An Introduction to the Romanian Language
This is an introduction to the Romanian language. It is based on the book "Parlons Roumain" by Gilbert Fabre (ISBN 9782738407849), and on
The Romanian Grammar by Dana Cojocaru, a complete reference to the syntax of the Romanian language.
This summary is incomplete: It focuses on some fundamental things, and leaves out much of the complexity of the language on purpose. By reading this essay, you accept that the author does not accept any responsibility for the completeness or correctness of this summary. If you find an error in this essay, the author would be grateful for a note.
Pronunciation
Most of the letters in the Romanian alphabet are pronounced as in the IPA. Those that are not are listed here:
Letter
|
Pronunciation
|
ă | [ə] (Schwa sound)
|
â | [ɨ] (a dark 'i')
|
c | [k]
|
c +i | [tʃ]
|
c +e | [tʃ]
|
ch | [k]
|
e | [ɛ] (between open and closed 'e')
|
e | [yɛ] (at the beginning of forms of "to be" and "el")
|
g | [g]
|
g +i | [dʒ]
|
g +e | [dʒ]
|
gh | [g]
|
h | [h]
|
+ i | [j] (palatization of the preceding sound, if 'i' appears at the end of a word after a consonant)
|
î | [ɨ] (a dark 'i', identical to 'â', but used at beginning and end of a word)
|
j | [ʒ]
|
r | (rolled r)
|
s | [s]
|
ș | [ʃ]
|
ț | [ts]
|
x | [ks]
|
z | [z]
|
Vowels have the following "strengths": ă/a/â>o>e>u>i. When two of them meet, the stronger one is pronounced, and the weaker one becomes a semi-vowel.
Phonetic Changes
The ending of a word changes with the declination of the word. This has the an influence on the stem vowel of the word. If the final vowel is more or less closed ('e', 'i', 'a'), then stem vowel also becomes more closed:
Stem vowel
|
Final vowel
|
New stem vowel
|
-a- | -e | -e-
|
masă (=table) | | mese (=tables)
|
-a- | -i | -ă-
|
barcă (=boat) | | bărci (=boats)
|
-ă- | -e or -i | -e-
|
număr (=number) | | numere (=numbers)
|
cumpăr (=I buy) | | cumperi (=you buy)
|
-â- | -e or -i | -i-
|
cuvânt (=word) | | cuvinte (=words)
|
vând (=I sell) | | vinzi (=you sell)
|
-o- | -a | -u-
|
torn (=I pour) | | turna (=I pour)(=to pour)
|
-ea- | -e or -i | -e-
|
fereastra (=window) | | ferestre (=windows)
|
seară (=evening) | | seri (=evenings)
|
-oa- | -i | -o-
|
floare (=flower) | | flori (=flowers)
|
If the final vowel is more or less open ('ă', 'e'), then stem vowel also becomes more open:
Stem vowel
|
Final vowel
|
New stem vowel
|
-ă- | -ă | -a-
|
spăl (=I wash) | | spală (=he washes)
|
-e- | -ă | -ea-
|
aștept (=I wait) | | așteaptă (=he waits)
|
-o- | -ă or -e | -oa-
|
frumos (=pretty) | | frumoasă (=pretty(f))
|
torn (=I pour) | | să toarne (=to pour(subj))
|
If the final vowel is 'i', the final consonant gets softened or removed
Final consonant
|
Final vowel
|
New final consonant
|
-d- | -i | -z-
|
stradă (=street) | | strazi (=streets)
|
-t- | -i | -ț-
|
perete (=wall) | | pereți (=walls)
|
-z- | -i | -j-
|
grumaz (=neck) | | grumaji (=necks)
|
-sc- | -i or -e | -șt-
|
românesc (=romanian) | | românești (=on romanian)
|
iubesc (=I love) | | iubești (=you love)
|
-s- | -i | -ș-
|
frumos (=pretty) | | frumoși (=pretty (pl))
|
artist (=artist) | | artiști (=artists)
|
astru (=star) | | aștri (=stars)
|
-l or -n | -i | (none)
|
cal (=horse) | | cai (=horses)
|
pun (=I put) | | pui (=you put)
|
In general, the combination "ă+a" becomes "a":
-
o casă (=a house), casă+a -> casa (=the house)
Nouns
In Romanian, every noun belongs to one of 3 genders: male, female, and neuter. Every noun can be declined orthogonally
-
into number: singular (default) or plural
The plural indicates that more than one object is meant.
-
into definitness: an indefinite form (default) or a definite form
The definite form indicates that a specific, known object is meant. It corresponds to the English determiner "the", as opposed to "a".
-
into case: nominative/accusative (default) or dative, genitive, and vocative
Other cases appear, e.g., when the noun appears as indirect object of a verb.
Male Nouns
Male nouns form the plural by making the last vowel '-i'. To make the form definite, we append '-ul' (singular) or '-i' (plural). We say "un X" to say "an X", and "doi X" to say "two X".
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | un pantof (=a shoe) | pantoful (=the shoe)
|
Plural | doi pantofi (=two shoes) | pantofii (=the shoes)
|
If the noun ends in '-e', the definite singular adds '-le' rather than '-ul'. Hence, the forms are:
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | un perete (=a wall) | peretele (=the wall)
|
Plural | doi pereți (=two walls) | pereții (=the walls)
|
The phonetic changes are observed. Examples are:
-
un elev, doi elevi; elevul, elevii (=pupil)
-
un fiu, doi fii; fiul, fiii (=son)
-
un câine, doi câini; câinele, câinii (=dog)
-
un ochi, doi ochi; ochiul, ochii (=eye)
Exceptions are:
-
un tată, doi tați; tata, tații (=father)
-
un om, doi oameni; omul, oamenii (=man).
Female Nouns
For female nouns, the plural is formed in general by replacing the final vowel by 'i'. The definite form is built by appending '-a' (singular) or '-le' (plural). We say "o X" to say "an X", and "două X" to say "two X"
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | o ușă (=a door) | ușa (=the door)
|
Plural | două uși (=two doors) | ușile (=the doors)
|
Examples are:
-
o ușă, două uși; ușa, ușile (=door)
-
o mașină, două mașini; mașina, mașinile (=car)
-
o pâine, două pâini; pâinea, pâinile (=bread)
-
o farfurie, două farfurii; farfuria, farfuriile (=plate)
If the word ends in '-a' or '-i', the plural is formed by appending by '-le'. The definite form is built by appending '-ua' (singular) or by appending again '-le' (for plural).
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | o zi (=a day) | ziua (=the day)
|
Plural | două zile (=two days) | zilele (=the days)
|
In words ending in '-ea', the 'a' is removed completely. Hence, it's
-
o cafea, două cafele, cafeua, cafelele
Some words ending in 'ă' build the plural in '-e':
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | o casă (=a house) | casa (=the house)
|
Plural | două case (=two houses) | casele (=the houses)
|
There are some other forms. One exception is: o mână - două mâ
ini (=hand)
Neuter Nouns
Neuter nouns behave like male nouns in the singular, and like female nouns in the plural. Consequently, we say "un X" and "două X". The plural is formed in general by appending 'uri' (and avoiding a double 'u'):
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | un tren (=a train) | trenul (=the train)
|
Plural | două trenuri (=two trains) | trenurile (=the trains)
|
Examples:
-
un tren, două trenuri; trenul, trenurile (=train)
-
un loc, două locuri; locul, locurile (=place)
-
un lucru, două lucruri; lucrul, lucrurile (=thing)
-
un taxi, două taxiuri; taxiul, taxiurile (=taxi)
Some neuter nouns form their plural by making the last vowel '-e':
|
Indefinite
|
Definite
|
Singular | un oraș (=a city) | orașul (=the city)
|
Plural | două orașe (=two cities) | orașele (=the cities)
|
Examples are:
-
un oraș, două orașe; orașul, orașele (=city)
-
un scaun, două scaune; scaunul, scaunele (=chair)
-
un muzeu, două muzee; muzeul, muzeele (=museum)
-
un nume, două nume; numele, numele (=name)
There are some other plural forms. One exceptions is: un cap, două capete; capul, capetele (=head).
Other casi
A noun (singular or plural, definite or indefinite) can be put into dative form. The dative form is identical to the genitive form. The vocative takes a different form. This summary does not treat any of these forms.
Demonstrative
The demonstrative article is:
|
Male
|
Neuter
|
Female
|
Singular | cel | cel | cea
|
Plural | cei | cele | cele
|
Adjectives
Like nouns, adjectives have forms for gender (male, female, neuter) and number (plural, singular). An adjective has to be in the same gender and number as the noun that it modifies. There are 3 types of adjectives: 4-form adjectives, 3-form adjectives, and 2-form adjectives.
Declination
The forms are as follows (here for "bun" (=good)):
|
Male
|
Neuter
|
Female
|
Singular | bun | bun | bună
|
Plural | buni | bune | bune
|
The neuter adjective behaves like male in singular, and like female in plural.
The phonetic changes apply: frumos, frumoasă, frumoși, frumoase (=pretty).
A trailing '-u' of the male singular form vanishes in all the other forms: albastru, albastră, albastri, albastre (=blue).
Some irregular adjectives are: greu, grea, grei, grele (=heavy, difficult); rău, rea, răi, rele (=bad, evil)
Adjectives ending in '-c', '-g', '-esc', and '-iu' take only 3 forms. These are as follows (here for "mic" (=small)):
|
Male
|
Neuter
|
Female
|
Singular | mic | mic | mică
|
Plural | mici | mici | mici
|
Adjectives that end in '-u' take the following forms (here fore "roșu" (=red)):
|
Male
|
Neuter
|
Female
|
Singular | roșu | roșu | roșie
|
Plural | roșii | roșii | roșii
|
Some more forms exist. An irregular exception is: nou, nouă, noi (=new)
Adjectives that end in '-e' take only two forms, one for singular and one for plural (here for "mare" (=big)):
|
Male
|
Neuter
|
Female
|
Singular | mare | mare | mare
|
Plural | mari | mari | mari
|
Adjectives that end in '-i' also take only two forms, one for female singular, and one for all the others (here for "vechi" (=old)):
|
Male
|
Neuter
|
Female
|
Singular | vechi | vechi | veche
|
Plural | vechi | vechi | vechi
|
Some adjectives also take only one form.
Comparatives
Superiority
To say "more ADJ than NOUN", we use "mai ADJ ca NOUN". Examples:
-
Filmul este mai interesant ca romanul (= the movie is more interesting than the book)
-
Am văzut filmul mai interesant ca acesta (=I saw a more interesting movie than this one)
-
Ea est mai mare ca mine (= she is older than me)
It is also possible to use "decât" instead of "ca".
Equality
To say "as ADJ as NOUN", we use "tot așa de ADJ ca NOUN". Examples:
-
Filmul este tot așa de interesant ca romanul (= the movie as interesting than the book)
It is also possible to use "tot atât de" or "la fel de" instead of "tot așa de", or "si" instead of "ca".
Inferiority
To say "less ADJ than NOUN", we use "mai puțin ADJ ca NOUN". Examples:
-
Filmul este mai puțin interesant ca romanul (= the movie as interesting than the book)
Superlatives
To say "the most ADJ NOUN", we use "NOUN cel
* mai ADJ". Here, "cel
*" adapts to the noun in gender and number, as described
previously. Examples:
-
Este filmul cel mai interesant (= it is the most interesting movie)
To say "the least", we use "NOUN cel
* mai puțin ADJ".
Pronouns
Pronouns, like nouns, can be put into a number (singular and plural), a gender (male, female), and a casus (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative).
Nominative
In nominative (the standard form), the pronouns take the following form:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu | noi
|
2nd person | tu | voi
|
3rd person male | el | ei
|
3rd person female | ea | ele
|
The third person is exactly like the
demonstrative article without the 'c'.
If the pronouns are used with a preposition, "eu" becomes "mine" and "tu" becomes "tine". (The pronoun is technically a stressed accusative, then)
The polite form for addressing strangers is "dumneavoastră". It goes with the second person plural:
-
Dumneavoastră sunteți din Statele Unite? (= Are you form the United States?)
Accusative
In accusative, the pronouns take the following forms:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | mă | ne
|
2nd person | te | vă
|
3rd person male | îl | îi
|
3rd person female | o | le
|
The accusative is used when the pronoun is the direct object of a verb:
-
Te iubesc (=I love you)
-
Mă aștepți? (=Do you wait [for] me?)
-
Îl punem aici (=we put it here)
The accusative is also used when the direct object of the verb is a person. Then the sentence takes the form "PRON VERB pe PERSON", where the pronoun adjusts to the person in gender and number:
-
O iubesc pe Maria (=I love Maria)
-
Îl aștepți pe Radu? (=Do you wait [for] Radu?)
If the pronoun is followed by forms of "a avea" (=to have), vowels with accents go away:
-
L-am văzut pe Radu (=I have seen Radu)
Dative
In dative, the pronouns take the following forms:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | îmi | ne
|
2nd person | îți | vă
|
3rd person male | îi | le
|
3rd person female | îi | le
|
The dative is used with the indirect object of a verb:
-
îmi aduce Dan cartea (=Dan brings me the book)
-
îmi place în România (=I like [it] in Romania).
If combined with forms of "a avea" (=to have), vowels with accents go away:
-
Mi-a adus Dan cartea (=Dan has brought me the book)
Possessive
Pronouns can also express possession. The basic forms depend on the gender and number of the owner:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | meu (=my) | nostru (=our)
|
2nd person | tău (=your) | vostru (=your)
|
3rd person male | lui (=his) | lor (=their)
|
3rd person female | ei (=her) | lor (=their)
|
The owned object takes its definite form, and the possessive pronoun follows. For example, we say:
-
Este fiul meu (=He is my son)
Possessive pronouns work like adjectives and adjust in number and gender to the owned object (unless the owner is third person, in which case there is no adjustment):
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
Male | -u | -i
|
Neuter | -u | -e
|
Female | -a | -e
|
The usual
phonetic changes are observed, and 'e/ă'+'e'='ele'. So the forms are:
-
male/neuter singular object: meu, tău, lui, nostru, vostru, lor
-
female singular object: mea, ta, lui, noastră, voastră, lor
-
male plural object: mei, tăi, lui, noștri, voștri, lor
-
female/neuter plural object: mele, tale, lui, noastre, voastre, lor
Demonstrative
The most important pronoun is maybe "this":
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
Male | ăsta | ăștia
|
Neuter | ăsta | astea
|
Female | asta | astea
|
Since one refers mostly to "this thing", the most common form is simply "asta" (=this).
Other important pronouns are
-
cineva (=someone)
-
ceva (=something)
-
nimeni (=nobody)
-
nimic (=nothing)
Interrogative
The following pronouns are used to ask:
-
Cine? (=who?)
-
Ce? (=what?)
-
Care? (=which one?)
Examples are:
-
Cine este acolo? (=who is there?)
-
Ce ai cumpărat? (=what did you buy?)
-
Care este profesoara ta? (=which one si your teacher?)
Numbers
0-10
The numbers from 0 to 10 are:
-
unu ("un" before male and neuter nouns, "o" before female nouns)
-
doi ("două" before female nouns)
-
trei
-
patru
-
cinci
-
șase
-
șapte
-
opt
-
nouă
-
zece
"Unu" and "doi" take the gender of the noun they modify. Therefore, one says:
-
Un student (=one male student)
-
Un scaun (=one chair)
-
Doi studenți (=two male students)
-
Două studente (=two female students)
-
Două scaune (=two chairs)
11-19
The numbers 11-19 take the form "X spre zece" , where X is the last digit of the number. This means "X on ten":
-
unsprezece
-
doisprezece (or "douăsprezece" before female nouns)
-
treisprezece
-
paisprezece
-
cincisprezece
-
șaisprezece
-
șaptesprezece
-
optsprezece
-
nouăsprezece
20-99
The numbers of the form "X0" take the form "X zeci". This means "X [times] ten", because "zeci" is the plural form of "zece" (=ten):
-
10: zece
-
20: douăzeci
-
30: treizeci
-
40: patruzeci
-
50: cincizeci
-
60: șaizeci
-
70: șaptezeci
-
80: optzeci
-
90: nouăzeci
Since "zece" is female, we say "douăzeci" and not "doizeci".
To form the numbers "XY" with X>1 we say "X zeci și Y":
-
21: douăzeci și unu
-
22: douăzeci și doi
-
...
-
31: treizeci și unu
-
32: treizeci și doi
-
...
When combined with a noun, the numbers between 20 and 99 take a supplementary " de ":
-
douăzeci de elevi
-
douăzeci și unu de elevi
100 - 999
One hundred means "o sută". The plural is "sute". We build the numbers 100-999 by first counting the hundreds, and then appending the remainder. If the 10-position is 0, we still add the "și":
-
100: o sută
-
101: o sută și unu
-
...
-
110: o sută zece
-
111: o sută unsprezece
-
...
-
120: o sută douăzeci
-
120: o sută douăzeci și unu
-
...
-
200: două sute
-
201: două sute și unu
-
...
-
300: trei sute
-
...
1000 - 999,999
One thousand means "o mie", and the plural is "mii". We say the numbers 1000-999,999 by first counting the thousands, and then appending the remainder:
-
1000: o mie
-
1001: o mie și unu
-
...
-
1010: o mie zece
-
..
-
2000: două mii
-
...
Verbs
Romanian verbs are conjugated along the following dimensions:
-
Person (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person)
-
Number (singular or plural)
-
Time (here: present tense, perfect tense)
-
Mood (here: indicative, conditional)
They can also be conjugated in voice and other dimensions, which this summary does not treat.
Verbs in -a
Verbs that end in '-a' are conjugated as follows (here for "a chema" (=to call))
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu chem | noi chemăm
|
2nd person | tu chemi | voi chemați
|
3rd person | el/ea chemă | ei chemă
|
The main characteristics of this conjugation is that the 3rd person is the same in singular and plural.
If the verb ends in "-ra" or "-la" (e.g., "a intra" (=to enter)), the first person singular adds an "-u" ("eu intru"), because otherwise the form would be hard to pronounce ("eu intr").
Some verbs insert "-ez-" in all forms except plural first and second person (here for "a lucra" (=to work))
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu lucrez | noi lucrăm
|
2nd person | tu lucrezi | voi lucrați
|
3rd person | el/ea lucrează | ei lucrează
|
If the stem ends in '-g' or '-c', we have to insert an 'h' in order to prevent the 'g' from being pronounced as [dʒ]: a parca, eu parchez, tu parchezi,... (=to park, I park, you park,...).
The participle is formed by appending 't': lucrat
Verbs in -ea and -e
Verbs ending in '-ea' and '-e' conjugate as follows (here for "a vedea" (=to see)):
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu văd | noi vedem
|
2nd person | tu vezi | voi vedeți
|
3rd person | el/ea vede | ei văd
|
The main characteristic of this conjugation is that the 1st person singular and the 3rd person plural are identical. If the stem of the verb ends in a vowel or in a a consonant combined with 'l' or 'r', then these two forms append an '-u': a scrie, eu scriu (=to write, I write; a umple, eu umplu (=to fill up, I fill up).
Phonetic changes imply that "a potea" (=to be able to) is conjugated as follows: eu pot, tu poți, el poate, noi putem, voi puteți, ei pot
The participle is formed by removing '-ea' or '-e' and appending '-ut': vedut.
Verbs ending in '-c-' or '-g-' form the participle by removing that consonant and the ending vowels, and appending '-s': a aduce, adus; a înțelege, înțeles (=to understand). Some other variants exist.
Verbs in -i
Verbs ending in '-i' conjugate as follows (here for "a dormi" (=to sleep)):
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu dorm | noi dormim
|
2nd person | tu dormi | voi dormiți
|
3rd person | el/ea doarme | ei dorm
|
Again, the 1st person singular and the 3rd person plural are identical.
Some verbs insert '-esc-' in all forms except plural first and second person (here for "a dori" (=to wish))
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu doresc | noi dorim
|
2nd person | tu dorești | voi doriți
|
3rd person | el/ea dorește | ei doresc
|
The participle is built by appending '-t': dormit, a coborî – coborât;
Irregular verbs
To have
The basic forms of "a avea" (=to have) are
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu am | noi avem
|
2nd person | tu ai | voi aveți
|
3rd person | el a | ei au
|
These forms mean simply "I have", "you have", etc.
The participle is "avut"
To be
The verb "a fi" (=to be) conjugates as follows:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu sunt | noi suntem
|
2nd person | tu ești | voi sunteți
|
3rd person | el e | ei sunt
|
The participle is "fost"
To give, to stay, to take
The verbs "a da" (=to give) and "a sta" (=to stay) conjugate as follows:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu dau | noi dăm
|
2nd person | tu dai | voi dați
|
3rd person | el dă | ei dau
|
The verb "a lua" (=to take) conjugates in the same way, just that the initial 'l' becomes an 'i' in all forms except first and second plural: eu iau, tu iei, el ia, noi luăm, voi luați, ei iau.
The participles are regular: dat, stat, luat
To come
The basic forms of "a veni" (=to come) are
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu vin | noi venim
|
2nd person | tu vii | voi veniţi
|
3rd person | el vine | ei vin
|
These forms mean simply "I have", "you have", etc.
The participle is "venit"
To drink and to want
Fittingly, the verbs "a vrea" (=to want) and "a bea" (=to drink) are conjugated in the same way:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu beau | noi bem
|
2nd person | tu bei | voi beți
|
3rd person | el bea | ei beau
|
The participles are: vrut and băut
To eat
The verb "a mânca" (=to eat) conjugates as follows:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu mănânc | noi mâncăm
|
2nd person | tu mănânci | voi mâncați
|
3rd person | el mănâncă | ei mănânca
|
As always with verbs in '-a', the third person singular and plural are identical. The participle is "mâncat".
To know
The verb "a ști" (=to know) conjugates as follows:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu știu | noi știm
|
2nd person | tu știi | voi știți
|
3rd person | el știe | ei știu
|
As always with verbs in '-i', the first person singular and the third person plural are identical. The participle is "știut".
Composed forms
Perfect
The perfect tense is built combining the participle with the "shortened form" of "a avea", which is equivalent to the indicative form after removing "-ve-":
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | am dat | am dat
|
2nd person | ai dat | ați dat
|
3rd person | a dat | au dat
|
Conditional
The conditional form is built combining the infinitive with modified forms of "a avea":
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person | eu aș vrea | noi am vrea
|
2nd person | tu ai vrea | voi ați vrea
|
3rd person | el ar vrea | ei ar vrea
|
Future tense
The future tense is built by saying "o să VERB", where the verb is conjugated as usual:
-
o să dorm (=I will sleep)
-
o să dormi (=you will sleep)
-
...
Vocabulary
Prepositions and Conjunctions
Important conjunctions are:
-
dacă (=if)
-
pentru că, căci (=because)
-
deci (=therefore)
Important prepositions are: