English builds "no matter" concessions out of loose multi-word phrases: no matter what, however much, whoever, whatever happens. Romanian instead fuses the question word directly with the particle ori- to produce a single free-choice word — oricât, oricine, orice, oricum, oriunde, oricând — and then pairs that word with the conjunctiv (subjunctive) or the conditional to deliver concessive-conditional force: "no matter how much / who / what." Orice s-ar întâmpla, rămân ("No matter what happens, I'm staying") is one tight clause where English needs three words plus a verb. Learning to reach for the fused ori- word, and to follow it with the right mood, is the whole skill on this page.
The free-choice paradigm: ori- + wh-word
Take any Romanian question word and prefix ori- and you get its free-choice/concessive counterpart. The result is a single orthographic word (no space, no hyphen). These are the same building blocks you met as interrogatives in care vs ce vs cine and as indefinites in indefinite pronouns.
| Question word | Free-choice form | English |
|---|---|---|
| cât (how much) | oricât | however much / no matter how much |
| cine (who) | oricine | whoever / no matter who |
| ce (what) | orice | whatever / no matter what |
| care (which) | oricare | whichever |
| cum (how) | oricum | however / anyhow / in any case |
| unde (where) | oriunde | wherever / no matter where |
| când (when) | oricând | whenever / no matter when |
Two of these decline. Oricine has the genitive/dative oricui ("to/of whoever"), and oricare / oricine can take the accusative marker pe when they are objects. The adverbial ones — oricum, oriunde, oricând, oricât — are invariable.
Oricine sună la ora asta primește un răspuns urât.
Whoever calls at this hour gets a rude answer. (oricine as subject)
Dă-i cartea oricui o cere.
Give the book to whoever asks for it. (dative oricui)
Two readings: free-choice vs concessive-conditional
The same ori- word does two related jobs, and the mood tells them apart.
Free-choice (indicative) — "any one will do," a plain generalization with no concession: Oricine poate învăța asta ("Anyone can learn this"). Here the verb is in the indicative and there is no "in spite of" flavor.
Oricine poate greși din când în când.
Anyone can make a mistake now and then. (plain free-choice → indicative)
Vino oricând vrei.
Come whenever you want. (free-choice, indicative)
Concessive-conditional (subjunctive or conditional) — "no matter X, Y still holds." This is where the ori- word leans on the conjunctiv (să) or the conditional (ar) to mark the situation as hypothetical and to deliver the "regardless" meaning. This is the construction this page is really about.
Orice ar spune, nu-l cred.
No matter what he says, I don't believe him. (conditional 'ar spune' → concessive)
Oricât ar costa, îl cumpăr.
No matter how much it costs, I'm buying it. (conditional → concessive)
Orice s-ar întâmpla, rămân alături de tine.
No matter what happens, I'll stay by your side.
Choosing the mood after the ori- word
The concessive reading takes either the conjunctiv or the conditional, and the difference is one of register and remoteness, parallel to the conditional system itself (see the full conditional system via the consolidated conditional page).
- Conditional (ar + infinitive) — the most common and most natural for hypothetical concessions: Oricât ar costa ("however much it might cost"). It frames the matter as supposed.
- Conjunctiv (să + verb) — also concessive and slightly more compact or formal: Orice ar fi să se întâmple / Orice să spună, and very commonly with fi: Oricât de greu ar fi.... The subjunctive here is one of the triggers catalogued on the subjunctive triggers list.
- Indicative — only for the plain free-choice reading or when the concession is about a real, repeated fact: Oricât muncesc, tot nu ajunge ("However much I work, it's still not enough" — stated as a recurring reality).
Oricât de mult ai încerca, n-o să-l convingi.
However hard you try, you won't convince him. (conditional 'ai încerca' → hypothetical concession)
Oricât muncesc, tot nu-mi ajung banii.
However much I work, my money still isn't enough. (indicative — a real, recurring situation)
Oriunde te-ai ascunde, te vor găsi.
Wherever you hide, they'll find you. (conditional 'te-ai ascunde')
Note the pattern oricât / oriunde / oricum / oricine de + adjective/adverb: oricât de greu ("however hard"), oricât de departe ("however far"). The de links the degree word to the gradable quality — the same de you see in degree expressions elsewhere.
Oricât de obosit ai fi, tot trebuie să-ți speli dinții.
No matter how tired you are, you still have to brush your teeth. (oricât de + adjective)
oricum — the special case
Oricum deserves a note because it has drifted beyond pure concession into a discourse marker meaning "anyway / in any case / regardless," extremely common in speech. As a concessive it means "however (it may be)"; as a connector it means "anyway."
Nu te grăbi, oricum am întârziat deja.
Don't rush, we're already late anyway. (oricum = 'anyway', discourse use)
Oricum ai întoarce-o, tot iese rău.
However you turn it, it still comes out badly. (oricum = 'however', concessive + conditional)
Common Mistakes
The flagship error: building the concessive out of separate words instead of the fused ori- item.
❌ Nu contează ce spune, nu-l cred.
Understandable but clunky — Romanian packs this into one word.
✅ Orice ar spune, nu-l cred.
No matter what he says, I don't believe him.
Writing the free-choice word as two words or with a stray space:
❌ Ori cât ar costa, îl cumpăr.
Incorrect — it's one word, 'oricât'.
✅ Oricât ar costa, îl cumpăr.
No matter how much it costs, I'm buying it.
Forgetting the de before a gradable adjective after oricât:
❌ Oricât greu ar fi, continuăm.
Incorrect — degree before an adjective needs 'de': 'oricât de greu'.
✅ Oricât de greu ar fi, continuăm.
No matter how hard it is, we'll keep going.
Using the wrong case of oricine after a preposition or as a recipient:
❌ Dă-i premiul oricine câștigă.
Incorrect — a dative recipient needs 'oricui'.
✅ Dă-i premiul oricui câștigă.
Give the prize to whoever wins.
Putting a plain present indicative where the hypothetical concession wants the conditional:
❌ Orice spune, n-aș crede.
Mismatched — a hypothetical concession pairs better with the conditional in both halves.
✅ Orice ar spune, n-aș crede.
No matter what he might say, I wouldn't believe it.
Key Takeaways
- Romanian fuses ori- + wh-word into a single free-choice item: oricât, oricine, orice, oricare, oricum, oriunde, oricând — one word, no space.
- The same item has a free-choice reading (indicative: Oricine poate) and a concessive-conditional reading ("no matter X"), the latter taking the conjunctiv or, most naturally, the conditional: Orice ar spune..., Oricât ar costa....
- Use conditional for hypothetical concessions, indicative for real/recurring ones (Oricât muncesc, tot nu ajunge).
- Before a gradable adjective/adverb, insert de: oricât de greu, oricât de departe.
- Oricine declines (oricui dative/genitive) and can take pe; the adverbials oricum/oriunde/oricând/oricât are invariable. Oricum also works as the discourse marker "anyway."
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
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- The Full Conditional SystemB2 — One set of forms — aș merge, aș fi mers — does four jobs: hypothesis (Aș merge dacă...), politeness (Aș vrea...), wish (De-aș ști...), and hearsay (Ar fi câștigat). This page consolidates the whole system: present and past conditional, the three dacă-types, the colloquial imperfect substitute, optative wishes, and the reportative — and shows how context and particles disambiguate identical morphology.
- Advanced Mood Selection (indicativ vs conjunctiv)C1 — At C1 the indicative/subjunctive choice stops being a list of trigger verbs and becomes a reading of reality itself: affirmed belief takes the indicative (cred că vine) but negated belief opens the subjunctive (nu cred să vină); a relative clause about a specific person uses the indicative (omul care vine) while one about a sought, hypothetical person uses the subjunctive (un om care să vină); and fear clauses use an EXPLETIVE 'nu' (mă tem să nu cadă) that means 'lest', not 'not'. This page works through the minimal pairs that separate fluent from native.
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