What's the difference between meinen, bedeuten, and heißen?

Synonyms in German function differently--they overlap differently--than in English.

Well, of course they do, right? Because it's a different language.

A lot of German learners - A1, A2 and B1-level learners confuse the verbs meinen, bedeuten, and heißen because in English they all mean "to mean."

bedeuten = to mean

heißen = to mean (also means "to be called," which you'll hear as well today)

meinen = to mean

UGH!

The good news is, there are ways to tell them apart and you'll learn them in this episode today.

Feel free to repeat this episode to make sure the differences are clear in your mind.

To help you with today's homework, download the blank vocabulary flashcard and print out three of them out (double-sided even).

Viel Spaß!