When you want to say: "This is my fate! This is my destiny in life!"
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"I am meant to do this thing"
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For example: Who do you think is meant to sit on the Iron throne?
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Another meaning of mean talks about the consequence of something
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The result of some situation
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For example every British person is asking this question...
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"What does brexit mean for the UK?"
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Well I have the answer
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and the answer is...
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(Cries like a baby)
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Or perhaps a more common example, in a breakup
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She says: "Hmm.. I'm leaving!"
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And he wants to ask:
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"What does this mean for us?"
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He's asking "What is the result? what is the consequence
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for us with you leaving?"
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What's the result? What's the consequence?
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What does this mean for us?! Me and you!?
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And our cat?!
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(Cries like an abandoned infant)
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The next meaning of mean is the OPPOSITE to "nice" or "friendly"
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it's the opposite to that
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For example: If she is asking:
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"Where did you buy the shirt? It looks cheap"
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She's not being nice, she's not being friendly
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TO BE MEAN
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That means: The opposite of being friendly, the opposite of being nice
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You're being bad to someone
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You're making someone feel bad
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Don't be mean to people!
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The next meaning of mean. Something has a special significance to you
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It is special to you in some way. For example:
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Ahh that song: "Fuck tha police"
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My mum used to sing it to me when I was a baby
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It really means something to me!
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A sad example: If your dog dies and all you have left is
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this old dog bone that belonged to your dog
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Maybe now this dog bone is special to you
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So you can say: "This old dog toy means a
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lot to me because my dog died"
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(Cries like an injured dolphin)
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If someone says: "I love you"
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And you want to check if they're joking or if they're serious
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You might want to ask: "Do you mean it?"
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Remember: You're asking "Are you serious? Are you joking?
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Is this real? Is that your intention by saying that?"
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And sometimes they will mean it
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and sometimes they will just be joking
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like here
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"He doesn't mean it" or in the past
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"He didn't mean it"
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Thank you for watching! If you liked this lesson, give it a like!
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and share this lesson with all of your friends who study English
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If you share this video, I will love you forever
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I mean it
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