Level 8 Lesson 6 / if + S + V, it means ... / -(ㄴ/는)다는 뜻이에요

In Level 6 Lesson 2, we introduced how to say “What do you mean?” or “What does that mean?” In this lesson, we are taking a look at how to respond to these questions and form sentences to say “it means …” in Korean. The key word you need to know for this is 뜻, the Korean word for “meaning”.

뜻이에요. = It is (...) meaning.

Using “뜻이에요” alone is not enough. You need to include more information about what kind of meaning it is.

Verb stem + -(ㄴ/는)다는 + 뜻이에요.
= It means …

Ex)
사람이 많다는 뜻이에요. = It means that there are a lot of people.
다 나았다는 뜻이에요. = It means that you have completely healed.

Conjugation
Noun + -(이)라는

Descriptive verb / Present tense + -다는
Action verb / Present tense + -ㄴ/는다는

Action/Descriptive verb / Past tense + -았/었/였다는
Action/Descriptive verb / Future tense + -(으)ㄹ 거라는

뜻이에요 and 말이에요
Just like with the expressions for “What do you mean?”, 뜻 (= meaning) and 말 (= speech/language) are interchangeable with each other. 말이에요, however, has a stronger focus on the intended meaning of the speaker rather than the definition of the expression itself.

좋다는 뜻이에요. = It means that it’s good.
좋다는 말이에요. = I’m saying that it’s good.

Sample Sentences
1. “완료"가 무슨 뜻이에요? / 끝났다는 뜻이에요.
= What does 완료 mean? It means that (something) has been finished.

2. “휴업"이 무슨 뜻이에요? / 일을 안 한다는 뜻이에요.
= What does 휴업 mean? It means that you don’t work.

3. 꽃을 줬으면, 관심이 있다는 뜻이에요.
= If he gave you flowers, it means that he’s interested in you.

4. 안 가고 싶다는 말이에요?
= Are you saying that you don’t want to go?

5. 그러면, 못 한다는 뜻이에요?
= Then, does it mean that they can’t do it?