(transitive) to owe
Debo mucho dinero. ― I owe a lot of money.
(auxiliary) must, to need to, to have to (rarely used in the conditional with this meaning)
Debo estudiar. ― I must study.
Eso debe haber sido muy difícil. ― That must have been really hard.
(auxiliary) should, to ought to, to be supposed to, to be to
Debería haber un plan en marcha. ― There should be a plan in place.
La gente no debería mensajear y conducir. ― People aren't supposed to text and drive.
Deberías disculparte. ― You ought to apologize.
Usted debe despertarse antes del amanecer. ― You are to be up before sunrise.
Los niños deberían dormir un poco. ― The children should get some sleep.
(auxiliary) should have (in the preterite; having haber follow "deber" is optional and not required)
Debiste esperarme. ― You should have waited for me.
Debiste haberme esperado. ― You should have waited for me.
(auxiliary, emphatic) shall (future tense usually)
(reflexive with preposition a) to be due to, to be attributable to, to be the result of, to be caused by
(with de and infinitive) probably or most likely do or happen something (add a degree of insecurity to the verb)
Debes de viajar por avión, China está muy lejos.You should travel by plane, China is very far away. or You probably need to fly there, China is very far away.
