deber

Inherited from Old Leonese dever, in turn from Latin dēbēre (“to owe”).

• IPA^(key): /deˈbeɾ/ [d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: de‧ber

deber (first-person singular indicative present debo, past participle debíu)

1. to owe (to be in debt)
2. to should, ought, will likely

deber m (plural deberes)

1. obligation, duty

• Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “deber”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “deber”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

• dever (reintegrationist)

From Old Galician-Portuguese dever, from Latin dēbēre (“to owe”).

deber (first-person singular present debo, first-person singular preterite debín, past participle debido)

1. should, ought, will likely
2. owe (to be in debt)

• “deber”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

• IPA^(key): /deˈber/

deber

1. to have to

Inherited from Arabic دَبَرَ (dabara).

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.bɛr/
• Rhymes: -ɛbɛr

deber (imperfect jidbor, past participle midbur)

1. to negotiate

   Synonym: debber

From Proto-Slavic *dьbrь.

• IPA^(key): /dəbə́r/, /dèːbər/, /déːbər/

dəbə̏r or dẹ̄bər f

1. gorge (narrow valley)

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

• “deber”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

Inherited from Old Spanish dever, from Latin dēbēre (“owe”). Cognates include English due and debt.

• IPA^(key): /deˈbeɾ/ [d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: de‧ber

deber (first-person singular present debo, first-person singular preterite debí, past participle debido)

1. (ditransitive) to owe

   Le debo dinero al banco.

   I owe the bank money.

2. (auxiliary, not in the conditional, see usage notes) must, need to, have to [(optionally) with de]

   Synonyms: (more common in Spain) tener que, (formal) haber de

   Debo estudiar.

   I have to study.

   Eso debe haber sido muy difícil.

   That must have been really hard.

   Usted debe despertarse antes del amanecer.

   You are to be up before sunrise.

   Debes de viajar por avión, China está muy lejos.

   You have to travel by plane, China is very far away.

   • 2026 April 30, u/No-Sleep5733, r/Lima_Peru‎^[1] (Reddit post):

     que^[sic] tan feo debes de ser para pagar por sexo

     how ugly do you have to be to pay for sex

     (Can we archive this URL?)

3. (auxiliary, in the conditional) should, ought to

   Debería haber un plan en marcha.

   There should be a plan in place.

   La gente no debería mensajear y conducir.

   People shouldn't be texting and driving.

   Deberías disculparte.

   You should apologize.

   Los niños deberían dormir un poco.

   The children should get some sleep.

   1. (auxiliary, in the preterite, see usage notes) should have

      Synonym: (more common informally in Spain) debería + haber + participle

      Debiste esperarme.

      You should have waited for me.

      Debiste haberme esperado.

      You should have waited for me.

   2. (auxiliary, in the conditional + haber + participle) should have

      Synonym: debí + infinitive / debí + haber + participle

      Lo primero qué deberías haber hecho es ir al médico.

      The first thing you should've done is go to the doctor.

4. (auxiliary, emphatic) shall (future tense usually)
5. (reflexive with preposition a) to be due to, to be attributable to, to be the result of, to be caused by

   El incendio se debió a un cortocircuito.

   The fire was due to a short circuit.

• Usage in Spain differs from that of Latin America. In Spain, deber in the sense of "must" is usually replaced with tener que, and deber is seen as formal in this context. One exception to this is constructions with haber + participle, such as "debe (de) haber sido", which are common in both regions. Deber is still used in Spain in the conditional and the preterite (with the meaning of should or should have), although a construction with deber in the conditional + haber + participle is more common than deber in the preterite in informal language. The sense of "owe" is used regularly in both regions.
• In the preterite, the infinitive construction and the construction with haber plus a participle are synonymous.
• Conjugations such as debrá or debría are nonstandard.

deber m (plural deberes)

1. obligation, duty

   Synonym: obligación

2. debt

   Synonym: deuda

3. should, ought (modal noun)
4. (Spain, usually in the plural) homework

   Synonym: tarea

• “deber”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “deber”, in Diccionario del español actual (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA
• “deber”, in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas [Panhispanic Dictionary of Uncertainties] (in Spanish), 2nd edition, Royal Spanish Academy; Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, 2023, →ISBN
• deber | Diccionario del estudiante | RAE