Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Hvað meinar þú?

In Icelandic, question words like hvað normally come first in the sentence, just as in English. After the question word, Icelandic typically puts the finite (conjugated) verb in second position (the V2 pattern), which is why meinar comes right after hvað.

What part of speech is hvað, and does it have different forms?

Hvað is an interrogative pronoun meaning what. It’s the neuter singular form of the interrogative hver (who/which/what, depending on context).
Common related forms include:

hver (masculine, often who)
hver (feminine, often who/which)
hvað (neuter, often what)

What verb is meinar, and what grammar info is packed into it?

Meinar is the 2nd person singular, present tense form of the verb meina (to mean / to intend).
So meinar already tells you:

tense: present
person/number: you (singular)

That’s why Icelandic can sometimes drop the pronoun in casual speech, though it’s often still included.

Why is þú included if the verb already shows it’s “you”?