owe
gb/ˈoʊ/ us/ˈoʊ/
A2
English
~ 2100
tartozik, hálás, köszönhet, betudható, köszönhető
VERB
A2
1
tartozik
A2
Usage pattern:
to owe [someone] [an amount of money]
I still owe the bank $5,000 for my car loan.
Még mindig 5000 dollárral tartozom a banknak az autóhitelemből.
She owes her landlord two months' rent.
Két havi bérleti díjjal tartozik a bérbeadójának.
We owe the contractor half the payment.
He owes a lot of money in back taxes.
They owe their friends for the concert tickets.
Learner examples
I owe my friend $10.
10 dollárral tartozom a barátomnak.
She owes the bank money.
Pénzzel tartozik a banknak.
We owe rent this month.
He owes his sister $5.
They owe money for the food.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'owe' with 'own'. 'Owe' means you must give something (usually money) back; 'own' means you have it.
Meaning
Be required to pay money
Collocations
owe money
|owe a debt
|owe rent
|owe taxes
|owe interest
Synonyms
be indebted to (More formal and emphasizes the state of having a debt.)
Antonyms
be owed (Refers to the opposite situation, where someone else must pay you.)
Themes
business
|daily life
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Definition
To have to give money to someone because you borrowed it or used something of theirs.
To be under a legal or moral obligation to pay money to someone for goods, services, or as a debt.
VERB
B1
2
Usage pattern:
to owe [someone] [a favor / thanks / an apology]
I owe you an apology for being late.
Bocsánatkéréssel tartozom neked, amiért elkéstem.
She owes her mentor a great deal of thanks.
Nagyon hálás a mentorának.
We owe our success to the hard work of the entire team.
He owes his recovery to the quick action of the doctors.
Learner examples
I owe you a big thanks.
Nagyon hálás vagyok neked.
She owes him an apology.
Bocsánatkéréssel tartozik neki.
We owe our teacher for her help.
He owes his life to the fireman.
Common mistake:
Learners may overuse 'owe' in contexts where 'should' is more natural, e.g., 'I owe go to the store' is incorrect.
Meaning
Feel moral obligation or gratitude
Collocations
owe a favor
|owe thanks
|owe an apology
Synonyms
be beholden to (More formal; implies a strong sense of obligation or indebtedness.)
Antonyms
be free of obligation (Indicates no moral or social debt exists.)
Themes
emotions
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Definition
To feel you should help or thank someone because they helped you.
To feel that you should do something for someone because they have helped you or done something good for you.
VERB
B2
3
Usage pattern:
to owe [something] to [someone/something]
He owes his career to his first teacher.
A karrierjét az első tanárának köszönheti.
The project owes its success to careful planning.
A projekt sikere a gondos tervezésnek köszönhető.
Our safety owes much to modern technology.
Learner examples
I owe my job to my friend.
A munkámat a barátomnak köszönhetem.
She owes her skills to hard work.
A képességeit a kemény munkának köszönheti.
We owe our safety to the police.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse this with having a debt; here it is about cause, not payment.
Meaning
Attribute cause to someone/something
Collocations
owe success to
|owe existence to
|owe results to
Synonyms
credit (Often used in attributing positive results, but can be broader.)
Antonyms
blame on (Opposite in that it attributes a negative cause rather than crediting.)
Themes
communication
|reasoning
|core_vocabulary
Definition
To say that something happened because of someone or something.
To say that someone or something is the reason for a particular result or situation.
Grammar
Dictionary form
owe
IPA
GB/ˈoʊ/
US/ˈoʊ/
Syllables & stress
owe (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (owe)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: owe
- 3rd Person Singular: owes
- Present Participle: owing
- Past: owed
Word family
Expressions
owe it to yourself
1/ˈoʊ ˈɪt tə jʊɹsˈɛlf/
fixed phrase
Do something good for yourself
To do something that will make you happy or healthy because you deserve it.
Examples
- You owe it to yourself to take a break after working so hard.
- She owes it to herself to follow her dream of traveling.
owe someone one
1/ˈoʊ sˈʌmwˌʌn wˈʌn/
fixed phrase
informal
Be obligated to return a favor
To need to do something nice for someone because they did something nice for you before.
Examples
- Thanks for covering my shift—I owe you one!
- He helped me move last weekend, so I definitely owe him one.
owe a debt of gratitude
1/ˈoʊ ə dˈɛt əv ɡɹˈætətˌud/
fixed phrase
formal
Feel deep gratitude toward someone
To feel very thankful for what someone has done for you.
Examples
- We owe a debt of gratitude to the volunteers who made this event possible.
- The community owes a debt of gratitude to the firefighters.
owe a debt of gratitude
2/ˈoʊ ə dˈɛt əv ɡɹˈætətˌud/
fixed phrase
formal
Deeply thankful obligation
To feel you must thank someone very much for helping you.
Examples
- We owe a debt of gratitude to the doctors who saved her life.
- I owe a great debt of gratitude to my mentors.