mean, mien

Mean or mean means purpose or intention--
He didn't mean to break the window!
What does that strange look mean?

Mean also means definition, when used to refer to a word, phrase, symbol, logo, acronym or abbreviation--
What does this word mean?
Does the little triangle mean wash or dry clean?

Mean or mean also means unkind or nasty--
That mean old man is always yelling at the children, even though they don't bother him.
What a mean thing to say!

Mien or mien ( rhymes with mean ) means the physical aspect of a person's stance, posture, or gait that may reveal character or personality--
The salesman's words were confident, but his mien was hesitant and nervous.
The retired general still had the mien of someone used to command.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The student had the arrogant mien of a delinquent, which the teacher understood to mean trouble."

Note--"mean" also has a mathematical meaning. The "mean" is the number in the middle of a series of numbers. Half of the numbers in the series will be greater than the "mean", and half of the numbers in the series will be less than the "mean"--
The "mean" of 1, 20, 100, 500, and 1000 is 100.
The average of 1, 20, 100, 500, and 1000 is 810.5, or 810 1/2.
So mean is not the same, mathematically, as average."
Note # 2--"mean" was an old-fashioned way of saying poor, lowly, or miserly--
They lived in a mean little hovel.
Note # 3--"means" may be the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "mean"--
The red sign means stop.
"Means" also means financial capacity--
They didn't have the means to travel or to go on vacation.
"Means" also means a method or instrument--"how" something gets accomplished--
The cell phone was her only means of communication.
"The end justifies the means."