This page is a reference, not a lesson — the place to look up "what is the gen-dat of fată in the definite plural?" without rereading five explanations. Below are full declension grids for three model nouns, one per gender: masculine băiat ("boy"), feminine fată ("girl"), and neuter tren ("train"). Each grid shows all cases, both indefinite and definite, singular and plural. But the grids also make a single big point visible at a glance, which is the real payoff: the noun stem barely moves; almost all the case information rides on the article. Once you see that, "declension" stops being about endings and becomes about article selection.
Masculine: băiat ("boy")
| Case | Indefinite sg. | Definite sg. | Indefinite pl. | Definite pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom-Acc | un băiat | băiatul | niște băieți | băieții |
| Gen-Dat | unui băiat | băiatului | unor băieți | băieților |
| Vocative | — | băiete! / băiatule! | — | băieților! |
The masculine is the cleanest case: the stem băiat- never changes in the singular at all, and băieț- is constant across the plural. Everything that distinguishes the cases is suffixal article material (-ul, -ului, -ii, -ilor).
Băiatul a câștigat, dar premiul băiatului a fost mic.
The boy won, but the boy's prize was small. (Nom-Acc băiatul vs Gen-Dat băiatului)
Le-am dat băieților cheile.
I gave the keys to the boys. (definite plural Gen-Dat băieților)
Feminine: fată ("girl")
| Case | Indefinite sg. | Definite sg. | Indefinite pl. | Definite pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom-Acc | o fată | fata | niște fete | fetele |
| Gen-Dat | unei fete | fetei | unor fete | fetelor |
| Vocative | — | fato! | — | fetelor! |
The feminine is the only place the stem itself carries case: the gen-dat singular fetei is built on the plural stem fete-, not the singular fat-. This is the famous feminine wrinkle — the genitive-dative singular looks like the plural plus an article. (Full treatment on the feminine gen-dat page.)
Cartea fetei e nouă, dar cărțile fetelor sunt vechi.
The girl's book is new, but the girls' books are old. (Gen-Dat singular fetei vs plural fetelor)
O fată a întrebat ceva, dar n-am auzit întrebarea unei fete.
A girl asked something, but I didn't catch one girl's question. (indefinite Nom-Acc o fată vs indefinite Gen-Dat unei fete)
Neuter: tren ("train")
| Case | Indefinite sg. | Definite sg. | Indefinite pl. | Definite pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom-Acc | un tren | trenul | niște trenuri | trenurile |
| Gen-Dat | unui tren | trenului | unor trenuri | trenurilor |
| Vocative | — | (not used) | — | (not used) |
The neuter is the most economical of all: it behaves like a masculine in the singular (trenul, trenului) and like a feminine in the plural (trenurile, trenurilor). That hybrid is the entire definition of Romanian neuter. Neuters are inanimate, so they have no practical vocative.
Trenul a întârziat și ușa trenului era blocată.
The train was late and the train's door was stuck. (Nom-Acc trenul vs Gen-Dat trenului)
Orarul trenurilor s-a schimbat.
The trains' schedule has changed. (definite plural Gen-Dat trenurilor)
The pattern the grids reveal
Lay the three definite-singular columns next to each other and a structure jumps out:
| Case | Masc. băiat | Fem. fată | Neut. tren |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom-Acc def. sg. | băiatul | fata | trenul |
| Gen-Dat def. sg. | băiatului | fetei | trenului |
| Gen-Dat def. pl. | băieților | fetelor | trenurilor |
Two facts dominate everything:
- The plural gen-dat is -lor for every gender. băieților, fetelor, trenurilor — masculine, feminine, neuter all converge on -lor. Once you are in the plural, gender stops mattering for case.
- In the singular, masculine and neuter share -lui; only the feminine has a distinct stem-based form (fetei, built on the plural). So the only genuine "stem inflection" in the whole noun system is the feminine gen-dat singular.
Indefinite case: it lives on the article un/o → unui/unei/unor
One column above is easy to overlook. With indefinite nouns, the noun usually stays in its base shape and the indefinite article takes the case marking: un băiat → unui băiat, o fată → unei fete, plural unor. So even in the indefinite, the principle holds — the article carries the case, not the stem (the feminine fete aside).
I-am explicat unui coleg toată situația.
I explained the whole situation to a colleague. (indefinite dative unui coleg)
Părerea unei prietene m-a ajutat mult.
A friend's opinion helped me a lot. (indefinite feminine genitive unei prietene)
How to use this page
Treat it as a lookup table, not a memorization target. When you are writing and unsure of a form, find the gender, then the number and definiteness, then the case. Over time you will need the table less and less, because the underlying logic — article does the work, plural is always -lor, feminine singular gen-dat is built on the plural — becomes automatic. The grids are training wheels for a system that is, at heart, smaller than it looks.
Common Mistakes
❌ băiatelor (for 'of the boys')
Incorrect — the masculine definite plural gen-dat is built on the plural băieț-: băieților.
✅ băieților
of/to the boys
❌ fatei (for 'of the girl')
Incorrect — the feminine gen-dat singular is built on the plural stem fete-: fetei, not *fatei.
✅ fetei
of/to the girl
❌ trenuluilor (for 'of the trains')
Incorrect — the neuter plural patterns like a feminine: trenurilor.
✅ trenurilor
of/to the trains
❌ unei băiat (treating a masculine as feminine)
Incorrect — masculine indefinite gen-dat is unui: unui băiat.
✅ unui băiat
of/to a boy
Key Takeaways
- For each gender there are really just three forms to know per number: Nom-Acc, Gen-Dat, and (singular, animate) Vocative.
- Plural Gen-Dat is -lor for all genders — gender becomes irrelevant in the plural.
- In the singular, masculine and neuter share -lui; the feminine alone has a stem-based gen-dat (fetei, built on the plural).
- Case is article selection, not stem inflection — the one exception is the feminine gen-dat singular.
- Use this page as a lookup table; internalize the two big patterns and you can rebuild any cell.
Now practice Romanian
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- The Romanian Case System: OverviewA2 — A map of Romanian's surprisingly light case system — five cases that collapse into just two distinct noun forms (Nominative-Accusative and Genitive-Dative) plus a Vocative, with case marked mainly on the article rather than the noun stem.
- Genitive-Dative SyncretismB1 — Why Romanian's genitive and dative are a single form — fetei means both 'the girl's' and 'to the girl' — and how syntax, not morphology, tells you which case you're looking at.
- Genitive-Dative of Feminine NounsB1 — The feminine genitive-dative singular is built on the PLURAL stem, not the singular — fată→fete→fetei, carte→cărți→cărții — so you must know the plural before you can form it.
- Genitive-Dative in the PluralB2 — How the plural genitive-dative works in Romanian — the single, gender-blind ending -lor that turns copiii into copiilor, fetele into fetelor, and trenurile into trenurilor, plus the indefinite plural with unor.
- The Vocative CaseA2 — Romanian's case of direct address — the only case with genuinely distinct endings (Ioane!, fato!, doamnelor!) — covering the masculine -e/-ule, feminine -o, and plural -lor forms, why it is optional and slowly retreating, and how the form you pick signals intimacy, anger, or respect.
- The Definite Article: Masculine (-ul, -le)A1 — How the enclitic definite article attaches to masculine and neuter singular nouns — -ul after a consonant, -l after final -u, -le after final -e — and why the choice is phonologically predictable.