Sometimes we need to talk about the things we must do—finish our work, bring something to someone, or complete an important task. In this lesson, we’ll practice using the word debi to express these kinds of strong obligations in Chamorro. Through simple sentence patterns and examples, you’ll learn how to say things like “I must clean the kitchen,” “He must buy the food,” or “You must call your father.” These patterns will help you start expressing responsibilities and necessary actions in everyday conversation. Happy studying!

Contents

1. Introduction to “Must” in Chamorro
2. Core Patterns With “Debidi”
3. How to Say “I must drink the coffee”
4. ➡️ Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson
5. Documentation & Further Study
   1. Notes
   2. References
   3. Further Reading

Introduction to “Must” in Chamorro

When we talk about the things that we must do in Chamorro, we use the word debi or debidi (also spelled debi di), which translates to “must”.¹ This word has a strong connotation with obligation and helps us express the things we “must” or “ought” to do.²

You will also see this word translated as “should”, but I recommend that you understand it as “ought to” or “must” for clarity. In English, “should” is used more for recommendations and advice, rather than strict obligation.

In this lesson, we’ll cover the following:

• Core patterns using debidi
• Practicing sentences to talk about what we must do: “I must drink the coffee”

Core Patterns With “Debidi”

Making sentences about what we “must” do requires using debidi with Hu Type Pronouns. We can actually learn these combinations of debidi and pronouns as core patterns for making these sentences.

These core patterns are below:

March 2026 Note: Audio is forthcoming! Sorry for the confusion!

Chamorro	English
Debidi bai hu	I must
Debidi un	You must
Debidi u	She / He must
Debidi u ma	They must
Debidi en	You must (plural)
Debidi ta	We must (inclusive)
Debidi bai in	We must (exclusive)

📝You’ll Also Hear “Debi”: Our examples are using the word debidi or debi di, but you’ll also hear it shortened to just debi in everyday speech.

In the next section, we’ll practice using these core patterns in full sentences.

How to Say “I must drink the coffee”

Let’s say you want to express that you must do something, such as “I must clean the kitchen” or “You must call your father.” We can form these sentences by putting our debidi phrases in front of a basic command.

Saying Gimen i kafé (“Drink the coffee”) can become Debidi bai hu gimen i kafé (“I must drink the coffee”).

We’ll practice these sentences with the full pattern below:

Debidi Phrase + Transitive Verb + i + Object

Chamorro	English
Debidi bai hu gimen i kafe.	I must drink the coffee.
Debidi bai hu fåhan i lepblo.	I must buy the book.
Debidi bai in na’gasgas i kusina.	We must clean the kitchen. (exclusive)
Debidi un ågang si tatå-mu.	You must call your father.
Debidi en bisita i malångu.	You (2+) must visit the sick.
Debidi en kanno’ i kelaguen månnok.	You (2+) must eat the chicken kelaguen.
Debidi ta ayuda i biha.	We must help the elderly woman. (inclusive)
Debidi u bisita i gima’ Yu’os.	She must visit the church.
Debidi u arekla i kareta.	He must repair the car.
Debidi u ma aligao i ga’lågu.	They must look for the dog.

➡️ Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

When you are ready, click the link below to continue to the next lesson in this Beginner Chamorro series, where you’ll learn how to talk about the things you can do:

How to Say “I Can Make the Coffee” in Chamorro – Talking About What We Can and Can’t Do With Transitive Verbs

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Documentation & Further Study

Notes

1. Donald Topping, Spoken Chamorro: With Grammatical Notes and Glossary (Second Edition). (University of Hawaii Press: 1980), 294. ↩︎
2. Sandra Chung, Chamorro Grammar (2020), 77. ↩︎

References

Chung, S. (2020). Chamorro grammar. http://dx.doi.org/10.48330/E2159R Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2sx7w4h5.

Topping, Donald M. Spoken Chamorro: With Grammatical Notes and Glossary (Second Edition). University of Hawaii Press, 1980.

Further Reading

Topping, D.M. “21.9 REPETITION DRILL. Debidi.” In Spoken Chamorro: With Grammatical Notes and Glossary (Second Edition), 298-299. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1980.

Topping, D.M. “21.10 TRANSFORMATION DRILL. Debidi.” In Spoken Chamorro: With Grammatical Notes and Glossary (Second Edition), 299. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1980.