Using "To mean". How to ask meaning in Gujarati

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In English we use verb "To Mean" like "What does it mean ?", "What is its meaning ?", "I did not mean it" etc.
In Gujarati the the translation of sentence "what does it mean" is actually similar to translation of "what is its meaning"
In Gujarati  "meaning" is અર્થ(arth), મતલબ(matalab). Both are masculine-singular words.

1)What does it mean ? -> What is its meaning ?-> આનો મતલબ/અર્થ શું ?(Ano matalab/arth shuM)
2)What does that signboard mean ?-> What is meaning of that sign board ?
->એ પાટિયુંનો મતલબ/અર્થ શું ?(e pATiyuMno matalab/arth shuM)
3)What did his speech mean -> What was meaning of his speech -> તેઓના ભાષણનો અર્થ/મતલબ શું હતો  (teonA bhAShaNano arth/matalab shuM hato)

When you are asking meaning of some word you can ask it in short using એટલે શું(eTale shuM) as follows :-

What does "encyclopedia" mean -> "encyclopedia" એટલે શું (eTale shuM)
What does "sundar" mean in Gujarati-> ગુજરાતીમાં "સુંદર" એટલે શું (gujarAtImAM "suMdar" eTale shuM)

 In English we also say "I did not mean it", "He did not mean insulting you". Such sentences are said bit differently in Gujarati.
I meant it -> My saying meant this -> મારા વાતનો અર્થ એ હતો (mArA vAtano arth e hato)
I did not mean it -> My saying did not mean this -> મારા વાતનો અર્થ એ નહોતો  (mArA vAtano arth e nahoto )

When we use "To mean" to indicate purpose, it is said differently in Gujarati. Purpose in Gujarati is ઉદ્દેશ (uddesh ) , પ્રયોજન(prayojan)

"He did not mean hurting you" -> His purpose was not to hurt you -> એનો ઉદ્દેશ તમને "હર્ટ" કરવાનો નહોતો (eno uddesh tamane harT karavAno nahoto)
I meant to insult him -> My purpose was to insult him ->મારો ઉદ્દેશ એનો અપમાન કરવનો હતો (mAro uddesh eno apamAn karavano hato )

 It can also be said using supporting verb "માગવું"(mAgavuM) as follows :-
"He did not mean hurting you" -> એ તમને હર્ટ કરવા માગતો નહોતો (e tamane harT karavA mAgato nahoto )
I(feminine) meant to insult him -> હું એનો અપમાન કરવા માગતી હતી  (huM eno apamAn karavA mAgatI hatI)

Listen in this lesson online at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qtRfjMZpgU

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Note :-  Right hand side of the blog shows "Blog Archive". Expand it fully to see whole list of posts to Learn Gujarati. Learn Gujarati grammar and many aspects Gujarati language online.
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