The Definite Article: Plurals (-i, -le) | Romanian Grammar

You have seen the singular definite article — the suffix that turns casă into casa and băiat into băiatul. The plural works the same way: "the" is still an ending, not a front word. There are only two plural definite endings, and which one you use depends entirely on how the plural of the noun was formed. Masculine plurals (which end in -i) fuse with the article to give a doubled -ii; feminine and neuter plurals (which end in -e or -uri) add -le. The single most notorious consequence is the triple-i spelling of copiii ("the children") — which looks like a typo but is perfectly logical once you break it apart. This page demystifies it.

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The plural definite article has just two shapes, decided by the plural ending of the noun: plural ends in -i (masculine) → fuse the article to get -ii (băieți → băieții); plural ends in -e or -uri (feminine/neuter) → add -le (case → casele, trenuri → trenurile). Learn the noun's plural first; the article follows automatically.

Step one: you must know the plural

Before you can add the plural article, you need the indefinite plural of the noun, because the article attaches to that. The two relevant patterns:

Masculine plurals end in -i: băiat → băieți ("boys"), om → oameni ("people"), codru → codri ("forests").
Feminine and neuter plurals end in -e (or neuter -uri): casă → case ("houses"), floare → flori ("flowers"), tren → trenuri ("trains").

(The full plural-formation rules live on the dedicated noun-plural pages; here we assume you have the plural and focus on adding "the".)

Masculine plurals: fuse to -ii

A masculine plural ends in -i. The plural definite article is also an -i element, so when you add it, the two i's combine and you write -ii. Think of it as: plural -i + definite -i = -ii.

Singular	Plural (bare)	Plural definite (the)	Meaning
băiat	băieți	băieții	the boys
om	oameni	oamenii	the people
profesor	profesori	profesorii	the teachers
codru	codri	codrii	the forests

Băieții au plecat la meci, iar fetele au rămas acasă.

The boys went to the match, and the girls stayed home.

Oamenii din sat se cunosc toți între ei.

The people in the village all know one another.

Profesorii au votat să amâne examenul.

The teachers voted to postpone the exam.

Notice the contrast: bare plural băieți = "boys" (some boys, in general), definite plural băieții = "the boys" (specific ones). The difference is one extra i in writing — and in speech, a longer, clearer final -i.

Feminine and neuter plurals: add -le

A feminine plural ends in -e (or -i for some nouns), and a neuter plural ends in -e or -uri. These take the article -le, simply appended to the plural form.

Singular	Plural (bare)	Plural definite (the)	Meaning
casă (f)	case	casele	the houses
floare (f)	flori	florile	the flowers
fată (f)	fete	fetele	the girls
tren (n)	trenuri	trenurile	the trains
oraș (n)	orașe	orașele	the cities

Casele de pe deal au toate acoperișuri roșii.

The houses on the hill all have red roofs.

Florile din vază au început deja să se ofilească.

The flowers in the vase have already started to wilt.

Trenurile spre litoral sunt arhipline vara.

The trains to the coast are packed in summer.

So whether a feminine plural ends in -e (case → casele) or in -i (flori → florile), the article is still -le. The -le is invariable here; you just glue it on.

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The article -le is the same one you met on singular masculine -e nouns (frate → fratele), but in the plural it does a different job: it marks feminine and neuter plurals definite. Don't confuse the two uses — in the plural, -le is the regular ending for any -e/-uri plural.

The famous triple-i: copii → copiii

Now the spelling that makes learners (and many natives) hesitate. The word copil ("child") has the plural copii ("children") — with two i's. When you make that plural definite — "the children" — you add the masculine plural article, and you end up writing three i's: copiii.

Here is the logic, broken open:

Form	Spelling	Why
singular	copil	"child" — one stem, ends in -l
plural (bare)	copii	stem copi- + plural -i = two i's: "children"
plural definite	copiii	plural copii + definite -i = three i's: "the children"

Read aloud, the three forms are distinct: copil (one syllable cluster ending in -l), copii (ending in a single long -i), copiii (an even longer, clearly held final -i). The third i is the definite article doing exactly what it does for every other masculine plural — it is not a quirk of copil specifically. It only looks alarming because the stem already ends in -i.

Copiii s-au jucat în parc până la apus.

The children played in the park until sunset.

Toți copiii din clasă au luat note bune.

All the children in the class got good grades.

Am doi copii; copiii merg amândoi la aceeași școală.

I have two children; the children both go to the same school.

Other nouns whose stem ends in -i do the same thing, so this is a small but real pattern, not a one-off:

Singular	Plural	Plural definite	Meaning
copil	copii	copiii	the children
fiu	fii	fiii	the sons
ardei	ardei	ardeii	the peppers

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The triple-i in copiii is not a typo and not an exception — it is plural -i + definite -i sitting on a stem that already ends in -i (copi-). Once you parse it as three separate jobs (stem + plural + "the"), it stops looking strange. The same logic gives fiii ("the sons") and ardeii ("the peppers").

Bare plural vs definite plural: the meaning contrast

Just as in the singular, dropping or adding the article changes the meaning. A bare plural is indefinite or generic ("boys / some boys / boys in general"); the definite plural points to specific, identifiable ones ("the boys").

Copiii de azi cresc cu telefonul în mână.

Children today grow up with a phone in their hand. (here copiii = generic-but-definite 'children as a class')

Mi-am uitat cheile pe masă.

I left my keys on the table. (cheile = the keys, definite)

Vânzătorul aranja merele în lădițe.

The vendor was arranging the apples in crates. (merele = the apples, definite neuter plural)

Full picture: plural definite article

Plural ends in…	Gender	Article	Example	Meaning
-i	masculine	fuse → -ii	băieți → băieț ii	the boys
-i (stem in -i)	masculine	fuse → -iii (triple)	copii → copiii	the children
-e	feminine	add -le	case → casele	the houses
-i	feminine	add -le	flori → florile	the flowers
-e / -uri	neuter	add -le	trenuri → trenurile	the trains

Common Mistakes

❌ copii (meaning 'the children')

Incorrect — copii with two i's is the bare plural 'children'; 'the children' needs the article, giving three i's: copiii.

✅ copiii

the children

❌ băieții → băietii / băieți (for 'the boys')

Incorrect — the masculine plural -i fuses with the definite -i to make -ii: băieții.

✅ băieții

the boys

❌ caseli / casei (for 'the houses')

Incorrect — a feminine -e plural adds -le, not -li or -ei: casele.

✅ casele

the houses

❌ florii (for 'the flowers')

Incorrect — flori is feminine and takes -le, not the masculine -ii: florile.

✅ florile

the flowers

❌ Văd la copii. (for 'I see the children')

Incorrect — there is no front word for 'the'; the article is the suffix: copiii.

✅ Văd copiii.

I see the children.

Where to go next

That completes the definite article across number and gender: masculine/neuter singular (-ul, -le), feminine singular (-a, -ua), and now the plural (-ii, -le). Because the plural article rides on the plural form, the noun-plural pages — masculine, feminine, and neuter — are the natural companions: get the plural right and the article follows for free. The articles overview ties the whole system together.

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