Learn Hardcore German: Dieses Wort hat eine wichtige Bedeutung für mich. - This word has an important meaning for me.

Wort is a neuter noun: das Wort
In the nominative singular, dies- becomes:
- dieser (masculine)
- dieses (neuter)
- diese (feminine/plural)

Since Wort is neuter and is the subject of the sentence, you need dieses Wort = this word.

It’s singular here because we’re talking about one specific word, not several words.

What is the difference between Wort, Wörter, and Worte?

All three exist, but they are used differently:

das Wort – the word (singular)
die Wörter – the words (individual, countable words)
- e.g. drei Wörter = three (separate) words
die Worte – the words in the sense of a connected utterance or phrase
- e.g. seine letzten Worte = his last words
  (a coherent statement, not just separate items)

In your sentence we mean one single item of vocabulary, so dieses Wort (singular) is correct.

Why is the verb hat used here and not ist?

German uses haben (to have) with Bedeutung the same way English uses to have with meaning:

Dieses Wort hat eine wichtige Bedeutung.
= This word has an important meaning.

You cannot use sein (ist) here, because Bedeutung is not an adjective or predicate; it’s a noun object. You’re literally saying: This word possesses/has an important meaning.

What case is eine wichtige Bedeutung in, and why eine, not einer or einen?

Eine wichtige Bedeutung is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb hat.

Pattern:

Subject (nominative): Dieses Wort
Verb: hat
Direct object (accusative): eine wichtige Bedeutung

Now the form of eine:

Bedeutung is feminine: die Bedeutung
Feminine accusative singular with the indefinite article is eine

So:

Nominative: eine Bedeutung ist wichtig (A meaning is important.)
Accusative: Ich habe eine Bedeutung (I have a meaning.)

Your sentence follows the second pattern: hat eine wichtige Bedeutung → accusative.

Why is it wichtige and not just wichtig?

Because of adjective endings. In German, attributive adjectives (those directly before a noun) take endings that show case, gender, and number.

Here:

Article: eine (indefinite article)
Noun: Bedeutung (feminine)
Case: accusative
Number: singular

For feminine accusative singular after eine, the adjective ending is -e:

eine wichtige Bedeutung

Compare:

ein wichtiges Wort (neuter accusative singular)
einen wichtigen Text (masculine accusative singular)
viele wichtige Wörter (plural)

So wichtige is just wichtig plus the required ending -e.

Why is Bedeutung feminine (with eine)?

In German, grammatical gender is largely arbitrary, but there are some patterns. One very strong pattern:

Nouns ending in -ung are almost always feminine:
- die Bedeutung (meaning)
- die Zeitung (newspaper)
- die Rechnung (bill)
- die Wohnung (apartment)

So Bedeutung follows this pattern and is feminine, which is why you get:

die Bedeutung (the meaning)
eine Bedeutung (a meaning)
In your sentence: eine wichtige Bedeutung.

Why is it für mich and not für mir?

Because the preposition für always takes the accusative case.

Personal pronouns:

ich (nominative)
mich (accusative)
mir (dative)

Since für requires the accusative, you must use mich, not mir:

für mich = for me
für dich = for you (informal singular)
für ihn = for him

Für mir is always wrong in standard German.

Can I say Dieses Wort hat für mich eine wichtige Bedeutung instead? Is the word order different in meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Dieses Wort hat eine wichtige Bedeutung für mich.
Dieses Wort hat für mich eine wichtige Bedeutung.

Both are grammatically correct and mean essentially the same thing: This word has an important meaning for me.

The difference is slight emphasis:

… eine wichtige Bedeutung für mich.
→ neutral, flows very naturally.
… für mich eine wichtige Bedeutung.
→ puts a bit more emphasis on für mich (for me personally).

In everyday speech, both versions sound normal.

What is the difference between Bedeutung and Sinn?

Both can relate to meaning, but they are used differently:

Bedeutung = significance, importance, meaning in a more abstract or lexical sense
- Dieses Wort hat eine wichtige Bedeutung.
  This word has an important meaning.
- Das hat eine große Bedeutung für mich.
  That has great significance for me.
Sinn = sense, purpose, sometimes meaning in the sense of making sense / having a point
- Das hat keinen Sinn. = That makes no sense / There’s no point.
- Im übertragenen Sinn = in a figurative sense.

You could say:

Dieses Wort hat einen besonderen Sinn.

But that would often suggest something like a special sense/interpretation, not just its importance for me as in your original sentence. Bedeutung fits better here.

Could I also say Dieses Wort bedeutet mir viel? How is that different?

Yes, you can say:

Dieses Wort bedeutet mir viel.

This uses the verb bedeuten (to mean) instead of the noun Bedeutung. The meaning is very close, but there’s a nuance:

Dieses Wort hat eine wichtige Bedeutung für mich.
→ more formal/abstract, literally: This word has an important meaning for me.
Dieses Wort bedeutet mir viel.
→ more personal and idiomatic, literally: This word means a lot to me.

Both are correct; the second one sounds a bit more natural in everyday speech when talking about emotional or personal importance.

How do I pronounce Bedeutung and the whole sentence correctly?

Approximate pronunciation (in English-friendly terms):

Dieses → DEE-zes
Wort → vort (short o, like in or, with a German v pronounced like English v)
hat → hut (like English hut, but shorter)
eine → EYE-nuh
wichtige → VIKH-ti-guh
- w → v
- ch here is a soft -kh- sound (like in ich)
Bedeutung → beh-DOY-toong
- eu → oy (like boy)
- final -ung → more like -oong, with the g very soft or almost silent
für → fyoor (with rounded lips, like French u in tu)
mich → mikh (same soft ch as in ich)

Spoken smoothly:

Dieses Wort hat eine wichtige Bedeutung für mich.
→ DEE-zes vort hut EYE-nuh VIKH-ti-guh beh-DOY-toong fyoor mikh.