Romanian Phrasebook
This is a very basic collection of phrases that will be of use on a day-to-day
basis for those who like to add a little linguistic flavour to their persona.
The first section is the mandatory pronunciation guide, it will help not
only with the following phrases but with all the various names that are
used throughout this site. It is always easier to learn about a culture
and its history once you feel comfortable pronouncing the language.
The language in this phrasebook is modern Romanian. The primary difference
between "modern" and "medieval" Romanian is the Slavic content in the vocabulary
and the alphabet. Until 1859 Romanian was written in a form of Cyrillic
similar to Russian but was then switched to the current modified Roman
alphabet. During the first half of the twentieth century there was a movement
to re-Latinize the Romanian language so many of the older Slavic words
were replaced with Latinate equivalents. Considering the difficulty of
obtaining examples of the older Romanian I thought it would be easiest
to use modern Romanian for this phrasebook.
(Shortcut to the Phrasebook)
Pronunciation Guide
Don't let yourself be intimidated by this guide, it looks worse than
it is. A few minutes looking it over and you should get the feel of it.
It's probably bigger than it needs to be but I like to be thorough.
Romanian Alphabet
This is my adaptation of the standard Times New Roman font for the
purposes of portraying the Romanian language on our pages. It's not very
pretty but it is better than getting a specialized font that you would
also need to have to read these pages properly.
a a a^ b c d e f g h i i j k l m n o p q r s s
t t u v w x y z
a represents an a with a semi-circular curve above it
similar to the letter u.
a^ represents an a with a circumflex above it.
i represents an i with a circumflex above it.
s represents an s with a cedille below it.
t represents a t with a cedille below it
Vowels
|
Letter
|
Description
|
Example
|
Phonetics*
|
|
a
|
similar to father |
mare |
ma-re |
|
a
|
similar to cut |
buna |
boo-nuh |
|
e
|
between set and say |
carte |
kar-te |
|
i
|
stressed before a,e,i,o,u |
sotia |
so-tsee-ya |
|
unstressed in final position |
bani |
ban' |
|
elsewhere between pin and team |
mic |
mik |
|
ii
|
like i but longer |
ochii |
o-kiy |
|
i
|
similar to e in French je |
sint |
sint |
|
a^
|
same as i |
|
|
|
o
|
as in old |
port |
port |
|
u
|
as in you |
nu |
noo |
*Red script represents the stressed syllable.
Consonants
For the sake of brevity I'm only including those consonants that differ
from those of English.
| Letter |
Description
|
Example |
Phonetics |
|
c
|
before i, e like ch |
cine |
chi-ne |
|
elsewhere as k |
cheia |
ke-ya |
|
g
|
before i, e like jump |
girafa |
ji-ra-fuh |
|
elsewhere as in girl |
gheata |
gea-tsuh |
|
j
|
as in measure |
ajuta |
a-zhoo-ta |
|
s
|
as sh |
sapte |
shap-te |
|
t
|
as in pants |
tara |
tsa-ruh |
Vowel Combinations
| Letters |
Description
|
Example |
Phonetics |
|
eai
|
as in de-icer |
ceai |
chyiy |
|
eau
|
as in yowl |
vreau |
vryow |
|
ai
|
as in line, cry |
cai |
ky |
|
au
|
as in now |
dau |
dow |
|
au
|
as in "a room" |
rau |
rau |
|
ea
|
as in "San Andreas" |
seara |
sea-ra |
|
ei
|
as in prey |
lei |
lay |
|
eu
|
as in "pay you" |
leu |
layoo |
|
ia
|
as in yak |
Iacob |
Ya-kob |
|
ie
|
as in yet |
copie |
ko-pye |
|
io
|
as in beyond |
luati-o |
lwa-tsyo |
|
iu
|
as in yule |
iulie |
yu-lye |
|
as in into |
stiu |
shtiu |
|
ii
|
as in hurry |
piine |
pii-ne |
|
oa
|
as in radioactive |
foame |
fwa-me |
|
oi
|
as in boy |
doi |
doy |
|
ou
|
as in show |
resou |
re-shoh |
|
ua
|
as in won |
oua |
o-wuh |
|
ui
|
as in "blew it" |
pui |
pui |
The Phrasebook
This is a very basic phrasebook. I've listed only those
phrases that I think will be of the most use while in persona plus a few
extra just for interests sake. If there is something specifically that
you need but don't find here drop
me a line and I'll see what I can do. To really get a feel for the
pronunciations you should go to your local library and pick up one of those
Teach Yourself Romanian tapes. That's what I did and where I got the information
for this phrasebook.
 |
Salutations |
|
Introductions |
|
Everyday Expressions |
|
Time |
|
Proverbs |
| Salutations |
Formule de Salut |
| English |
Romanian |
Pronunciation |
| Good day. |
Buna ziua. |
Boo-nuh zee-wa  |
| Good morning. |
Buna dimineata. |
Boo-nuh di-mi-nea-tsa |
| Good evening. |
Buna seara. |
Boo-nuh sea-ra |
| Good night. |
Noapte buna. |
Nwap-te boo-nuh |
| Welcome. |
Bine ati venit. |
Bi-ne ats'
ve-nit |
| Goodbye. |
La revedere. |
La re-ve-de-re |
| English |
Romanian |
Pronunciation |
| My name is Vlad. |
Numele meu este Vlad. |
Noo-me-le meu
yes-te Vlad. |
| What is your name? |
Cum va numiti? |
Koom vuh noo-mits' |
| How are you? |
Ce mai faceti? |
Che mai fa-chets' |
| I'm fine, thanks. |
Bine, multumesc. |
Bi-ne mool-tsoo-mesk |
| Everyday Expressions |
Expresii Uzuale |
| English |
Romanian |
Pronunciation |
| Yes. |
Da. |
Da |
| No. |
Nu. |
Noo |
| OK. |
Bine. |
Bi-ne |
| Really? |
Adevarat? |
A-de-vuh-rat |
| Please. |
Va rog. |
Vuh rog |
| Thank you very much. |
Multumesc foarte mult. |
Mool-tsoo-mesk fwar-te
moolt |
| You're welcome. |
Cu placere. |
Koo pluh-che-re |
| Don't mention it. |
Nu aveti pentru ce. |
Noo a-vets'
pen-troo che |
| It's fine. |
E bine. |
Ye bi-ne |
| Certainly. |
Sigur. |
Si-goor |
| Maybe. |
Poate. |
Pwa-te |
| Good luck! |
Succes! |
Sook-ches |
| Be careful. |
Aveti grija |
A-vets' gri-zhuh |
| I'm sorry. |
Imi pare rau. |
Im' pa-re rau |
| I don't understand. |
Nu inteleg. |
Noo in-tse-leg |
| Excuse me. |
Scuzati-ma. |
Skoo-za-tsi-muh |
| What are you doing? |
Ce faceti? |
Che fa-chets' |
| Please sit down. |
Va rog sa luati loc. |
Vuh rog suh lwats' lok |
| Can you help me? |
Ma puteti ajuta. |
Muh poo-tets' a-zhoo-ta |
| Thank you for your help. |
Multumesc pentru ajutor. |
Mool-tsoo-mesk pen-troo a-zhoo-tor |
| Bravo, hurray, etc. |
Halal |
Ha-lal |
| Respectful greeting to women or elders. (Literally, "I kiss your hand.") |
Sarut mina. |
Suh-root mi-na |
| English |
Romanian |
Pronunciation |
| Monday |
Luni |
Loon' |
| Tuesday |
Marti |
Marts' |
| Wednesday |
Miercur |
Myer-koor |
| Thursday |
Joi |
Zho' |
| Friday |
Vineri |
Vi-ner' |
| Saturday |
Simbata |
Sim-buh-tuh |
| Sunday |
Duminica |
Doo-mi-ni-kuh |
| January |
Ianuarie |
Ya-nwa-rye |
| February |
Februarie |
Fe-brwa-rye |
| March |
Martie |
Mar-tye |
| April |
Aprilie |
A-pri-lye |
| May |
Mai |
May |
| June |
Iunie |
Yu-nye |
| July |
Iulie |
Yu-lye |
| August |
August |
Au-goost |
| September |
Septembrie |
Sep-tem-brye |
| October |
Octombrie |
Ok-tom-brye |
| November |
Noiembrie |
No-yem-brye |
| December |
Decembrie |
De-chem-brye |
| What time is it? |
Cit e ceasul? |
Kit ye chea-sool |
Visit the links below to hear live radio broadcasts from Romania. An
excellent chance to actually hear the language being spoken by natives.
These sites require the Realplayer plug-in in order to hear the broadcasts.
You can dowload Realplayer for free at
their website.
Radio
Romania - Bucharest
Radio
Sud - Craiova
Radio
Horion - Craiova
Proverbs
I have only included three proverbs here because
I know that they are fairly old if not actually period. The third proverb
has become something of the Romanian motto and represents very well the
pride and determination of the Romanian people. Visit the Romanian-English
Dictionary of Proverbs for a considerably larger listing.
| Romanian |
Translation |
| Cine vorbeste multe, ori stie multe, ori minte multe. |
Literally: Who talks alot either lies alot or knows alot. (i.e.
Talk is cheap.) |
| Cine nu deschide ochii deschide punga. |
Who doesn't open his eyes opens his purse. |
| Apa trece, pietrele ramin. |
The water flows, the rocks remain.
This refers to the invaders that have come and gone through Romania
over the centuries and through it all the Romanians have survived. |
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