Mi pagis kvin dolarojn.

In Esperanto, -is marks the past tense. So pagis means paid.

A few basic tense endings are:

• -as = present: pagas = pay / is paying
• -is = past: pagis = paid
• -os = future: pagos = will pay

So Mi pagis means I paid.

The dictionary form is pagi, which means to pay.

Esperanto verbs are very regular:

• pagi = to pay
• mi pagas = I pay / I am paying
• mi pagis = I paid
• mi pagos = I will pay

So pagis is just the past-tense form of pagi.

Because it has two endings added to the noun dolaro:

• -j = plural
• -n = accusative

So:

• dolaro = dollar
• dolaroj = dollars
• dolarojn = dollars as the direct object

In Mi pagis kvin dolarojn, the thing being paid is five dollars, so Esperanto marks that noun phrase as the direct object with -n.

Because kvin dolarojn is the direct object of the verb pagis.

Esperanto usually marks direct objects with -n. Since dolaroj is plural, it becomes dolarojn.

Compare:

• Mi havas kvin dolarojn. = I have five dollars.
• Mi pagis kvin dolarojn. = I paid five dollars.

In both sentences, kvin dolarojn is the direct object, so it takes -n.

Because numerals like unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin are normally invariable in Esperanto. They do not take -j or -n.

So you say:

• kvin dolaroj or, as an object, kvin dolarojn
• not kvinojn dolarojn

The noun changes as needed, but the number word usually stays the same.

Esperanto has no indefinite article. So there is no separate word for a or an.

Also, the is only used when needed, as la.

So:

• dolaro = a dollar / dollar
• la dolaro = the dollar
• kvin dolarojn = five dollars
• la kvin dolarojn = the five dollars

In this sentence, there is no need for la, so kvin dolarojn is perfectly natural.

Yes. That is a very normal use of pagi.

The sentence simply states the amount paid. If you want, you can add more information:

• Mi pagis kvin dolarojn por ĝi. = I paid five dollars for it.
• Mi pagis kvin dolarojn al li. = I paid him five dollars.

But on its own, Mi pagis kvin dolarojn is a complete sentence.

Yes, to some extent. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because the -n ending helps show what the object is.

The most neutral order is:

• Mi pagis kvin dolarojn.

But you could also say:

• Kvin dolarojn mi pagis.

That gives extra emphasis to five dollars.

Even so, the usual beginner-friendly pattern is subject + verb + object, so Mi pagis kvin dolarojn is the best basic version to learn first.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• pagis ≈ PAH-gis
• dolarojn ≈ doh-LAH-royn

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Stress in Esperanto normally falls on the second-to-last syllable.
• So pagis is stressed on PA
• And dolarojn is stressed on LA

Also:

• j sounds like English y
• oj sounds roughly like oy

So dolarojn ends with something like royn.

Yes. Dolaro is the regular Esperanto noun for dollar.

It behaves like any normal noun:

• dolaro = dollar
• dolaroj = dollars
• dolaron = dollar (object)
• dolarojn = dollars (object)

So even though the word comes from an international source, its grammar is completely regular in Esperanto.