Greetings and politeness in Romanian
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on. 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 11 Romanian phrases in this lesson
- Bună ziuaBOO-nuh ZEE-wa
- Hello
- Bună dimineațaBOO-nuh dee-mee-NYA-tsa
- Good morning
- Bună searaBOO-nuh SYAH-rah
- Good evening
- La revederela reh-veh-DEH-reh
- Goodbye
- Ne vedemneh VEH-dem
- See you
- Vă rogvuh ROG
- Please
- Mulțumescmool-tsoo-MESK
- Thank you
- Cu plăcerekoo pluh-CHEH-reh
- You're welcome
- Îmi pare răuum PAH-reh RUH-oo
- Sorry
- Scuzați-măskoo-ZA-tsee muh
- Excuse me
- Încântat de cunoștințăun-kun-TAT deh koo-nosh-TEEN-tsuh
- Nice to meet you
The standard polite greeting for the daytime. Use it with strangers, in shops, and with anyone you address formally. The formal pronoun dumneavoastră (doom-nyah-VWAS-truh) pairs with this register.
Used until around 10 or 11 in the morning. The ț is a ts sound, like in "bits". Dimineața has a definite article baked in, so it literally means "good the morning".
Takes over from bună ziua in the evening.
The standard goodbye, equivalent to "until we see each other again". Casual alternatives are pa (pah) or pa-pa (pah-pah), which sounds childlike but adults use freely.
Literally "we see each other". Friends also say pa (pah). La revedere is the polite goodbye.
The polite please, literally "I beg you" in the formal register. With friends use te rog (teh ROG). Adding it to any request immediately sounds more natural and warm to Romanian ears.
The full thank you. "Mersi" (mer-SEE), borrowed from French, is the casual everyday one.
Literally "with pleasure". Another common response is pentru nimic (PEN-troo NEE-meek), for nothing. Either works in any setting.
Literally "it seems bad to me", the real apology.
The formal excuse me, for getting attention or squeezing past someone. With friends, scuze (SKOO-zeh) is enough. The ț again makes a ts sound.
Literally "delighted by the acquaintance". A woman says încântată.