Questions & Answers about Det betyder, at maden er klar.
Det is a “dummy” or formal subject, similar to English that or it in That means… / It means….
It doesn’t refer to maden; it refers to a previous situation, sentence, or idea in the context (something you’ve just been talking about).
In Danish, you normally need an explicit subject, so you can’t just start with Betyder, at maden er klar – you must have Det.
betyder = means in the sense of signifies / has this meaning.
You use betyder for words, signs, situations: Hvad betyder det? – What does it mean?
mener = mean in the sense of intend / think / have this opinion:
- Hvad mener du? – What do you mean / what’s your opinion?
vil sige (in det vil sige): roughly that is to say / in other words.
In your sentence you could also say Det vil sige, at maden er klar, which sounds a bit like you’re rephrasing or clarifying something.