Romanian (limba română) is the official language of Romania.

The name Romania, and its derivatives, come from the Latin word 'Romanus' (citizen of Rome),

a legacy of the Roman Empire who took control of ancient Dacia (today Romania) in 106 A.D.

Romanian retains a significant number of features of old Latin and also contains words taken from the surrounding Slavic languages, as well as from French, German, Greek and Turkish.

Romanian is actually easier for English speakers to understand than it is assumed. If you've studied other Romance language, such as Italian, Spanish, French or Portuguese, you may feel at home sooner than you think.

Romanian is a phonetic language, so words are pronounced as they are spelled.

Romanian holds the intriguing status of being the only Romance language spoken in Eastern Europe.

A foreigner trying to learn or speak Romanian can expect positive reactions from native speakers.

Most Romanian will certainly appreciate the fact that you are making an effort to speak their language.

Other languages used in Romania

English has quickly overtaken French as the country's second language, especially with the young people. Communicating in English in large towns in cities should not be a problem.

French and German can also be useful.

In the past, Romania had a sizable German minority population;

nowadays the number of native German speakers is declining

but German is still used by communities in southern Transylvania and in Banat (Western Romania).

Hungarian is widely used in Covasna and Harghita counties, in Eastern Transylvania.

15% to 35% of the population of some larger cities in Central and Western Romania (Târgu-Mureş, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Satu-Mare) speaks Hungarian.

Other Romance languages (especially Spanish and Italian) are also studied by most people in schools

and are therefore spoken with a pretty good level of fluency.

Pronunciation Guide

The Romanian alphabet has 31 letters, similar to the ones in the English alphabet,

with the exception of five special letters called 'diacritics':

ă (like the 'a' in English word 'musical'),

ș (pronounced as 'sh'),

ț (pronounced 'ts'),

â and î (have the same reading, without an English equivalent).

Certain letters (and letter combinations) are pronounced differently than they are in English.

Romanian Letters Pronunciation ă as in father î, â No English equivalent e as in tell i [e] as in pick j as in leisure ş as in shoe ţ [ts] as in fits ce as in check gi [dsi] as in gin ge [dse] as in gender chi [ki] as in skill che [ke] as in chemistry ghi [gi] as in give ghe [ge] as in guess

Useful Words / Phrases

ENGLISH ROMÂNĂ PRONUNCIATION Salutations Formule de salut Good morning. Bună dimineaţa. Boo-nuh di-mi-na-tsa Hello/Good day. Bună ziua. Boo-nuh zee-wa. Good evening. Bună seara. Boo-nuh sea-ra. Good-bye. La revedere. La rev-eh-de-ray Good night. Noapte bună. Nwap-te boo-nuh My name is . . . Numele meu este … Noo-me-le meu yes-te ... What is your name? Cum vă numiţi? Koom vuh noo-mits? How are you? Ce mai faceţi? Che may fa-chets I'm fine, thanks. Bine, mulţumesc. Bee-nay, mool-tsoo-mesk Do you speak English?

. . . Romanian? Vorbiţi englezeşte?

. . . româneşte? Vor-bits en-gle-zesh-te

. . . ro-mi-nesh-te Yes, a little.

No. Da, puţin.

Nu. Da, poo-tsin.

Noo. Please speak slowly. Vă rog, vorbiţi mai rar. Vuh rog, vor-bits may rar How do you say . . . ? Cum se spune . . . ? Koom se spoo-ne . . . ? Do you understand? Înţelegeţi? In-tse-le-jets I don't understand. Nu înţeleg. Noo in-tse-leg Please repeat it. Vă rog, repetaţi. Vuh rog, re-pe-tats I'm sorry. Îmi pare rău. Im pa-re rau Where are you staying? Unde staţi? Oon-de stats? I'm at the … hotel. Stau la Hotelul … Stau la ho-te-lool … Good / Very good. Bine / Foarte bine. Boon / Fwar-tay boo-na Maybe. Poate. Pwa-te Certainly. Sigur. Si-goor May I ? Se poate? Se pwa-te? Thank you. Mulţumesc. Mool-tsoo-mesk You're welcome Cu plăcere Koo pluh-che-re I don't know. Nu ştiu. Noo shtee-u I would like... Aş vrea... Osh vray-a ...and / or...... şi / sau... shee / sow I have / We have Am / Avem... Ahm / Ah-vum What are you doing? Ce faceţi? Che fa-chets I beg your pardon? Poftiţi? Pof-tits Excuse me... Scuzaţi-mă. . . Skoo-za-tsi ma Here... Aici... Ah-eech… There... Acolo... Ah-ko-lo Toward... Spre... Spreh…

DAYS OF THE WEEK ZILELE SĂPTĂMÂNII Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday luni

marţi

miercuri

joi

vineri

sâmbătă

duminică loon'

marts'

myer-koor'

zho'

vi-ner'

sîm-buh-tuh

doo-mi-ni-kuh

NUMBERALS NUMERALE zero zero ze-ro one unu oo-noo two doi doy three trei trey four patru pa-troo five cinci chinch' six şase sha-se seven şapte shap-te eight opt opt nine nouă no-wuh ten zece ze-che eleven unsprezece oon-spre-ze-che twelve doisprezece doy -spre-ze-che thirteen treisprezece trey -spre-ze-che fourteen paisprezece pay-spre-ze-che fifteen cincisprezece chinch '-spre-ze-che sixteen şaisprezece shay-spre-ze-che seventeen şaptesprezece shap-te-spre-ze-che eighteen optsprezece opt-spre-ze-che nineteen nouăsprezece no-wuh-spre-ze-che twenty douăzeci do-wuh zech' twenty-one douăzeci şi unu do-wuh-zech' shi oo-noo twenty-two douăzeci şi doi do-wuh-zech' shi doy thirty treizeci trey-zech' forty patruzeci pa-troo- zech' fifty cincizeci chinch'- zech' sixty şaizeci shay- zech' seventy şaptezeci shap-te- zech' eighty optzeci oot-zech' ninety nouăzeci no-whu-zech one hundred o sută o soo-tuh two hundred două sute do-wuh soo-te

MONTHS OF THE YEAR LUNILE ANULUI 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-ny July iulie yu-lye August august augoost September septembrie sep-tem-brye October octombrie ok-tom-brye November noiembrie no-yem-bry December decembrie de-chem-brye

AT THE HOTEL LA HOTEL I have a reservation. Am o rezervare. Am o re-zer-va-re. Do you have a double room?

. . . single Aveţi o cameră dublă?

. . . single A-vets o ka-me-ruh pen-troo do-wuh per-swa-me?

. . . o per-swa-nuh Do you have a room with a bath?

. . . a shower

. . . air conditioning

. . . twin beds Aveţi o cameră cu baie?



. . . duş

. . . aer condiţionat

. . . două paturi A-vets o ka-me-ruh cu ba-ye?

. . . doosh

. . . a-er kon-di-tsyo-nat

. . . do-wuh pa-toor' What is the rate per day? Cât costă pe zi? Kit kos-tuh pe zi? Is breakfast included? Micul dejun e inclus? Mic de-jun ye in-kloo-suh? Your name, please?

. . . address Numele dumneavoastră, vă rog?

Adresa . . . Noo-me-le doom-nea-vwas-truh, vuh-rog?

A-dre-sa . . . Please wake me up at 6 am. Vă rog, treziţi-mă la şase dimineaţa. Vuh rog, tre-zi-tsi-muh la sha-se di-mi-nea-tsa. On what floor is my room? La ce etaj e camera mea? La che e-tazh ye ka-me-ra mea? I need ice,

please

. . . . another blanket

. . . an electric fan

. . . a heater

. . . an iron

. . . a light bulb

. . . a pillow

. . . shampoo

. . . soap

. . . toilet paper

. . . a towel Am nevoie de gheaţă,

vă rog.

. . . încă o pătură

. . . un ventilator

. . . un reşou

. . . un fier de călcat

. . . un bec

. . . o pernă

. . . şampon

. . . săpun

. . . hârtie igienică

. . . un prosop Am ne-vo-ye de gea-tsuh,

vuh rog.

. . . in-kuh o puh-too-ruh

. . . oon ven-ti-la-tor

. . . oon re-shoh

. . . oon fyer de kuhl-kat

. . . oon bek

. . . o per-nuh

. . . sham-pon

. . . suh-poon

. . . hîr-tee-ye i-ji-e-ni-kuh

. . . oon pro-sop At what time is breakfast served? La ce oră se serveşte micul dejun? La che o-ruh se ser-vesh-te mi-kool de-zhoon? I'm leaving today. Plec astăzi. Plek as-tuhz'. Please call a taxi Vă rog, chemaţi un taxi. Vuh rog, ke-ma-tsim'oon ta-xi.

MONEY BANI Do you accept traveler's checks?

. . . credit card? Acceptaţi cecuri de călătorie?

. . . Carte de credit? Ak-chep-tats' che-koor' de kuh-luh-to-ri-ye?

. . . kar-tea as-ta de kre-dit Where is a foreign currency exchange?

. . . a bank Unde e un birou de schimb valutar?

. . . o bancă Oon-de ye oon bi-row de skimb va-loo-tar?

. . .o ban-ka What is today's exchange rate? Care e cursul de schimb astăzi? Ka-re ye koor-sool de skimb as-tuhz' Please change this to lei. Schimbaţi-mi în lei, vă rog. Skim-bats 'm in lay, vuh-rog

TRANSPORTATION TRANSPORT Where is the

. . . metro station?

. . . train station

. . . bus stop

. . . ticket office

. . . information desk

. . . exit to the street Unde e . . . ?

staţia de metrou

. . . gara

. . . staţia de autobuz

. . . casa de bilete

. . . biroul de informaţii

. . . ieşirea spre stradă Oon-de ye . . . ?

. . . sta-tsya de me-troh

. . . ga-ra

. . . sta-tsya de a-oo-to-booz

. . . ka-sa de bi-le-te?

. . . bi-ro-ool de in-for-ma-tsiy

. . . ye-shi-rea spre stra-duh How much is a

ticket ?

. . . one-way

. . . round-trip

. . . first-class

. . . second-class

Cât costă

un bilet ?

. . . dus

. . . dus - întors

. . . la clasa întâi

. . . la clasa a doua Kit kos-tuh

oon bi-let ?

. . . doos

. . . doos shi în-tors

. . . la kla-sa yn-tyi

. . . la kla-sa a do-wa Is there a special . . . rate?

. . . college students

. . . senior-citizens Există tarif redus pentru. . .?

. . . studenţi

. . . pensionari E-xis-tuh ta-rif re-doos

pen-tru . . .?

. . . stoo-dents'

. . . pen-syo-nar' Smoking or

non-smoking? Fumători sau

nefumători? Foo-muh-tor' sau

ne-foo-muh-tor'?

TRAIN TRAVEL CALATORIA CU TRENUL At what time does the train leave for…? La ce oră pleacă trenul spre …? La che o-ruh plea-kuh tre-nool / spre ...? At what time does the train get to …? La ce oră ajunge trenul la ...? La che o-ruh a-zhoon-je tre-nool la ...? Is there a . . . ?

. . . dining car

. . . sleeping car Există . . . ?

. . .vagon-restaurant

. . .vagon de dormit E-xis-tuh . . . ?

. . . va-gon res-ta-oo-rant

. . . va-gon de dor-mit

BY CAR CU MAȘINA Where can I rent a car? Unde pot închiria o maşină? Oon-de pot in-ki-rya o ma-shi-nuh? Do you know the road to? ştiţi drumul spre …? Shtiu droo-mool spre… ? Is the road good?

. . . bad Drumul e bun?

. . . prost Droo-mool ye boon?

. . . prost Which town does this road lead to? Spre ce oraş duce drumul ăsta? Spre che o-rash doo-che droo-mool uhs-ta How many kilometers to? Câţi kilometri sunt până la.... ? Kits' ki-lo-me-tri sint pi-nuh la ...? Could you direct me . . . ?

. . . to the next town

. . . to the highway

. . . to the parking lot Cum se ajunge . . . ?

. . . în următorul oraş

. . . pe autostradă

. . . la parcare Koom se a-zhoon-je . . . ?

. . . in oor-muh-to-rool o-rash

. . . pe a-oo-to-stra-duh

. . . la par-ka-re Is it far? E departe? Ye de-par-te? Could you direct me to...?

. . . a garage

. . . a gas station Cum se ajunge la . . . ?

. . . un garaj

. . . o benzinărie Koom se a-zhoon-je la ?

. . . oon ga-rash

. . . o ben-zi-nuh-ree-ye I need gasoline. Am nevoie de benzină. Am ne-vo-ye de ben-zi-nuh. Please fill the tank up. Vă rog, faceţi plinul. Vuh rog, fa-chets' pli-nool. Where can I find a mechanic? Unde pot găsi un mecanic? Oon-de pot guh-si oon me-ka-nik? Please repair . . .

. . . the tire

. . . the headlight Vă rog, reparaţi . . .

. . . cauciucul

. . . farul Vuh rog, re-pa-rats' . . .

. . . ka-oo-chyu-kool

. . . fa-rool How much will it cost? Cât costă? Kit kos-tuh? When will it be ready? Când e gata? Kind ye ga-ta?