In English, we use the verb “To Mean” e.g. “What does it mean”, “What is its meaning”. “I did not mean it” etc.
In Marathi “meaning” is अर्थ(arth).
In Marathi the translation of sentence “what does it mean” is actually similar to translation of “what is its meaning”
1)What does it mean -> What is its meaning -> त्याचा अर्थ काय (tyAchA arth kAy)
2)What does that signboard mean -> What is meaning of that signboard ->त्या पाटीचा अर्थ काय ( tyA pATIchA arth kAy )
3)What did his speech mean -> What was the meaning of his speech -> त्याच्या भाषणाचा अर्थ काय होता (tyAchyA bhAShaNAchA arth kAy hotA)
When you are asking the meaning of some word you can ask it, in short, using म्हणजे काय (mhaNaje kAy ) as follows:
What does “encyclopedia” mean -> “encyclopedia” म्हणजे काय (mhaNaje kAy )
What does “Sundar” mean in Marathi -> मराठीमधे सुंदर म्हणजे काय (marAThImadhe suMdar mhaNaje kAy )
In English, we also say “I did not mean it”, “He did not mean insulting you”. Such sentences are said bit differently in Marathi.
I did mean it -> My saying meant this -> माझ्या बोलण्याचा अर्थ हा होता (mAjhyA bolaNyAchA arth hA hotA)
I did not mean it -> My saying did not mean this -> माझ्या बोलण्याचा अर्थ हा नव्हता (mAjhyA bolaNyAchA arth hA navhatA)
When we use “To mean” to indicate purpose, it is said differently in Marathi.
Purpose in Marathi is उद्देश(uddesh)
“He did not mean hurting you” -> His purpose was not to hurt you -> त्याचा उद्देश तुम्हाला दुखवण्याचा नव्हता (tyAchA uddesh tumhAlA dukhavaNyAchA navhatA)
I meant to insult him -> My purpose was to insult him ->माझा उद्देश त्याचा अपमान करण्याचा होता (majhA uddesh tyAchA apamAn karaNyAchA hotA)