Pe Pua and Marcelino point out that utang na loob does not imply the sense of "burden" inherent to Kaut and Andres' translations.
[3] In the study of Filipino psychology, utang na loob is considered an important "accommodative surface value", along with hiya (propriety/dignity) and pakikisama (companionship/esteem).
[1] The essence of utang na loob is an obligation to appropriately repay a person who has done one a favor.
The favors which elicit the Filipino's sense of utang na loob are typically those whose value is impossible to quantify, or, if there is a quantifiable value involved, involves a deeply personal internal dimension.
[4] This internal dimension, loob, differentiates utang na loob from an ordinary utang (debt); being an internal phenomenon, utang na loob thus goes much deeper than ordinary debt or even the western concept of owing a favor.