Category: Romanian without Tears

Foreign language learning methods have changed dramatically in recent years, with some of the pundits even advocating the idea of completely doing away with grammar rules and focusing on genuine, authentic communication. However, we thought it was about time for you to get to grips with some grammar. Good old grammar, as they say. A satisfactory command of adverbial usage is important in Romanian, if you want to get your message across to your interlocutor.

acum = now

aici = here

acolo = there

ieri = yesterday

alaltăieri = the day before yesterday

astăzi (azi) = today

mâine = tomorrow

poimâine = the day after tomorrow

mereu /întotdeauna = always

niciodată = never

uneori = sometimes

în fiecare zi = every day

în fiecare dimineată = every morning

în fiecare seară = every evening

acum 3 zile (cu 3 zile în urmă) = three days ago

săptămâna aceasta (asta) = this week

anul acesta (ăsta) = this year

săptămâna trecută = last week

anul trecut = last year

săptămâna viitoare / următoare = next week

anul viitor / următor = next year

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

Acum am de scris un email

I have to write an email now.

In fiecare dimineata alerg 30 minute.

Every morning I go jogging for thirty minutes.

Last week I went to the mountains with my brother.

Saptamina trecuta am fost cu fratele meu la munte.

Last week I went to the mountains with my brother.

Poimiine o voi vizita pe matusa mea din Timisoara.

The day after tomorrow I will visit my aunt in Timisoara.

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

Today we invite you to discover or rediscover an interesting field of activity, namely astronomy. I don’t know about you but I’ve always been fascinated by stars, planets nebulas…you know, the macrocosm. While I was a kid I was very fond of a TV series about our universe hosted by American astronomer Carl Sagan.

Now I invite you to have a look at some words and expressions;

Planet Earth — Planeta Pamant

Star — Stea

Asteroid — Asteroid

The Moon — Luna

The Sun — Soarele

Telescope — Telescop

Astronomy — Astronomie

Meteorite — Meteorit

Star cluster — Roi de stele

Galaxy — Galaxie

Nebula – Nebuloasa

Now let’s put these words into phrases.

Our solar system comprises nine planets. Sistemul nostru solar are noua planete.

There are billions of stars in the universe — Sunt miliarde de stele in univers.

The Helix Nebula is one of the best-known nebulas in the universe. – Nebuloasa Helix este una dintre cele mai cunoscute in univers.

The asteroid belt is between the orbits of planet Mars and Jupiter. – Centura de asteroizi se afla intre orbitele planetelor Marte si Jupiter.

There is no life on Mars. — Nu exista viata pe Marte.

If your stay in Romania turns out to be longer than you may have planned it, you may wish to go to the marketplace to buy fruits and vegetables. As usual, we start with a series of useful words and phrases:

piata=market

Cumpara=buy

legume=vegetables

fructe=fruit

salata verde=fresh salad

varza=cabbage

morcovi=carrots

conopida=cauliflower

mere=apples

pere=pears

struguri=grapes

citiva, citeva=some

cheltui=spend

scump=expensive

ieri=yesterday

Now let us use some of these words in relevant communicative patterns.

Ieri, Catalin si Madalina au mers la piata.

Yesterday, Catalin and Madalina went to the market.

Au cumparat multe legume si fructe.

They bought lots of vegetables and fruits.

Intii au cumparat legume: salata verde, varza, morcovi si conopida.

First they bought vegetables: fresh salad, cabbage, carrots and cauliflower.

Dupa aceea au cumparat citeva fructe: mere, pere si struguri.

Then they bought some fruit: apples, pears and grapes.

Madalinei ii plac strugurii.

Madalina likes grapes.

Lui Catalin ii plac merele.

Catalin likes apples.

In total, Madalina si Catalin au cheltuit 80 Lei.

All told, Madalina and Catalin spent 80 lei.

Fructele au fost mai scumpe decit legumele.

Fruits were more expensive than the vegetables.

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 hubbub of Romania’s capital city Bucharest is often spiced up by the thrill of getting a taxi, if you want to make it in time to a rather remote destination .Today you’ll be presented with the simplest way of getting a taxi in Bucharest.

As usual, we begin with some relevant words and phrases

Masina=car

Taxi=taxi

Minute=minut

Secunda=second

Disponibil=available

Comanda=order

Astepta=wait

Afara=outside

Now let us use some of the words in meaningful sentences.

Bună ziua. As dori să comand un taxi la Universitate, Facultatea de Matematica.

Hello. I would like to order a taxi to the University, the Faculty of Mathematics.

Nu avem nici o masină disponibilă pentru această zonă.

I’m afraid we dont have any car available for this area.

Cum este posibil? Nici o masină pentru zona Universitătii?

How is it possible? No car available for the University area?

Pentru moment nu, ne pare rău. Numai dacă asteptati 10 minute.

No, for the time being, we are so sorry. Only if you wait for ten minutes.

Nu am timp. La revedere.

I dont have time. Good bye.

O secundă, să verific. Avem o masină disponibilă în 8 minute. Unde vreti să

mergeti?

Just a second, I want to check that. We have an available car in 8 minutes.

Where would you like to go?

La Piata Presei Libere.

To the Free Press Square

Numărul taxiului este 349.

The number of the taxi is 349.

Multumesc. Cât costă?

Thank you. How much does it cost?

20 de lei.

Twenty lei.

Vă multumesc.

Thank you.

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!

If you’re in Romania and you’ve made friends already, chances are that you may be invited over to a restaurant. Romanians like to have a good time. Today you’ll learn how to express your reactions if you happen to be in a restaurant. As usual, we begin with some useful words and phrases:

Delicious=delicious

Suficient=enough

Plin=full

Pofta buna=enjoy your meal!

A gati=cook

A comanda= order

Let us use some of the words and phrases in meaningful conversational exchanges.

A fost delicious.

That was delicious.

E delicious, dar sint plin.

It’s delicious, but I’m full.

E suficient, multumesc.

That’s enough, thank you.

Pofta buna!

Enjoy your meal!

Asta nu gatita cum trebuie!

This isn’ t properly cooked.

Nu am comandat asta.

We didn’t order this.

Nu maninc carne.

I don’t eat meat.

Putem minca?

Can we eat?

Putem lua micul dejun?

Can we have breakfast?

Aveti mincaruri vegatariene?

Have you any vegetarian dishes?

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 loads of contexts and situations where your survival Romanian proves crucial, if, let’s say,’ you’ve been invited over to a restaurant or a party and you need to mingle, or simply ask for directions. Here are some of the words you need to know.

Baie=bathroom

Brinza=cheese

Cafea=coffee

Ceai=tea

Friptura=steak

Toaleta=toilet

Vin=wine

Let us use some of the words and phrases in meaningful conversational exchanges.

Doreşti cafea?

Do you want some coffee?

Nu, mulţumesc. Aş dori un ceai.

No, thank you. I would like some tea.

Spuneţi-mi, vă rog, unde este toaleta?

Could you tell me, please, where is the toilet?

Toaleta este acolo.

The toilet is over there.

Spuneţi-mi, vă rog, unde este baia?

Could you tell me, please, where is the bathroom?

Baia este acolo.

The bathroom is over there.

Iţi place cafeaua?

Do you like coffee?

Da, foarte mult.

Yes, very much.

Îţi place vinul? Do you like the wine?

Da, îmi place.

Yes, I like it.

Îţi place brînza? Do you like cheese?

Nu, nu-mi place. No, I do not like it.

Pot să servesc nişte friptură?

Can I have some steak?

Da, poftim.

Yes, here it is.

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!

Romania’s capital city Bucharest boasts a wide range of clothes shops you can make your buy from, if your stay in Romania turns out to be longer than planned. You will learn some words for clothing and how to use them in a shop.

Here are some basic words for clothing:

Camasa=shirt

Pantaloni=trousers

Fusta=skirt

Ciorap=sock

Ciorapi=socks

Jacheta=jacket

Palarie=hat

Cizma=boot

Haina=coat

Esarfa=scarf

Cravata=tie

Marime=size

Rochie=dress

Blugi=jeans

Tricou=T-shirt

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

As dori sa cumpar o camasa si o pereche de pantaloni pentru tatal meu.

I would like to buy a shirt and a pair of trousers for my father.

As dori sa cumpar o perche de blugi pentru mine.

I should like to buy a pair of jeans for myself.

Ce marime aveti?

What size do you take?

Pentru sora mea, as dori sa cumpar o fusta si o rochie.

For my sister, I should like to buy a skirt and a dress.

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!

This year summer is very reluctant to set in in Romania and so far it has been unseasonably cold throughout the country. Today we’ll help you strike up a conversation about the weather, which should definitely make sense these days, when traveling to the seaside to enjoy the summer sun is just wishful thinking.

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

Vreme=weather

Schimbator, schimbatoare=changing

Ploi abundente=heavy rainfalls

Pe tot cuprinsul tarii=all over the country

Cer inchis=overcast skies

A se imbunatati= to improve, to get better

Now let us use some of the words and phrases in meaningful sentences.

Vremea este schimbatoare de mai bine de o luna.

The weather has been changing for more than a month now.

Ploi abundente s-au inregistrat pe tot cuprinsul tarii.

Heavy rainfalls have been reported al over the country.

Cerul este inchis, iar in zonele montane s-a inregistrat grindina.

The sky is overcast, and hailstorm has been reported for the mountain regions.

Maximele de astazi se situeaza intre 19 si 27 grade Celsius.

The highs of the day range from 19 to 27 degrees Celsius.

Sa speram ca vremea se va imbunatati in Romania

Let us hope weather will be getting better in Romania.

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!

This installment addresses music lovers and not only as anyone can encounter a situation where they might need to talk and know a couple of things about music and artists.

Let’s first have a look at a few words.

Music – Muzica

Composer – Compozitor

Music lover – Meloman

Concert – Concert

An Aria – O arie

A symphony — O simfonie

Pop Music — Muzica Usoara

Singer songwriter – Cantautor

A hit — Un slagar

Now let’s combine these words into some phrases:

Nu sunt pasionat de muzica populara. Traditional music is not exactly my cup of tea.

Imi place muzica simfonica — I am more into classical music

Acesta este compozitorul meu favorit – This is my favourite composer

In seara asta vom merge la concert — Tonight we’ll go to a concert

Aceasta arie celebra apartine lui Mozart — This famous aria belongs to Mozart.

Acum ascultam o sinfonie pentru violoncel si orchestra — Now we are listening to a symphony for cello and orchestra

Muzica usoara este foarte placuta — Pop music is very pleasant

Acest cantautor are multe slagare in repertoriul sau — This singer songwriter has many hits in his repertoire.

Hoping that we’ve helped you to improve your survival Romanian we’ll take our leave of you now. Until next week, it’s good bye. La revedere!

Despite the country’s difficult economic situation, the Romanians have always been keen on sports and especially on football, so today you’ll be presented with survival vocabulary, should you be in the position of striking up a conversation on football with a native Romanian.

As usual, we begin with some words and phrases:

Echipa=team

Fotbal=football

A placea=like

Va place= Do you like?

Iti place=Do you like?

A tine cu= support a team

Jucator preferat=best player

Antrenor=coach

Now let is use some of these words in useful communicative patterns:

Do you like football?

The distinction between formal and informal is morphologically marked in Romanian. So the formal version of the question is:

Va place fotbalul?

While the informal version goes something like:

Informal: iti place fotbalul?

Who do you support?

Formal: Cu cine tineti?

Informal: Cu cine tii?

Formal: Care este jucatorul dumneavoastra preferat?

Who is your best player?

Informal: Care este jucatorul tau preferat?

Tin cu Ciprian Marica

I support Ciprian Marica.

E un jucator bun.

He is a great player.

Nu imi place Mihai Niculescu.

I don’t like Mihai Niculescu

Nu este bun.

He is no good.

Antrenorul se numeste Gheorge Damian.

The coach is Gheorghe Damian.

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!

The language we speak today, contemporary Romanian, has its own history and its own cultural background. So today we thought we could come up with basic information about Romanian.

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

Limba Romana= Romanian language

Pe romaneste= in Romanian

Latina orientala=Oriental Latin

Evul Mediu=Middle Ages

Perioada pre-moderna= pre-modern period

Vocabular=vocabulary

Frecventa cuvintelor=word frequency

Influenta puternica=strong influence

Limba franceza=French language

Limba romanica=Romance language

Secolul al 19-lea= the nineteenth century

Now let us use some of the words and phrases in meaningful sentences.

Limba romana este o lImba romanica.

The Romanian language is a romance language.

Limba Romana a evoluat din Latina Orientala.

Romanian Language evolved from Oriental Latin.

Vocabularul Limbii romane este de origine latina.

The vocabulary of Romanian language has a Latin origin.

Cu toate acestea, o parte importanta din vocabularul Lmbii romane contine cuvinte slave.

However, a significant part of Romanian vocabulary includes Slavic words.

In secolul al 19 lea, limba franceza a avlt o influenta puternica asupra Limbii romane.

In the nineteenth century, French had a strong influence on Romanian.

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!

Today’s topic will be the celebration of Easter and related words.

Lets begin with some new notions:

– Easter = Paste

– holiday = sarbatoare

– to fast = a posti

– Lent = Postul Pastelui

– Good Friday = Vinerea Mare

– Palm Sunday = Florii

– mass = slujba

– lamb = miel

– hallowed = sfintit

– Holy Week = Saptamana Mare

Now, let’s use these words in sentences.

Easter is the most important Orthodox holiday.

Pastele este cea mai importanta sarbatoare ortodoxa.

Many people fast before Easter.

Multa lume posteste inainte de Paste.

Lent is the longest fasting period of the year.

Postul Pastelui este cel mai lung post al anului.

We will go to church on Good Friday.

Vom merge la biserica de Vinerea Mare.

People named after flowers celebrate on Palm Sunday.

Oamenii cu nume de flori sarbatoresc de Florii.

People are gathering for mass.

Lumea se aduna pentru slujba.

On Sunday we are having lamb.

Duminica mancam miel.

The faithful eat food hallowed by a priest during Holy Week.

Credinciosii mananca mancare sfintita de preot in Saptamana Mare.

From a cultural perspective, religion is fascinating. On Sunday, April 13, Palm Sunday is celebrated in the Orthodox tradition. In Romanian, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor, literally, the Flowers’ Sunday, since according to tradition, the Romanians use various other types of flowers, for this very important pre-Easter celebration.

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

Duminica Floriilor=Palm Sunday

Ramuri de palmier=palm branches

Floare=flower

Ramuri de smochin=fig branches

Ramura=branch

Sarbatori=commemorate

Asin=donkey

Salcie=willow tree

A imprastia=scatter

Now let us use some of the words in meaningful sentences”

Duminca Floriilor este o sarbatoare Crestina.

Palm Sunday is a Chrsitian feast.

Ea cade in duminica de dinaintea Pastelui.

It falls on the Sunday before Easter.

Duminica Floriilor sarbatoreste intrarea triumfatoare a lui Iisus in Ierusalim.

The feast commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Iiisus a intrat in Ierusalim calare pe un asin.

Jesus entered jerusalem riding a donkey.

In aceasta zi speciala, credinciosii poarta ramuri de palmier.

On that special day, worshippers carry palm branches.

Acum doua mii de ani, multimea imprastia ramuri de palmier dinaintea lui Iisus.

Two thousand years ago, the crowd scattered palm branches in front of Jesus.

In Romania, de Duminica Floriilor se folosesc ramuri de salcie, in loc de ramuri de palmier.

In Romania, on Palm Sunday, willow tree branches are used, instead of willow tree branches.

In traditia ortodoxa din Romania, cei cu nume de flori sint de asemenea sarbatoriti in Duminica Floriilor

According to Romanian Orthodox tradition, those with names of flowers are also celebrated on that day.

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

For those of you who want to take your command of Romanian further than the simple survival level, and want to study Romanian literature, we prepared some literary terms that might help you approach the study of modern and, why not, contemporary Romanian literature.

Here is a set of useful words and phrases:

Avangarda=avant-garde

Baroc=baroque

Curent literar=literary trend

Gen literar=literary genre

Intriga=plot

Parodie=parody

Poezie=poetry

Postmodernism=postmodernism

Punct culminant=Climax

Punct de vedere=point of view

Voce auctoriala=authorial voice

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

In Romania, avangarda literara include multi pictori si scriitori de autentica talie europeana.

In Romania, the literary avant-garde includes many painters and writers of a truly European standing.

Curentele literare ne ajuta sa intelegem mai bine o serie de romane, piese de teatru sau poezii.

Literary trends help us better understand novel, plays or poems.

Punctul culminant al unui roman este diferit de punctul culminant al unei piese de teatru sau de punctul culminant al unei povestiri.

The climax of a novel is different from the climax of a play, or from the climax of a short story.

Un gen literar are o serie de trasaturi specifice, ce se studiaza in cadrul cursului de teorie literara.

A literary genre has a series of specific characteristics, which are being studied as part of a course in Literary Theory.

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

For those of you who want to take your command of Romanian further than the simple survival level, and want to study Romanian literature, we prepared some literary terms that might help you approach the study of modern and, why not, contemporary Romanian literature.

Here is a set of useful words and phrases:

Avangarda=avant-garde

Baroc=baroque

Curent literar=literary trend

Gen literar=literary genre

Intriga=plot

Parodie=parody

Poezie=poetry

Postmodernism=postmodernism

Punct culminant=Climax

Punct de vedere=point of view

Voce auctoriala=authorial voice

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

In Romania, avangarda literara include multi pictori si scriitori de autentica talie europeana.

In Romania, the literary avant-garde includes many painters and writers of a truly European standing.

Curentele literare ne ajuta sa intelegem mai bine o serie de romane, piese de teatru sau poezii.

Literary trends help us better understand novel, plays or poems.

Punctul culminant al unui roman este diferit de punctul culminant al unei piese de teatru sau de punctul culminant al unei povestiri.

The climax of a novel is different from the climax of a play, or from the climax of a short story.

Un gen literar are o serie de trasaturi specifice, ce se studiaza in cadrul cursului de teorie literara.

A literary genre has a series of specific characteristics, which are being studied as part of a course in Literary Theory.

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