Ni repagis la prunton.

Repagis can be divided into:

• re- = again, back
• pag = pay
• -is = past tense

So repagis means paid back or repaid.

In Esperanto, -is marks the past tense for all verbs.

So:

• repagas = repays / is repaying
• repagis = repaid
• repagos = will repay

Unlike English, the verb ending does not change depending on the subject. Mi repagis, ni repagis, ili repagis all use -is for the past.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

In Ni repagis la prunton, the thing being repaid is the loan, so prunto becomes prunton.

Compare:

• La prunto estas granda. = The loan is big.
  Here prunto is the subject.
• Ni repagis la prunton. = We repaid the loan.
  Here prunton is the object.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• prunton = a loan / loan, depending on context
• la prunton = the loan

Esperanto has only one article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case. Even though prunton has -n, the article stays la, not lan.

Often it means again or back, but the exact meaning depends on the word.

With repagi, it has the sense of pay back, not just pay again in a random sense. So repagi is the normal word for repay.

Other examples:

• reveni = come back
• refari = do again / remake
• reskribi = write again / rewrite

So re- is very useful, but you should still learn each whole word in context.

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because the -n ending shows the object.

So these can mean the same thing:

• Ni repagis la prunton.
• La prunton ni repagis.
• Repagis ni la prunton.

However, Ni repagis la prunton is the most neutral and natural order for most situations.

Yes, ni means we.

It does not change form, so Esperanto does not distinguish between we repay, we are repaying, and so on by changing the pronoun. The verb ending carries the tense information.

So:

• ni repagas = we repay / we are repaying
• ni repagis = we repaid
• ni repagos = we will repay

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

nee reh-PAH-gees lah proon-TON

A few helpful points:

• Ni sounds like nee
• stress in Esperanto usually falls on the second-to-last syllable
• so repagis is stressed on pa
• prunton is stressed on nun

Syllables:

• Ni
• re-pa-gis
• la
• prun-ton

Yes, prunto is a noun. In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o.

So:

• prunto = loan
• prunton = loan as a direct object
• pruntoj = loans
• pruntojn = loans as direct objects

The basic noun ending -o is one of the most important patterns in Esperanto.

Normally, no. Repagi specifically means to pay back / repay.

So Ni repagis la prunton means that we paid back the loan.

If you wanted to express some other idea involving paying for something, Esperanto would usually use a different structure, often with a preposition such as por or a different verb altogether. Here, the meaning is clearly repay the loan.