Category: Romanian without Tears

Each end very foreigner traveling to Romania is cautioned about how expensive the taxi fare is, or about how to be very careful when you negotiate your taxi fare with the driver BEFORE you get into his taxi. For all the suspicion and the negative reputation hovering over taxi drivers in Bucharest, things have changed for the better, and at present, chances are that you’re not going to pay a rip-off price if you chose to take a taxi in Romania’s capital city. In this lesson, we present you with the basic conversation patterns used when approaching a taxi driver in Bucharest.

We begin with a series of useful words and phrases:

Liber=available

Merge=to go

Unde mergem=where to?

Taximetrist=taxi driver

Blocul galben=the yellow block of flats

Calea Victorie=Victoria Road

A duce=take

Lucra=work

And here some of the words above used in meaningful, communicative patterns:

Sinteti liber?

Are you available?

Unde mergem, domnule ?

Where to, sir?

Unde mergem, doamna?

Where to, ma’am?

As dori sa ma duceti in Calea Victoriei nr 23.

Please take me to 23 Victoria Road.

Lucrez ca taximetrist doar de trei luni.

I’ve only been working as a taxi driver for three months.

Mi-ati putea spune dumneavoastra unde anume este locul unde doriti sa ajungeti?

Could you tell me where exactly the place you’d like to go to is?

Este blocul galben de linga cladirea Bancii Comerciale Romane.

It’s the yellow block of flats near the Romanian Commercial Bank building.

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!

Not only is Romanian a difficult language for non-native speakers, but also it has a very special morphology. Changes in the stressed syllable can bring about morphophonemic alternations. Here are the basics on vowel mutation in Romanian, which is a fundamental characteristic in the case of nouns, adjectives, verbs, possessive pronouns or possessive adjectives.

First here is a list of useful words and phrases:

Avion/avioane=plane, planes

Camion/camioane=trucks, trucks

Izvor/izvoare=water spring, water springs

Frumos/frumoasa=beautiful

Orb/oarba=blind

Mor/moarte=dead, death

Cobor/coboara=I descend he/she descends

Al nostru/ a noastra=our /ours

And here are some of the words above, included in meaningful, communicative patterns:

Ieri am vazut un avion pe cer.

Yesterday I saw an airplane in the sky.

Baiatul meu este pasionat de avioane.

My boy is passionate about airplanes.

Unchiul meu si-a cumparat un camion nou.

My uncle bought a new truck.

Un convoi umanitar alcatuit din 30 camioane se indreapta spre Albania.

A 30-truck humanitarian convoy is heading towards Albania.

Tatal meu m-a rugat sa il ajut sa coboare din masina.

My father asked me to help him get off his car.

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!

Courtship is universal, but each and every language
has its own way of encoding courtship. In this lesson, you will learn how to
approach someone you care for, in the hopes that you can get closer to that
person, be they a man or a woman.

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

Cana de ceai=cup of tea

Servi=have

Go for a walk=a face o plimbare

Go out=a iesi in oras

Miercuri seara= Wednesday evening

Would you like( to)=Ai dori/vrea sa?

Saptamina aceasta=this week

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

Ai dori sa servesti o cana de ceai?

Would you like to have a cup of tea?

Ai dori sa faci o plimbare in parc duminica?

Would you like to go out for a walk in the park on
Sunday?

Vrei sa iesim impreuna se servim un pahar de vin
miercuri seara?

Do you want to go out for a
glass of wine Wednesday evening?

Ai dori sa servim masa impreuna saptamina aceasta?

Would you like to have lunch together this week?

Poti sa-mi dai numarul tau de telefon, te rog?

Can I have your phone number please?

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!

Communication exchange in Romanian is not that simple to master, all the more so since Romanian is an inflection-rich language. In this lesson, you will learn how to ask for clarification in a communication exchange.

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

Vorbi=speak

Tare=loud

Mai tare=louder

Te rog/va rog=please

Urmari=follow

Spune=say

Invata=learn

Strain=foreigner

Uimi=amaze

Vorbitor nativ=native speaker

Let us use some of the words above in meaningful, communicative patterns.

Puteti/poti vorbi putin mai tare, va/te rog?

Could you speak a little bit louder, please?

Incerc sa urmaresc tot ceea ce spuneti/spui.

I am trying to follow everything you say.

Sint englez. Am invatat Limba romana ca un strain.

I am English. I learned Romanian as a foreigner.

Ma uimiti. Vorbiti Romaneste ca un vorbitor nativ.

You’re amazing me. You speak Romanian like a native speaker.

Nu este suficient doar sa poti vorbi romaneste. Trebuie sa poti vorbi corect.

It’s not enough just to be able to speak Romanian. You need to speak correctly.

Puteti/poti repeta ceea ce ati spus?

Could you repeat what you’ve just said?

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!

Word order and adverbial usage are still a stumbling block for a non-native speaker of English. Things are the same with a foreign speaker of ROMANIAN, so our lesson, as an absolute first in our series, offers you the basics about adverbs and how to use them in Romanian.

Here are some words and expressions:

Barbateste= manly/manfully/like a man

Frateste= brotherly/ fraternally

Romaneste=Romanian

Omeneste=humanely

Copilareste= childishly

Ruseste= Russian

Englezeste=English

Please note that most of the Romanian adverbs above have a suffix -este, which is being added to nouns denominating human beings or human attributes.

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

Bunicul meu a fost in stare sa suporte greutatile vietii barbateste.

My grandfather was able to endure the hardships of life like a man.

Iubirea fratesca nu prea este apreciata in societatea globala a zilelor noastre.

Brotherly love is not much appreciated in todays global society.

Potrivit Conventiei de la Geneva, prizonierii de razboi trebuie tratati omeneste.

According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war must be treated humanely.

Barbatii indragostiti se poarta adeseori copilareste.

Men in love quite often behave childishly.

Cind eram elev de liceu, stiam sa vorbesc ruseste destul de bine.

When I was a high-school student, I could speak Russian quite well.

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!

One of the main difficulties a foreign speaker of Romanian is faced with is related to prepositional usage. Pe is most commonly used in Romanian and covers a wide range of language levels, from common and proper nouns to set phrases, which for their most part are idiomatic expressions. Our lesson introduces you to the basic usage forms of Pe, which, in grammatical parlance, is mainly a prepositional marker for the direct object.

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

Profesor=teacher

Vedea=see

Aseara=last night

Nesimtit=bastard

[A se] comporta=behave

[A se] desparti=break up

Sti=know

Pisicuta=kitty

Iepuras=bunny

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

Il caut pe profesorul de fizica.

I am looking for the Physics teacher.

Am vazut-o aseara pe Isabella.

I saw Isabella last night.

L-ai auzit pe nesimtitul ale de Mihai?

Did you hear that bastard Mihai?

Se comporta ca si cum n-ar sti ca Angela si Marian s-au despartit.

He behaved as if he didn’t t know Angela and Marian broke up!

O iubesti pe pisicuta? Dar pe iepuras?

Do you love the kitty? How about the bunny?

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!

Making an inference in Romanian using the word daca/if, or simply using daca/if in order to express wishes, which basically corresponds to the well-known if clauses in English will improve your capacity to strike up a conversation in Romanian and elaborate on more complex conversation patterns. In this lesson you will be presented with some most frequently used sentences introduced by if.

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

A se prezenta=turn up /show up

Ajuta=help

Ezitare=hesitation

Gasi= find

Servici=job

In alta parte=elsewhere

A avea grija de=to take care of

Oferta=offer

A se hotari=make up one’s mind

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

Daca as putea sa te ajut, as face-o fara nici cea mai mica ezitare.

If I could help you I would do it without the slightest hesitation.

Daca nu vrea sa se prezinte la interviu, inseamna ca si-a gasit deja un servici in alta parte.

If he doesn’t want to show up for the interview, it means he has already found a job elsewhere.

Daca ai avea mai multa grija de tine, starea ta de sanatate s-ar imbunatati foarte mult.

If you took care more of yourself, your condition will improve very much.

Daca nu ti-a raspuns la mesajul email pina acum, inseamna ca nu s-a hotarit inca daca trebuie sa accepte oferta ta.

If he hasn’t answered your email so far, it means he has not yet made up his mind as to whether he should accept your offer.

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!

There are many ways to warm up a conversation in Romanian, ranging from set phrases or expressions to lengthy, complex questions, inviting your prospective interlocutor to develop on a certain topic as he is spoken to. Today we you will be exposed to some of the most frequent such questions you may find useful in a conversation with a Romanian native speaker.

Here is a series of basic words and phrases:

Striga=scream

Sport=sport

Calatori=travel

Neobisnuit/nebunesc=crazy

Cel mai neobisnuit=craziest

Important=great

Cel mai important=greatest

A intilni pe cineva/a face cunostinta cu cineva= to meet someone

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

questions eliciting a complex answer:

Pe unde ai calatorit?

Where have you traveled?

Ce sporturi ai practicat pina acum?

What sports have you played?

Care este cel mai frumos loc in care ai fost vreodata?

Where is the best place you have ever been?

Acre este cel mai neobisnuit/nebunesc lucru pe care l-ai facut vreodata?

What’s the craziest thing you have ever done?

Ai tipat vreodata la cineva in public?

Have you ever screamed at someone in public?

Care este cea mai importanta personalitate pe care ai cunoscut-o vreodata?

Who is the greatest person you have ever met?

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!

Temporal expressions in Romanian make a very broad spectrum. Getting such expressions right and mastering them allows you to make your communication more accurate in Romanian. In this lesson you will learn how to correctly use such phrases.

As usual, we begin with a series of basic expressions:

O data la doua zile=once in two days

Cu citava vreme in urma= sometime ago

Zilnic=daily

Ieri =yesterday

Alaltaieri=the day before yesterday

Cu multa vreme in urma= a long time ago

In trecut=in the past

In trecutul indepartat=in the distant past

Deja=already

Now let us use some of these expressions in meaningful, communicative patterns:

O data la doua zile, ies in parc pentru jogging.

Once in two days I go out jogging in the park.

Cu citava vreme in urma, fratele meu mergea la sala de forta, pentru antrenamente zilnice.

Sometime ago, my brother used to go to the gym for his daily training sessions.

Ieri, tot orasul era plin de biciclisti care militau pentru o capital europeana curata.

Yesterday, the whole city was full of cyclists who were cycling for a clean European capital.

Fratele meu doreste sa-si imbunatateasca franceza rapid, asa ca ia lectii particulare zilnic.

My brother wants to improve his French rapidly, so he takes private lessons daily.

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!

Spoken language is flexible and dynamic. However, even a native speaker of Romanian cannot master the whole range of expressions and phrases used when you want to approach somebody, make friends or warm up the conversation with somebody you have just met. In this lesson you be presented with some of the most frequently used such phrases.

Here is a bunch of basic expressions:

Bine =Allright

Bine=Okay

Da, desigur!=Yes, of course!

Bineinteles ca nu!=Of course not!

Glumiti! =Youre joking! Formal

Glumesti! =Youre joking! Informal

Hows it going? =Cum sinteti?

Nici vorba! = No way!

Care este adresa ta de email? = What is you email address?

Iata adresa mea de email = Here is my email address

And here are some meaningful communicative patterns including some of the phrases above:

Ai vrea sa ne vedem mai tirziu la o cafea?

Da, desigur!

Would you like to join me later for a cup of coffee?

Yes, of course!

Din cauza unor probleme, va exista interdictia de a merge in oras dupa ora 10 pm.

Glumiti! Traim intr-un oras europan.

Because of some problems, there will be a curfew, which means we should not be outdoors after 10pm.

You’re joking!We live in a European city.

Cum sinteti ? Nu v-am mai vazut in parc in ultima vreme.

How’s it going? I haven’t seen you in the park lately.

Ati vrea sa aveti grija de catelul nostru cit sintem plecati in vacanta?

Nici vorba!

Would you like to look after our puppy while we’re away on holiday?

No way!

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!

For quite a few years now, the printed as well as the social media in Romania have been the whistleblowers as regards the country’s poor road infrastructure. Today you will learn some of the road-related words.

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

drum=road

infrastructura=infrastructure

strada=street

alee=alley

autostrada=motorway

drum national=national road

drum judetean=county road

trotuar=sidewalk

trecere de pietoni=pedestrian crossing

semafor=traffic light

a conduce=drive

a merge pe jos=walk

banda=lane

sens unic=one-way

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

The totality of roads is called infrastructure.

Totalitatea drumurilor se numeste infrastructura.

I have to find this street.

Trebuie sa gasesc strada aceasta.

I parked my car on an alley.

Mi-am parcat masina pe o alee.

They are building a new motorway.

Se construieste o noua autostrada.

National roads are wider than county roads.

Drumurile nationale sunt mai late decat drumurile judetene.

Motorways have no sidewalks.

Autostrazile nu au trotuare.

The intersection is equipped with traffic lights.

Intersectia este dotata cu semafoare.

Walking is cheaper than driving.

Mersul pe jos este mai ieftin decat condusul.

This is a one-way street.

Aceasta este o strada cu sens unic.

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!

Romanians are obsessed with diet, and staying healthy largely depends on the amount of fruit you eat, so in this lesson you will be presented with words denominating fruit.

As usual, we start with several useful words and phrases:

capsuna=strawberry

mar=apple

para=pear

pruna=plum

cireasa=cherry

visina=sour cherry

portocala=orange

lamiie=lemon

piersica=pear

caisa=apricot

ananas=pineapple

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

Visinele sint ideale pentru prepararea unei salate de fructe racoritoare.

Sour cherries are ideal for making a refreshing fruit salad.

Bautura traditionala facuta din prune sau pere este cunoscuta drept tuica in Romana.

The traditional plum brandy made of plums or peas is known as tuica in Romanian.

You can buy the best apricot jam in the supermarket across the street.

Poti cumpara cel mai bun gem de caise in supermarketul de vizavi.

Fratelui meu ii place sa manince capsune cu zahar.

My brother likes to eat strawberries with sugar.

Ciresele sunt fructul meu preferat.

Cherries are my favourite fruit.

Ananasul este fructul ideal intr-o cura de slabire.

The pineapple is the ideal fruit in a slimming diet.

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!

These days, any foreigner who wants to learn authentic Romanian will pay little heed to grammar patterns and rules. However, today it’s…good old grammar again, as mastering the reflexive form of the verb poses real problems for non-native speakers of Romanian.

For starters, here are several useful words and phrases:

A se gindi=think

A se spala= wash

A se uita=look

A se minuna=wonder

Since the verb paradigm in the reflexive voice is rich and significantly differs from one person to another, both in the singular and the plural, here is the present simple reflexive paradigm for the verb a se minuna:

Eu ma minunez=I wonder

Tu te minunezi =You wonder

El se minuneaza =He wonders

Ea se minuneaza =She wonders

Noi ne minunam= We wonder

Voi va minunati=You wonder

Ei se minuneaza =They wonder

Ele se minuneaza=They wonder

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

Eu ma gindesc cu nostalgie la anii de liceu.

I am nostalgic when I think about my high school years.

Tu te gindesti la mama ta ori de cite ori calatoresti in strainatate.

You think about your mother whenever you travel abroad.

Tu te speli pe miini in fiecare zi, inainte de a minca micul dejun.

You wash your hands every day before you have breakfast.

El se uita cu admiratie la noua lui masina.

He ‘s looking at his new car admiringly.

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!