A se culca means to go to bed — the deliberate act of lying down to sleep. It is one of the first reflexive verbs a learner meets, because it sits at the heart of the daily routine alongside a se trezi ("to wake up") and a se spăla ("to wash up"). Grammatically it is a plain first-conjugation verb in -a (no -ez- infix), and it carries the accusative clitic series mă, te, se, ne, vă, se in every single cell. The clitic is not optional decoration: culc on its own means "I lay (someone/something) down," while mă culc means "I put myself to bed."
The most important nuance for learners is the contrast with a adormi ("to fall asleep"). A se culca describes the action you choose — going to bed, getting under the covers. A adormi describes what then happens to you, often beyond your control — drifting off into sleep. You can te culci at ten and not adormi until midnight. English blurs this with phrases like "go to sleep," but Romanian keeps the two events firmly apart.
Prezent indicativ
Drop -a to get the stem culc-; the clitic stands in front of the verb. Note the stem stays stable (no vowel alternation) — only the endings change.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mă culc |
| tu | te culci |
| el / ea | se culcă |
| noi | ne culcăm |
| voi | vă culcați |
| ei / ele | se culcă |
Mă culc devreme în timpul săptămânii.
I go to bed early during the week.
La ce oră te culci de obicei?
What time do you usually go to bed?
Imperfect
Habitual or background past, on the stem culc- plus -am. The clitic precedes the verb.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mă culcam |
| tu | te culcai |
| el / ea | se culca |
| noi | ne culcam |
| voi | vă culcați |
| ei / ele | se culcau |
Când eram mici, ne culcam imediat după desene.
When we were little, we'd go to bed right after the cartoons.
Perfect compus
The clitic fuses with the auxiliary a avea: mă + am → m-am, te + ai → te-ai, se + a → s-a. This fusion is obligatory in writing and speech alike.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | m-am culcat |
| tu | te-ai culcat |
| el / ea | s-a culcat |
| noi | ne-am culcat |
| voi | v-ați culcat |
| ei / ele | s-au culcat |
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul (pluperfect)
The synthetic pluperfect, on the stem culcase-; clitic in front.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mă culcasem |
| tu | te culcaseși |
| el / ea | se culcase |
| noi | ne culcaserăm |
| voi | vă culcaserăți |
| ei / ele | se culcaseră |
Când am ajuns acasă, copiii se culcaseră deja.
When I got home, the kids had already gone to bed.
Viitor (future)
Formal voi + infinitive keeps the clitic before the auxiliary; colloquial o să + conjunctiv keeps it before the verb.
| Person | voi-future (formal) | o să-future (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | mă voi culca | o să mă culc |
| tu | te vei culca | o să te culci |
| el / ea | se va culca | o să se culce |
| noi | ne vom culca | o să ne culcăm |
| voi | vă veți culca | o să vă culcați |
| ei / ele | se vor culca | o să se culce |
O să mă culc mai târziu, am de terminat un proiect.
I'm going to go to bed later, I have a project to finish.
Conjunctiv prezent
Identical to the indicative except in the 3rd person, where the ending flips from -ă to -e: (să) se culce.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să mă culc |
| tu | să te culci |
| el / ea | să se culce |
| noi | să ne culcăm |
| voi | să vă culcați |
| ei / ele | să se culce |
E târziu, ar trebui să te culci.
It's late, you should go to bed.
Condițional prezent
The conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar) plus the short infinitive culca. The clitic fuses with the auxiliary just as in the perfect: m-aș, te-ai, s-ar.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | m-aș culca |
| tu | te-ai culca |
| el / ea | s-ar culca |
| noi | ne-am culca |
| voi | v-ați culca |
| ei / ele | s-ar culca |
M-aș culca acum, dar mai am de spălat vasele.
I'd go to bed now, but I still have the dishes to wash.
Imperativ
The affirmative glues the clitic to the back of the verb; the negative puts it in front of the bare infinitive.
| Type | Singular (tu) | Plural (voi) |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | culcă-te! | culcați-vă! |
| Negative | nu te culca! | nu vă culcați! |
Forme nepersonale (non-finite forms)
The gerund attaches the clitic with a linking -u-: culcându-mă.
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv | (a se) culca |
| Gerunziu (+ clitic) | culcându-mă, culcându-te, culcându-se |
| Participiu | culcat |
| Supin | de culcat |
Usage
The everyday routine sense — choosing to go to bed:
Mă culc, sunt frânt de oboseală.
I'm going to bed, I'm dead tired.
Culcă-te, e târziu și mâine ai școală.
Go to bed, it's late and you have school tomorrow.
Copiii s-au culcat deja, vorbește mai încet.
The kids have already gone to bed, talk more quietly.
The contrast with a adormi — going to bed is not yet falling asleep:
M-am culcat la zece, dar am adormit abia pe la miezul nopții.
I went to bed at ten, but I only fell asleep around midnight.
The non-reflexive a culca — putting someone else to bed:
O culc pe fetiță și vin imediat.
I'll put the little girl to bed and come right back.
A polite, slightly formal use with a guest:
Vă puteți culca în camera de oaspeți.
You can sleep in the guest room.
Common Mistakes
❌ Culc devreme.
Incorrect — without the clitic this means 'I lay (someone) down'; for going to bed you need mă culc.
✅ Mă culc devreme.
I go to bed early.
❌ Eu am culcat la zece aseară.
Incorrect — dropped clitic; the perfect fuses to m-am culcat.
✅ M-am culcat la zece aseară.
I went to bed at ten last night.
❌ Nu culcă-te încă!
Incorrect — the negative command puts the clitic before the infinitive.
✅ Nu te culca încă!
Don't go to bed yet!
Don't confuse going to bed with falling asleep:
❌ M-am culcat imediat ce am pus capul pe pernă.
Odd — 'going to bed' isn't instantaneous; falling asleep is a adormi.
✅ Am adormit imediat ce am pus capul pe pernă.
I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- a se trezi — to wake upA2 — Full reflexive conjugation of a se trezi (to wake up), a class IV -esc verb with accusative clitics, plus the idiom a se trezi cu (to suddenly find oneself with).
- a dormi — to sleepA1 — Full conjugation of a dormi (to sleep), a plain fourth-conjugation verb showing the o→oa diphthongization in the third person (doarme).
- Accusative Reflexive VerbsA2 — The accusative reflexive clitics mă, te, se, ne, vă, se — true reflexives and the large class of verbs that are reflexive in form only.
- Class I Present: Regular -a VerbsA1 — How to conjugate plain Class I (-a) verbs in the present indicative, including the bare-stem first person and the 3sg = 3pl syncretism.
- Positioning Reflexive CliticsB1 — Where the reflexive clitic sits across every tense and mood — pre-verbal, fused into the auxiliary, or hyphenated after the verb — and the fusion rules m-am, te-ai, s-a.