This page is your working inventory of Romanian courtesy phrases — the chunks you actually say to open a conversation, ask for something, thank, apologize, and leave. You don't need to parse them; you need to know which one to reach for and what it signals. Romanian builds register straight into the greeting, so the very first word you choose announces whether you're being casual or respectful — there's no neutral hello that dodges the choice. Get the chunk right and you sound at home; reach for the wrong register and it's noticed instantly. (For the grammar behind these — the tu / dumneavoastră split, the copula — see tu / dumneavoastră and the annotated greetings dialogue; this page is the practical formula list.)
Hello — the time-of-day system (polite)
The polite greetings track the time of day, exactly like German Guten Morgen / Tag / Abend or French Bonjour / Bonsoir. All three commit you to the formal register.
| Formula | When | Literal | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bună dimineața! | morning (until ~10–11) | "good morning" | (formal/neutral) |
| Bună ziua! | daytime (the all-purpose polite hello) | "good day" | (formal/neutral) |
| Bună seara! | evening (from ~6 pm) | "good evening" | (formal/neutral) |
| Noapte bună! | at parting, going to bed | "good night" | neutral — note: a goodbye, not a hello |
Bună ziua! Aș dori un bilet până la Brașov, vă rog.
Good day! I'd like a ticket to Brașov, please. (polite, to a stranger at a counter)
Bună seara, doamna Popescu, ce mai faceți?
Good evening, Mrs. Popescu, how are you? (polite, evening)
Hello — casual and regional
Among friends, peers, and young people you reach for the (informal) set:
- Salut! — "hi," the standard casual hello (to people you'd address as tu).
- Bună! — "hi" (literally just "good [one]"), warm and very common, slightly softer than Salut!.
- Servus! — (regional: Transylvania) — "hi / bye," a Central-European borrowing (from Latin via German/Hungarian), used for both meeting and parting.
- Noroc! — (informal / regional) — literally "luck"; a casual "hi" or "hey" (and also the standard toast, "cheers!").
- Ce faci? — "how's it going?" — often functions as the greeting itself among friends, not a literal question about your activity.
Salut, Mihai! Nu te-am mai văzut de-o veșnicie!
Hi, Mihai! I haven't seen you in ages! (casual)
Bună! Ai ajuns deja? Eu mai am cinci minute.
Hi! You're here already? I've got five minutes to go. (casual, texting or in person)
Servus, măi, ce mai zici?
Hi there, what's new? (Transylvanian casual)
Goodbye
| Formula | Register | Note |
|---|---|---|
| La revedere! | (formal/neutral) | "goodbye" (lit. "until [we] see [each other] again") |
| Pa! / Pa-pa! | (informal) | "bye" — casual, also to children |
| Pe curând! | neutral | "see you soon" |
| Ne vedem! | (informal) | "see you" (lit. "we see each other") |
| Servus! / Hai, pa! | (informal) | casual sign-offs; hai, pa! is the everyday "okay, bye!" |
| O zi bună! / O seară plăcută! | neutral/warm | "have a good day / a pleasant evening" |
La revedere și vă mulțumesc pentru ajutor!
Goodbye, and thank you for your help! (polite)
Hai, pa, ne auzim diseară!
Okay, bye, we'll talk tonight! (casual)
Please, thank you, you're welcome
The core of everyday courtesy. Note that please splits by register through the te / vă pronoun:
- Te rog (casual) / Vă rog (polite) — "please" (literally "I ask you").
- Mulțumesc — "thank you"; intensified as Mulțumesc mult / Mulțumesc frumos ("thank you very much / kindly").
- Mersi — (informal) — a borrowing from French merci; casual "thanks," extremely common in speech, slightly out of place in formal writing.
- Cu plăcere — "you're welcome" (lit. "with pleasure"), the standard reply to thanks. Casual alternatives: Pentru puțin, N-ai pentru ce.
Îmi dați și mie sarea, vă rog? — Cu plăcere.
Could you pass me the salt, please? — You're welcome. (polite)
Mersi mult că m-ai așteptat!
Thanks a lot for waiting for me! (casual)
Vă mulțumesc frumos pentru tot ajutorul.
Thank you very kindly for all your help. (polite)
Sorry — apology and excuse
Romanian separates the "excuse me / sorry, small offense" chunk from the "I'm sorry, genuine regret" chunk — and the distinction matters (the deeper pragmatics are on gratitude and apology):
- Scuze / Scuză-mă (casual) / Scuzați-mă (polite) — "sorry / excuse me," for bumping into someone, interrupting, a minor slip.
- Pardon — (formal/dated, neutral) — French borrowing, "excuse me / pardon," polite for passing through a crowd or not hearing something.
- Îmi pare rău — "I'm sorry" in the sense of genuine regret or sympathy ("I'm sorry that happened"), not for squeezing past someone.
- Iertați-mă — "forgive me" (formal), weightier, for a real transgression.
Scuzați-mă, nu am vrut să vă deranjez.
Excuse me, I didn't mean to disturb you. (polite, minor offense)
Îmi pare rău pentru pierderea ta, era un om minunat.
I'm sorry for your loss, he was a wonderful man. (genuine sympathy)
At the table and other set wishes
A few more everyday formulas you'll constantly hear (the fuller ceremonial set — La mulți ani!, Casă de piatră!, Drum bun! — lives on discourse formulas):
- Poftă bună! — "bon appétit," said before eating; reply Mulțumesc, asemenea! ("thanks, you too").
- Noroc! / Sănătate! — "cheers!" (toast) — Sănătate! ("health") also said after someone sneezes.
- Bine ai venit! (casual) / Bine ați venit! (polite) — "welcome!" (on arrival); reply Bine te-am găsit / v-am găsit ("good to find you here").
Poftă bună! — Mulțumesc, asemenea!
Enjoy your meal! — Thanks, you too!
Bine ați venit la noi! — Bine v-am găsit!
Welcome to our home! — Glad to be here! (the fixed exchange)
Comparison with English
English has a roomy neutral zone — "hi," "hello," even "hey" — that works across most situations, with tone carrying the politeness. Romanian gives you no such hiding place: the greeting itself is register-marked, so you can't open neutrally and adjust later. English also collapses "thanks" and "I'm sorry" into single all-purpose words, while Romanian splits "sorry" into Scuze (excuse me) versus Îmi pare rău (genuine regret), and layers casual Mersi over neutral Mulțumesc. And English "you're welcome" has no single dominant form (we use "no problem," "sure," "anytime"), whereas Romanian has a clear default, Cu plăcere. The practical upshot: don't look for the one safe greeting — learn the casual pair and the polite pair, and pick by who's in front of you.
Common Mistakes
Greeting an elder, a stranger, or a professional contact with casual Salut!:
❌ Salut! (to an older neighbor or at a bank counter)
Too casual — with anyone you'd address as dumneavoastră, open with Bună ziua! / Bună seara!
✅ Bună ziua! Aș avea o întrebare.
Good day! I'd have a question.
Using Noapte bună as a hello:
❌ Noapte bună! (walking into a shop in the evening)
Wrong — Noapte bună is 'goodnight', a parting line. The evening greeting is Bună seara!
✅ Bună seara!
Good evening!
Confusing the two "sorry"s — using Îmi pare rău to squeeze past someone:
❌ Îmi pare rău, pot să trec? (pushing through a crowd)
Off — Îmi pare rău is heavy regret. To pass through, say Scuzați-mă or Pardon.
✅ Scuzați-mă, îmi dați voie?
Excuse me, may I get through?
Calquing English "you're welcome" as ești binevenit:
❌ Mulțumesc! — Ești binevenit.
Wrong — that's a calque. The reply to thanks is Cu plăcere. (Bine ai venit means 'welcome on arrival', a different situation.)
✅ Mulțumesc! — Cu plăcere!
Thank you! — You're welcome!
Mismatching the register of please — using polite Vă rog with a friend you call tu, or vice versa:
❌ Mihai, îmi dai un pix, vă rog?
Register clash — to a friend (tu) use te rog, not vă rog.
✅ Mihai, îmi dai un pix, te rog?
Mihai, can you give me a pen, please?
Key Takeaways
- Romanian has no neutral hello — your greeting flips a register switch. Polite: Bună dimineața / ziua / seara. Casual: Salut! / Bună!.
- Servus (Transylvania) and Noroc are casual, regionally-flavored hellos — belonging signals, never for formal use.
- Goodbyes: La revedere (polite), Pa! / Hai, pa! (casual), Pe curând / Ne vedem (see you).
- Please splits by register: Te rog (casual) / Vă rog (polite). Thanks: Mulțumesc, casual Mersi; reply Cu plăcere.
- Two "sorry"s: Scuze / Scuzați-mă (excuse me, minor) vs. Îmi pare rău (genuine regret). Don't mix them.
- Poftă bună! before a meal; Bine ați venit! — Bine v-am găsit! is a fixed welcome exchange.
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- Dialogue: Greetings and IntroductionsA1 — An annotated first-meeting dialogue in Romanian — Bună ziua, Mă numesc, Îmi pare bine — that teaches the a fi copula, the reflexive a se numi / a se chema, and the tu / dumneavoastră register split through the unavoidable opening moves of any conversation.
- Fixed Discourse Formulas and RoutinesB1 — Romanian has a set phrase for nearly every social occasion — Cu plăcere, Poftă bună, Drum bun, La mulți ani, Casă de piatră, Condoleanțe — many built on the standalone subjunctive (Să trăiți!). The right formula is socially expected and culturally loaded; using it signals belonging, and using the wrong one is conspicuous.
- The Politeness System (T/V) in UseB1 — When Romanians actually choose tu (intimacy, equality) versus dumneavoastră (distance, respect), who is allowed to propose the switch to tu, why dumneavoastră is the safe default with anyone unfamiliar or senior, and where the fading middle form dumneata fits — the social logic behind a choice English speakers don't have to make.
- Thanking and ApologizingA2 — Thanks and apologies in Romanian are register-graded ladders, and the skill is matching the weight to the situation: Mersi vs Mulțumesc vs Vă mulțumesc for gratitude, and Pardon/Scuze (a light bump) vs Îmi pare rău (real regret) vs Vă rog să mă scuzați (formal) for apology — plus the standard replies (Cu plăcere, Nu-i nimic). The principle: too casual to an official is disrespectful; too heavy for a small bump sounds odd.
- Exclamations and Reactions (Vai!, Aoleu!, Bravo!, Of!)A2 — The practical reaction kit for everyday Romanian — Vai! (oh dear / wow), Aoleu! (oh no), Bravo! (well done, sometimes sarcastic), Of! (ugh / sigh), Hai! (come on), Ce frumos! (how lovely), Doamne! (good Lord), Ptiu! (yuck) and Mamă! (wow). Each one carries a precise emotional load — picking the right one is emotional precision, not translation.
- Colloquial and Informal RegisterB1 — Casual spoken Romanian is not 'broken' standard — it is a coherent system with its own future (o să vin), its own demonstratives (ăsta, asta, ăla), its own conditional (the double imperfect: dacă știam, veneam), dropped final -l (omu', băiatu'), and a rich stock of fillers and intensifiers (păi, deci, mă, bă, gen, super, mișto). This page shows the markers of informal register, when they fit (friends, family, chat) and when they grate (a formal email), so a learner produces casual Romanian for the people who expect it — not a stiff textbook standard.