Learn Italian: Che cosa significa questa parola? Non lo so. - "What does this word mean?" "I don't know."

Che, cosa, and che cosa all mean "what" when asking a question, and you can use them interchangeably in everyday Italian! Che cosa literally means "what thing" and is the most traditional way to ask "what," but simply saying Cosa significa would also be perfectly correct.

Why isn't there a translation for the word "does" in the Italian question?

In English, we use "do" or "does" to turn a sentence into a question (like "What does it mean?"). Italian doesn't use helper verbs like this. You just use the normal verb—in this case, significa (means)—and show it is a question using your tone of voice or a question mark.

Why is it questa parola instead of questo parola?

The word for "this" has to match the gender of the noun it describes. Because parola (word) is a feminine noun, the base word questo changes its ending to become questa.

What does the lo do in Non lo so? Can I just say Non so?