"Vi devas subskribi vian leteron."

Translation: You have to sign your letter.

[deactivated user]

So how do you say "subscribe"?

[johmue]

aboni

[deactivated user]

Dankon pro via rapida respondo!

[Flertrok]

Can somebody explain the difference between "bezonas" en "devas"?

[_Venko]

I always think of devas as "must" instead if need. It makes the difference a bit easier.

[Alzarin]

Bezonas = need
Devas = should, have to

[FredCapp]

Aŭ, esti pli specifika, Bezoni: (stand in) need (of), be short of, require, suffer from lack of, want; Be under an obligation to.

Devi: Have the duty of doing, to have to, incumbent, obligatory

Sed, ŝajnas, ke nuntempa strat-Esperanto ŝanĝis ilin iomete.

[RomajiAmulo]

"subskribi" -> "sub"=??? and "skribi"=write

[zerozeroone]

Sub = under, below, beneath

[jackmchugh12]

i.e. subskribi literally means
'to underwrite'

[Owen5076]

To write under... well you do sign letters by writing under them.

[vytah]

It's a calque from Polish or a similar language:

sub – pod – under
skribi – pisać – to write
subskribi – podpisać – to sign

[FredCapp]

Considering that Zamenhof was Polish…

[salivanto]

And spoke German.

[salivanto]

And German: unterschreiben.

In fact, this is what Google gives for the etymology of the English word "subscribe": late Middle English (in the sense ‘sign at the bottom of a document’): from Latin subscribere, from sub- ‘under’ + scribere ‘write.’

[EYF2003]

that was impossible to hear
EYF

[FredCapp]

I just listened, with music playing, and understood it perfectly.

[NicholasMc17]

For a second, i thought it was referencing sign language