deu ser
“deu ser” — it must be in Valencian. Phrase, level B1, topic — basic words. Literally it owes to be — it must be; where is Pau? Still on the train. In a live sentence: “On és en Pau? Deu ser al tren encara” — Where is Pau? He must still be on the train. One of 110 words in the set “basic words” in the Valencian course.
In short
| Written in Valencian | deu ser |
| Translation | it must be |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally it owes to be — it must be; where is Pau? Still on the train
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- On és en Pau? Deu ser al tren encaraWhere is Pau? He must still be on the train
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- síyesSí with an accent is yes; si without one is if. Only the written mark tells them apart
- nonoOne word serves as no and as the negation before a verb: no entenc — I don't understand
- béwellThe adverb: it answers how. The adjective good is bo, and before a noun it even shrinks: bon dia
- malamentbadlyThe partner of bé. Bad about a thing is dolent: el temps és dolent — the weather is foul
- molt bévery wellMolt means very and stands right before the word it boosts
- més o menysso-soLiterally more or less. The same phrase means about: més o menys vint — about twenty
- el metremeter (unit)The meter; the jump was two of them, not a centimeter more
- el centímetrecentimeterThe centimeter; the child grew three of them in a year
- el quilòmetrekilometerThe kilometer; from the town to the beach there are five
- el litreliterFrom the Greek litra — a unit of weight, become a measure of volume. Buy a liter of milk, please
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “it must be” in Valencian?
Literally it owes to be — it must be; where is Pau? Still on the train
- How do you say “meter (unit)” in Valencian?
The meter; the jump was two of them, not a centimeter more
- How do you say “well” in Valencian?
The adverb: it answers how. The adjective good is bo, and before a noun it even shrinks: bon dia
- How do you say “liter” in Valencian?
From the Greek litra — a unit of weight, become a measure of volume. Buy a liter of milk, please
- How do you say “so-so” in Valencian?
Literally more or less. The same phrase means about: més o menys vint — about twenty
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “it must be” in Valencian?
«deu ser». In a live sentence: “On és en Pau? Deu ser al tren encara” — Where is Pau? He must still be on the train. Phrase, level B1, from the set “basic words”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally it owes to be — it must be; where is Pau? Still on the train. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.