意思
Asking for the definition of a word or phrase
练习题库
3 练习If you want to ask 'What does [word/phrase] mean?' in Italian, you would say 'Cosa significa [word/phrase]?'. How would you ask 'What does 'perché' mean?'
The phrase 'Cosa significa?' is used to inquire about the meaning of something. If someone says 'Cosa significa 'grazie'?', what are they asking for?
To ask 'What does it mean?' in Italian, you say 'Cosa significa?'. How would you ask 'What does 'prego' mean?'
🎉 得分： /3
The phrase 'Cosa significa?' in Italian directly translates to 'What does it mean?' or 'What signifies?'. Let's break down its components. **'Cosa'**: This is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'what' or 'thing'. Its origin can be traced back to the Latin word 'causa', which primarily meant 'cause', 'reason', or 'case'. Over time, in Vulgar Latin and subsequently in Romance languages like Italian, 'causa' evolved to take on the broader meaning of 'thing' when used colloquially, and eventually 'what' when used as an interrogative. This semantic shift is common in language evolution, where abstract concepts become more generalized or concrete. **'Significa'**: This is the third-person singular present indicative form of the verb 'significare', meaning 'to mean', 'to signify', 'to denote', or 'to indicate'. This verb also has a clear Latin root: 'significare'. In Latin, 'significare' was formed from 'signum' (sign, mark, token) and 'facere' (to make, to do). So, literally, 'significare' meant 'to make a sign' or 'to show by a sign'. Over centuries, its meaning expanded to encompass the act of conveying meaning or having a particular sense. Therefore, when you put 'Cosa' and 'significa' together, you are literally asking 'What does it signify?' or 'What does it make a sign of?', which naturally evolves into the modern English equivalent 'What does it mean?'. The structure is quite direct and reflects the grammatical patterns of both Latin and Italian.
