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An IOU is a short written note that says you owe someone money. You often just write those three letters, the amount, and your name on a scrap of paper — friends and family use it when they borrow a little cash and do not want a bank or a lawyer. It feels informal. The letters are simply “I owe you” said out loud; people have written them this way since at least 1618. Though actually, people also say “I’ll give you an IOU” as a light promise even when nothing is written down. An IOU is only as strong as the trust between the two people: a shop will not take it like a card, and it is not money in your hand.
欠條（口語也直接說 IOU）
組成From the pronunciation of “I owe you.” Attested since at least 1618.
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
IOUphrase
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I owe you.
- Customarily, if you borrow $10 for lunch from a coworker, writing IOU $10 on a yellow sticky note acts as a legal promissory note that you will repay said amount on payday.
IOUnoun
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An informal promissory note that is not a negotiable instrument.
- When David couldn’t afford to match the money in the poker pot, he added an IOU for the remaining amount instead.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。