Learn Greek › B1 › οφείλω
οφείλω
to owe / to be obliged to /oˈfilo/
verbB1#1176 most common
Also: must, ought to, to be indebted
Example sentences
Οφείλω πενήντα ευρώ στον φίλο μου.
I owe fifty euros to my friend.
Δεν οφείλω τίποτα σε κανέναν.
I don't owe anything to anyone.
Οφείλουμε να σεβόμαστε τους γονείς μας.
We ought to respect our parents.
Ο δήμος οφείλει να βελτιώσει τους δρόμους της πόλης.
The municipality is obliged to improve the city's roads.
Οφείλουμε την επιτυχία μας στη σκληρή δουλειά όλης της ομάδας.
We owe our success to the hard work of the whole team.
Η κυβέρνηση όφειλε να είχε λάβει μέτρα νωρίτερα για να αποτραπεί η κρίση.
The government should have taken measures earlier to prevent the crisis.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | οφείλω | όφειλα | θα οφείλω |
| 2sg | οφείλεις | όφειλες | θα οφείλεις |
| 3sg | οφείλει | όφειλε | θα οφείλει |
| 1pl | οφείλουμε | οφείλαμε | θα οφείλουμε |
| 2pl | οφείλετε | οφείλατε | θα οφείλετε |
| 3pl | οφείλουν | όφειλαν | θα οφείλουν |
Word family
οφειλήa debt, an amount owed
οφειλέτηςdebtor
εξοφλώto pay off in full, to settle a debt
ανεξόφλητοςunpaid, not settled
Etymology
Οφείλω continues Ancient Greek ὀφείλω, which meant both "to owe a debt" and "to be bound by duty." Its origin before Ancient Greek is not securely established; some scholars treat it as a word of Pre-Greek origin rather than one with a clear Indo-European ancestor. The verb has carried its double sense, financial and moral, continuously from Homeric Greek into the modern language.
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