ROMANIAN PHRASE GUIDE
(spelling attempted according
to phonetic sound; accents mark stressed syllables)
Romanian is a language of
Latin origin, whose grammatical structure and the majority of words are
basically Latin.
The Romanian people and
language were born in the last centuries of the 1st millennium, on the
country's present territory, as a result of the Romanization of the indigenous
Dacian population, and the gradual assimilation of Slav and other elements.
Slav influence, however, has remained small; the proportion of Latin words in
Romanian is 60%; in everyday speech
more than 80%.
From the 19th century
onwards, Romanian began to borrow words of international usage, especially in
the technical and scientific vocabulary.
The Greek and then the Roman
alphabets were used in Romania, until around the 10th century when the Cyrillic
alphabet was introduced into Romania, based on the Greek alphabet and the Slav
language, which was the language of culture in general.
Romanian was written in
Cyrillic alphabet since around 1500, until 300 years later, with a few attempts
to reintroduce the Latin letters in the 16th and 18th centuries; in 1780 a
Romanian Grammar was printed in Latin alphabet. This was followed by a period
of transition when a Cyrillic‑Latin alphabet was used, which was officially and
finally changed to the Latin one in 1860, after the Union of the Romanian
Principalities under Prince Cuza. After various stages of perfectionization,
the present Romanian writing is that stabilized by the Academy of the Socialist
Republic of Romania and approved by the Council of Ministers in 1953, with
additions in 1965.
General
|
|
|
Goodbye and see you later |
la re-ve-dé-re |
|
good morning |
buna di-mi-nea-tza |
|
good day |
buna zi-ua |
|
good evening |
buna sea-ra |
|
good night |
noapte bu-na |
|
please |
te rog |
|
thank you |
multzu-mesc |
|
sorry, or excuse me |
par-don |
|
help |
ajutor |
|
stop |
stop |
|
yes |
da |
|
no |
nu |
Time
|
|
|
day |
zi |
|
yesterday |
ier(i) |
|
today |
az(i) |
|
tomorrow |
mai-ne |
|
year |
an |
|
hour |
ora |
Useful Questions
|
|
|
where ? |
un-de ? |
|
how much is it ? |
kit cós-te ? |
|
what time is it ? |
kit ie che-a-sul ? |
Direction
|
|
|
straight ahead |
drept in-ain-te |
|
to the left |
la stinga |
|
to the right |
la dreapta |
Money
|
|
|
money |
bani |
|
expensive |
scump |
|
inexpensive |
yef-tin |
|
change |
rest |
Post
|
|
|
post office |
poshta |
|
Stamp |
timbru |
|
letter |
skri-soa-re |
|
air mail |
poshta aeriana |
|
telegram |
telegrama |
|
parcel |
pa-ket |
|
envelope |
plik |
|
Paper |
hir-ti-ye |
Services
|
|
|
first aid |
prim ajutor |
|
Doctor |
doctor |
|
Dentist |
dentist |
|
pharmacy |
far-ma-chie |
|
Bus |
auto-buz |
|
Tram |
tram-vai |
|
trolley-bus |
trotei-buz |
|
laundry |
spa-la-to-ri-e |
|
barbershop |
fri-ze-ri-e |
|
hairdresser |
coafor |
|
W.C. |
closet |
Food
|
|
|
restaurant |
res-tau-rant |
|
menu |
menu |
|
Waiter |
kel-ner |
|
food |
min-cá-ré |
|
Bon apetit |
pof-ta buna |
|
bread |
pai-ne |
|
Soup |
su-pa |
|
Meat |
kar-ne |
|
chicken |
ga-i-na |
|
Spring chicken |
pui |
|
Turkey |
kur-kan |
|
Fish |
pesh-te |
|
Cheese |
brin-za |
|
Egg |
o-u |
|
Omelet |
om-le-ta |
|
Salad |
sa-la-ta |
|
Salt |
sa-re |
|
Pepper |
pi-ppér |
|
Sugar |
za-her |
|
Ice |
ghia-tze |
|
Wine |
vinn |
|
Beer |
be-re |
|
Fruit |
fruk-te |
|
Ice-cream |
in-ge-tza-te |
|
Milk |
lap-te |
|
Coffee |
cafea |
|
coffee with milk |
cafea cu lapte |
|
Tea |
chaai |
Utensils
|
|
|
Glass |
pa-har |
|
Plate |
far-fu-ri-e |
|
Knife |
ku-tzit |
|
Fork |
fur-ku-li-tze |
|
Spoon |
lin-gu-re |
|
Serviette |
sher-ve-tzel |