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

Quick use

Use どういういみですか (dou iu imi desu ka) when you do not understand what a word, phrase, sign, or instruction means.

Chunk or pattern

• This is close to a fixed practical question.
• Learn the whole line first.
• Later, you can reuse どういう with other nouns, but this page is mainly for the meaning-check phrase.

Core words

• どういう: what kind of / what sort of.
• いみ: meaning.

Helper words and endings

• ですか: polite question ending.

Practical note

Use this when the issue is meaning, not identity. If you are pointing at an object or document and do not know what it is, これはなんですか may be better.