This is the 135th most frequent Croatian word.
trebao
"Trebao" means "needed" or "should have" (masculine past tense form).
Here, 'trebao' is used to express a necessity or recommendation, meaning 'should'.
Trebao bih učiti više kako bih prošao ispit.
I should study more in order to pass the exam.
In this context, 'trebao' is part of an indirect speech to express a recommendation.
On je rekao da bih trebao pomoći susjedima.
He said that I should help the neighbors.
In this example, 'trebao' is used in a conditional sense, discussing a hypothetical recommendation.