Radio România Internațional

Author: Eugen Nasta

  • Bucharest of yesteryear

    Bucharest of yesteryear

    In recent years, Romanias capital city Bucharest has been drawing a growing number of tourists, thanks to its rich history and vibrant cultural life, so today we introduce the capital city Bucharest to all our listeners.


    As usual, we begin with a series of useful words and phrases:


    de netagaduit = undoubtable


    atestare documentara = documentary evidence


    in marea lor majoritate= for their most part


    cladiri istorice = historical buildings


    stil architectonic = architectural style


    Bucuresti interbelic = inter-war period


    Now here are some meaningful sentences including part of the words and phrases above:


    Capitala Romaniei, Bucuresti, are o traditie istorica de netagaduit.


    Romanias capital city Bucharest has an undoubtable historical tradition.


    Orasul Bucuresti este atestat documentar din prima jumatate a secolului al 15-lea.


    Documentary evidence of the city Bucharest dates from the first half of the 15th century.


    In marea lor majoritate, cladirile istorice, cu un stil architectonic intru totul deosebit, pot fi vazute si astazi in central orasului.


    For their most part, the historical buildings, with a very special architectural style, can still be seen today in the city center.


    Casele construite in stil Neo-romanesc inca mai pastreaza parfumul Bucurestiului interbelic.


    The houses built in Neo-Romanian style still preserve the flavor of inter-war Bucharest.


    Thank you ALL for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with us. Good Bye! La revedere!




  • The summer season

    The summer season




    The sea, the sea…the summer season
    is in full swing in Romania. For all its decreasing popularity, the Romanian
    Black Sea coast still attracts lots of tourists who come from all over the
    country to spend a couple of days, or maybe more, on the Romanian seaside.


    Today we offer you basic vocabulary
    on tourism on the seaside.


    This summer=vara aceasta


    Secetos, secetoasa=droughty


    Mai secetos, mai secetoasa=droughty, droughtier


    Comparativ=as compared to


    Litoralul romanesc al Marii Negre =
    The Romanian Black sea coast


    Oferta turistica de anul
    acesta=this year’s tourist offer


    Turism de weekend=weekend tourism


    Dezvoltare spectaculoasa=spectacular
    growth


    Now here are some meaningful
    sentences including part of the words and phrases above:


    Vara aceasta a fost mai secetoasa,
    comparativ cu verile trecute.


    This summer was droughtier, as
    compared to previous summers.


    Pe litoralul romanesc, oferta turistica de anul acesta nu este neaparat mai
    bogata, ci mai scumpa fata de anul trecut.


    On the Romanian Black Sea coast,
    this year’s tourist offer is not necessarily more generous, but it is more
    expensive than last year.


    Pe litoralul romanesc, turismul de
    weekend s-a dezvoltat spectaculos in ultimii sase sapte ani.


    On the Romanian seaside, weekend
    tourism has seen a spectacular growth in the last six or seven years.


    Thank you ALL for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for
    being so keen on learning Romanian with us. Good Bye! La revedere!



  • Going shopping

    Going shopping




    Going shopping every day
    provides a good opportunity to practise basic Romanian, especially if you want
    to develop conversational exchange skills, if you need to buy food and drink.
    So today it’s a bunch of food and drink words you’ll be exposed to, in the
    hopes that you’ll be quick to acquire functional Romanian.


    As usual, we begin
    with a series of useful words and expressions:


    Brinza=cheese


    Cafea=coffee


    Carne=meat


    Cirnat=sausage


    Legume=vegetables


    Ou=egg



    Piine=bread

    Proaspat=fresh

    Salata=salad


    Sandvis=sandwich


    Sare=salt


    Suc=juice


    Unt=butter


    Vin=wine


    Now let us use
    some of the words and expressions in meaningful sentences:


    You can
    buy fresh vegetables for a reasonable
    price close to the place I live.


    Poti sa
    cumperi legume proaspete aproape de zona unde locuiesc eu.


    A strong
    coffee in the morning really gets me going.


    O cafea
    tare dimineata este intr-adevar revigoranta.


    Bread and
    butter used to be the staple food in our grandparents’ time.


    Pinea cu
    unt era mincarea de baza pe vremea bunicilor nostri.


    When I was a kid,
    my grandmother used to prepare a tomato-and-cheese sandwich for me to take to
    school.


    Cind eram copil,
    bunica imi pregatea un sandvis cu rosii si brinza pe care il luam cu mine la
    scoala.


  • Going shopping

    Going shopping




    Going shopping every day
    provides a good opportunity to practise basic Romanian, especially if you want
    to develop conversational exchange skills, if you need to buy food and drink.
    So today it’s a bunch of food and drink words you’ll be exposed to, in the
    hopes that you’ll be quick to acquire functional Romanian.


    As usual, we begin
    with a series of useful words and expressions:


    Brinza=cheese


    Cafea=coffee


    Carne=meat


    Cirnat=sausage


    Legume=vegetables


    Ou=egg



    Piine=bread

    Proaspat=fresh

    Salata=salad


    Sandvis=sandwich


    Sare=salt


    Suc=juice


    Unt=butter


    Vin=wine


    Now let us use
    some of the words and expressions in meaningful sentences:


    You can
    buy fresh vegetables for a reasonable
    price close to the place I live.


    Poti sa
    cumperi legume proaspete aproape de zona unde locuiesc eu.


    A strong
    coffee in the morning really gets me going.


    O cafea
    tare dimineata este intr-adevar revigoranta.


    Bread and
    butter used to be the staple food in our grandparents’ time.


    Pinea cu
    unt era mincarea de baza pe vremea bunicilor nostri.


    When I was a kid,
    my grandmother used to prepare a tomato-and-cheese sandwich for me to take to
    school.


    Cind eram copil,
    bunica imi pregatea un sandvis cu rosii si brinza pe care il luam cu mine la
    scoala.


  • Adjectival agreement in Romanian

    Adjectival agreement in Romanian




    Romanian is
    an inflection-rich language, so we bring you the basics on
    adjectival declension, in the hopes that getting the form of an adjective right
    improves your command communicative competence in Romanian.




    As usual, we begin with a series of
    useful words and phrases:




    Un scriitor talentat/o scriitoare
    talentata a talented writer


    Un prieten minunat/o prietena minunata
    a wonderful friend.


    In the genitive-dative, the forms are
    as follows: unui scriitor talentat/unei scriitoare talentate


    Unui prieten minunat/unei prietene
    minunate.




    Now let us use some of these words and
    phrases in meaningful sentences:




    Un scriitor
    talentat va reusi intotdeauna sa-si publice opera, oricit de greu ar fi.


    A talented writer will always succeed
    to get his work published, no matter how hard that might be.


    Unei scriitoare talentate ii este usor
    sa vorbeasca despre opera sa in public.


    A talented woman writer will find it
    easy to speak about her work in public.


    Mihai este un
    prieten minunat ; el iti va spune intodeauna unde gresesti.


    Mihai is a wonderful friend. He will
    always tell you when you are wrong.


    Pantru baietii ei,
    mama lor a reusit intotdeauna sa fie o prietena minunata.


    For her boys, their mother has always
    succeeded to be a wonderful friend.




  • Adjectival agreement in Romanian

    Adjectival agreement in Romanian




    Romanian is
    an inflection-rich language, so we bring you the basics on
    adjectival declension, in the hopes that getting the form of an adjective right
    improves your command communicative competence in Romanian.




    As usual, we begin with a series of
    useful words and phrases:




    Un scriitor talentat/o scriitoare
    talentata a talented writer


    Un prieten minunat/o prietena minunata
    a wonderful friend.


    In the genitive-dative, the forms are
    as follows: unui scriitor talentat/unei scriitoare talentate


    Unui prieten minunat/unei prietene
    minunate.




    Now let us use some of these words and
    phrases in meaningful sentences:




    Un scriitor
    talentat va reusi intotdeauna sa-si publice opera, oricit de greu ar fi.


    A talented writer will always succeed
    to get his work published, no matter how hard that might be.


    Unei scriitoare talentate ii este usor
    sa vorbeasca despre opera sa in public.


    A talented woman writer will find it
    easy to speak about her work in public.


    Mihai este un
    prieten minunat ; el iti va spune intodeauna unde gresesti.


    Mihai is a wonderful friend. He will
    always tell you when you are wrong.


    Pantru baietii ei,
    mama lor a reusit intotdeauna sa fie o prietena minunata.


    For her boys, their mother has always
    succeeded to be a wonderful friend.




  • Summer holiday options

    Summer holiday options


    Despite its predicament in terms of economy, Romanian is still rated as a beautiful country. The summer season is open to everybody, so we invite you to stay fit and climb our mountains and breathe the fresh air of the mountain woods.


    As usual, we begin with a series of useful words and phrases:


    Vacanta=holiday


    Urca=climb up


    Cobori=climb down


    Respira=breathe


    Aer curat=fresh air


    A se bronza=to get suntanned


    Carari de munte=mountain paths



    Let us use some of these words and phrases in meaningful sentences.


    Daca ati avea vacanta, ati putea face un tur prin Romania.


    If you were on holiday, you could take a tour of Romania.


    Ati putea veade o multime de locuri frumoase, de orase, fiecare cu ceea ce are specific.


    You could see a lot of beautiful places, a lot of cities, each with their own specific elements.


    Urcind si coborind pe jos, pe carari de munte, respirind aer curat, v-ati odihni cu adevarat.


    Climbing up and down, along mountain paths, breathing fresh air, you can really rest.


    La mare, v-ati bronza, ati inota, si ati putea face plimbari lungi pe plaja.


    At the seaside, you could get suntanned, you could swim, and you can take long walks on the beach.


    Orasul Cluj, in centrul Transilvaniei, este vestit pentru numeroasele lui institutii de invatamint si cultura.


    The city of Cluj, in central Transylvania, is famous for its numerous education and culture institutions.


    In Cluj ati putea vedea si vestita Gradina Botanca.


    In Cluj, you can also visit the famous Botanical Gardens.


    In Brasov, in centrul Romaniei, ati vedea Biserica Neagra.


    In the central Romanian city of Brasov, you can visit the famous Black Church.


    In Moldova, ati putea vizita manastirile pictate si Iasul cu universitatea sa renumita.


    In Moldavia, you could visit the painted monasteries and the city of Iassi, with its famous university.


    In Bucuresti, puteti vizita Ateneul Roman si Muzeul de Arta.


    In Bucharest, you could visit the Romanian Athenaeum and the Art Museum



    Thank you ALL for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with us. Good Bye! La revedere!




  • Romanian without tears

    Romanian without tears

    We have repeatedly
    said Romanian is an inflection-rich language, which means that, as a rule,
    there is an agreement between the modified noun and the adjectival modifier.
    However, there are quite a few adjectives that do not change their form. Some
    of them are derived from adverbs, while others are borrowed names of colours.


    Here are several
    such adjectives:


    Cumsecade=decent


    Roz=pink


    Gri=gray


    Albastru=blue


    Albastru-deschis=light
    blue


    Maro=brown


    Now let us use
    some of the adjectives above in meaningful, communicative patterns :


    Bunicul meu era un om cumsecade. A murit acum un
    an, iar eu inca ii simt lipsa.


    My grandfather
    was a decent man. He died one year ago, and I still miss him.


    In familia mea, surorile tatalui meu au fost femei
    foarte cumsecade.


    In my family, my
    father’s sisters were very decent women.


    Fiica mea si-a cumparat de curind un apartament si
    si-a varuit sufrageria in roz.


    My daughter has
    recently bought a flat and she had her living room painted in pink.


    Cladirile gri ale epocii comuniste inca mai pot fi
    vazute in orasele mari ale Romaniei.


    The grey
    buildings of the communist era can still be seen in all major cities across
    Romania.


    In ultimii ani
    ai vietii, bunica mea se imbraca doar in gri.


    In the last
    years of her life, my grandmother used to dress only in grey.


    Thank you all
    for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on
    learning Romanian with us. Good bye! La revedere!





  • Romanian without tears

    Romanian without tears

    We have repeatedly
    said Romanian is an inflection-rich language, which means that, as a rule,
    there is an agreement between the modified noun and the adjectival modifier.
    However, there are quite a few adjectives that do not change their form. Some
    of them are derived from adverbs, while others are borrowed names of colours.


    Here are several
    such adjectives:


    Cumsecade=decent


    Roz=pink


    Gri=gray


    Albastru=blue


    Albastru-deschis=light
    blue


    Maro=brown


    Now let us use
    some of the adjectives above in meaningful, communicative patterns :


    Bunicul meu era un om cumsecade. A murit acum un
    an, iar eu inca ii simt lipsa.


    My grandfather
    was a decent man. He died one year ago, and I still miss him.


    In familia mea, surorile tatalui meu au fost femei
    foarte cumsecade.


    In my family, my
    father’s sisters were very decent women.


    Fiica mea si-a cumparat de curind un apartament si
    si-a varuit sufrageria in roz.


    My daughter has
    recently bought a flat and she had her living room painted in pink.


    Cladirile gri ale epocii comuniste inca mai pot fi
    vazute in orasele mari ale Romaniei.


    The grey
    buildings of the communist era can still be seen in all major cities across
    Romania.


    In ultimii ani
    ai vietii, bunica mea se imbraca doar in gri.


    In the last
    years of her life, my grandmother used to dress only in grey.


    Thank you all
    for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on
    learning Romanian with us. Good bye! La revedere!





  • Romanian without tears

    Romanian without tears

    We continue our presentation of discourse
    markers as a means of introducing complex communicative patterns.


    As usual, here is a series of
    relevant words and phrases:


    Chiar daca=even if


    Cu toate ca=although


    In pofida faptului ca=despite the
    fact that


    Verisor, verisoara=cousin


    Subiecte= topics


    In totalitate=thoroughly


    In repetate rinduri=repeatedly


    A anunta=let somebody know


    Now let us use some of the
    phrases above in meaningful, communicative patterns.


    Chiar daca am invatat bine pentru
    examentul de lingvistica, tot mai ramin niste subiecte pe care nu le-am inteles
    in totalitate.


    Even if we properly prepared for
    the Linguistics exam, there are still a couple of topics left, which we have
    not thoroughly understood.


    Cu toate ca am invitat-o pe verisoara
    mea Cristina la mine in repetate rinduri, ea nu m-a anuntat niciodata daca
    doreste sa vina sau nu.


    Although I have repeatedly
    invited my cousin Cristina to my place, she never let me know if she wanted to
    come over or not.


    In pofida faptului ca mamei nu
    i-a placut niciodata de George, Adela s-a casatorit cu el acum trei saptamini.


    Despite the fact that mother
    never liked George, Adela married him three weeks ago.


    Thank you all for the interest
    you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with
    us.

  • Romanian without tears

    Romanian without tears

    We continue our presentation of discourse
    markers as a means of introducing complex communicative patterns.


    As usual, here is a series of
    relevant words and phrases:


    Chiar daca=even if


    Cu toate ca=although


    In pofida faptului ca=despite the
    fact that


    Verisor, verisoara=cousin


    Subiecte= topics


    In totalitate=thoroughly


    In repetate rinduri=repeatedly


    A anunta=let somebody know


    Now let us use some of the
    phrases above in meaningful, communicative patterns.


    Chiar daca am invatat bine pentru
    examentul de lingvistica, tot mai ramin niste subiecte pe care nu le-am inteles
    in totalitate.


    Even if we properly prepared for
    the Linguistics exam, there are still a couple of topics left, which we have
    not thoroughly understood.


    Cu toate ca am invitat-o pe verisoara
    mea Cristina la mine in repetate rinduri, ea nu m-a anuntat niciodata daca
    doreste sa vina sau nu.


    Although I have repeatedly
    invited my cousin Cristina to my place, she never let me know if she wanted to
    come over or not.


    In pofida faptului ca mamei nu
    i-a placut niciodata de George, Adela s-a casatorit cu el acum trei saptamini.


    Despite the fact that mother
    never liked George, Adela married him three weeks ago.


    Thank you all for the interest
    you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with
    us.

  • Romanian without tears

    Romanian without tears

    Agreeing and disagreeing
    are two language functions frequently used in spoken interaction, be it
    personal or social, so we have come up with the basics of respectfully
    agreeing or disagreeing with someone.


    Here is a bunch
    of words and phrases:


    A fi de acord =
    agree with


    A invata foarte
    bine= work really hard


    Cu tot
    respectful= with all due respect


    A nu fi de
    accord=to disagree


    A veni, a aaprea= show up, turn up


    Sint total/intru
    totul de acord cu tine= I couldn’t agree with you more


    Directie
    descendenta=downward trend


    In pofida/in
    ciuda=despite


    Optimist=bracing


    Now let us use
    some of the words in meaningful, communicative patterns.


    Nu sint de acord cu tine, pentru ca sora mea a
    invatat foarte bine pentru examenul de stilistica.


    I do not/I don’t
    agree with you because my sister worked really hard for the Stylistics exam.


    Cu tot respectul, nu sint de accord cu tine,
    pentru ca mama mea a avut tot timpul din lume sa lucreze cu tine, dar tu, pur
    si simplu, nu ai aparut.


    With all due
    respect, I disagree with you, because my mother had all the time in the world
    to work with you, but you simply didn’t turn up.


    Sint intru totul
    de acord cu tine; economia romaneasca se situeaza o directie descendenta, in
    pofida cifrelor optimiste publicate in ziare.


    I couldn’t agree
    with you more; the Romanian economy is on a downward trend, despite the bracing
    economic growth figures in the papers.


    That’s all we
    had time for in today’s Romanian without tears. Thank you all for the interest
    you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with
    us. Good Bye! La revedere!

  • Romanian without tears

    Romanian without tears

    Agreeing and disagreeing
    are two language functions frequently used in spoken interaction, be it
    personal or social, so we have come up with the basics of respectfully
    agreeing or disagreeing with someone.


    Here is a bunch
    of words and phrases:


    A fi de acord =
    agree with


    A invata foarte
    bine= work really hard


    Cu tot
    respectful= with all due respect


    A nu fi de
    accord=to disagree


    A veni, a aaprea= show up, turn up


    Sint total/intru
    totul de acord cu tine= I couldn’t agree with you more


    Directie
    descendenta=downward trend


    In pofida/in
    ciuda=despite


    Optimist=bracing


    Now let us use
    some of the words in meaningful, communicative patterns.


    Nu sint de acord cu tine, pentru ca sora mea a
    invatat foarte bine pentru examenul de stilistica.


    I do not/I don’t
    agree with you because my sister worked really hard for the Stylistics exam.


    Cu tot respectul, nu sint de accord cu tine,
    pentru ca mama mea a avut tot timpul din lume sa lucreze cu tine, dar tu, pur
    si simplu, nu ai aparut.


    With all due
    respect, I disagree with you, because my mother had all the time in the world
    to work with you, but you simply didn’t turn up.


    Sint intru totul
    de acord cu tine; economia romaneasca se situeaza o directie descendenta, in
    pofida cifrelor optimiste publicate in ziare.


    I couldn’t agree
    with you more; the Romanian economy is on a downward trend, despite the bracing
    economic growth figures in the papers.


    That’s all we
    had time for in today’s Romanian without tears. Thank you all for the interest
    you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with
    us. Good Bye! La revedere!

  • Complex interrogatives

    Complex interrogatives

    The ability to form complex sentences in Romanian lies, among other things, at the root of acquiring comprehensive communication skills. Being able to ask elaborated, complex questions in Romanian is a major achievement in activating one of the most important functions of the language.


    As usual, we begin with a bunch of useful words and phrases:


    A crede=think


    Traduce=translate


    Douazeci=twenty


    Efort=effort


    Olimpiada de matematica=Mathematics Olympiad


    A cistiga=win


    Tura de dimineata= morning shift


    Coafor=hairstylist


    Now let us use some of the words and phrases above in meaningful, communicative patterns:


    Cit timp crezi ca ti-ar lua sa traduci aceste douazeci de pagini?


    How long do you think it will take you to translate these twenty pages ?


    Cit de mult efort a depus sora ta pentru a cistiga Olimpiada de matematica pe judet, anul acesta?


    How much effort has your sister made in order to win the county mathematics Olympiad this year?


    Crezi ca ai putea sa imi iei locul in tura de dimineata miine? Am programare la coafor.


    Do you think you can take my place for the morning shift, tomorrow ? I have an appointment at the hairstylist.


    Thank you all for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with us. Good Bye! La revedere!



  • Basic discourse markers

    Basic discourse markers

    Basic discourse markers in Romanian will have to be correctly used if you want to express more complex language functions in this language, such as agreeing and disagreeing.



    Here are several useful words and phrases:


    In ceea ce ma priveste=as far as I’m concerned


    A merita=deserve


    In afara de asta=besides


    Scump=expensive


    Uniunea Scriitorilor= Writers’ Union


    Premiu=award


    Sint perfect/intru totul de accord cu tine=I perfectly agree with you/I couldn’t agree with you more



    Now let us use some of the words and phrases in meaningful, communicative patterns:


    In ceea ce ma priveste, nu cred ca volumul merita premiul Uniunii Scriitorilor pe anul 2015.


    As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think the book deserved the Writers’ Union Award in 2015.



    Nu cred ca o calatorie cu autocarul pina la Istanbul este foarte usoara. In afara de asta, biletele de autocar s-au scumpit in ultimele luni.


    I don’t think that a trip by coach to Istanbul is very easy. Besides, coach tickets have become expensive in the last couple of months.



    Mi-ai spus saptamina trecuta ca viata in Romania este foarte scumpa. Sint perfect de acord cu tine.


    Last week you told me life in Romania is very expensive. I perfectly agree with you/ I couldn’t agree with you more.



    Pe de alta parte, a te muta intr-o tara straina nu este atit de simplu.


    On the other hand, relocating to a foreign country is not so simple.



    Thank you ALL for the interest you take in Romanian culture, and for being so keen on learning Romanian with us. Good Bye! La revedere!