Romanian for English speakers
A1·15 min

Romanian Basics

Bazele limbii române

Romanian is a Romance language with Slavic, Turkish and Hungarian influences. It uses Latin letters plus five special characters: ă, â, î, ș, ț. Pronunciation is almost fully phonetic — you say what you read.

Vocabulary

Bună
/ˈbu.nə/
Tap to reveal
Salut
Tap to reveal
Bună ziua
Tap to reveal
La revedere
Tap to reveal
Mulțumesc
Tap to reveal
Te rog / Vă rog
Tap to reveal
Da / Nu
Tap to reveal
Cum te cheamă?
Tap to reveal
Mă numesc…
Tap to reveal
Îmi pare bine
Tap to reveal

Grammar

The verb „a fi” (to be)

Romanian conjugates verbs by person. Here are the present forms of „a fi”.

  • eu sunt — I am
  • tu ești — you are (sing.)
  • el / ea este — he / she is
  • noi suntem — we are
  • voi sunteți — you are (pl.)
  • ei / ele sunt — they are

Special letters

ă sounds like the „a” in „about”. â and î sound the same — a closed central vowel. ș = „sh”. ț = „ts”.

  • mâncare = food
  • țară = country
  • ședință = meeting

Dialogue

Ana
Bună! Cum te cheamă?
Hi! What's your name?
John
Salut, mă numesc John. Tu?
Hi, my name is John. You?
Ana
Eu sunt Ana. Îmi pare bine.
I'm Ana. Nice to meet you.
John
Și mie. Mulțumesc!
Same here. Thanks!

Quiz

1.

How do you say „thank you” in Romanian?

2.

Which form means „we are”?

3.

The letter „ț” sounds like…

4.

„Bună ziua” is used…