Yes, no and the essentials in Romanian
The small words that carry half of every conversation, and the ones that rescue it. Play the ten Romanian words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Romanian phrases in this lesson
- Dadah
- Yes
- Nunoo
- No
- BineBEE-neh
- Okay
- Nu înțelegnoo un-TSEH-leg
- I don't understand
- Vorbiți engleză?vor-BEETS eng-LEH-zuh
- Do you speak English?
- Puteți repeta?poo-TETS reh-peh-TAH
- Can you repeat that?
- Mai încet, vă rogmy un-CHET, vuh ROG
- Slowly, please
- Ce este asta?cheh YES-teh AHS-tah
- What is this?
- Am nevoie de...ahm neh-VOH-yeh deh
- I need...
- Mă puteți ajuta?muh poo-TETS ah-zhoo-TAH
- Can you help me?
Simple and clear. Romanian da sounds like the Russian and many other Slavic da, one of the Slavic vocabulary borrowings in this otherwise Romance language.
Also means "do not" and "not". Nu știu means I do not know. Nu, mulțumesc (noo mool-tsoo-MESK) is a polite "no thank you".
Literally "good" or "well", used as a general okay or affirmation. The borrowed okay (oh-KAY) is also widely used, especially among younger Romanians.
The î vowel is the same sound as â, a deep central "uh". Înțeleg comes from Latin intelligere. Use this and locals will almost always slow down or try another language.
The formal you form, appropriate for strangers. With friends: vorbești engleză (vor-BESHT). In cities and tourist areas, especially among younger people, English is widely spoken.
Literally "more slowly, please".