A vinde means to sell, the antonym of a cumpăra. It is a third-conjugation verb (the -e class), and it packs two stem changes into the present tense. First, an â / i alternation: the stem vowel is â before "back" endings — vând (1sg) and vând (3pl) — but i before the other endings: vinzi, vinde, vindem, vindeți. Second, the familiar d → z change before the 2nd-singular -i: vinde but vinzi (and the gerund vânzând, which combines both shifts). The participle is the -ut type, vândut (not the -s type of răspuns or închis), and it keeps the â.
These two alternations together make a vinde one of the more deceptive everyday verbs: the 1st-person vând looks nothing like the infinitive vinde, so beginners often regularize it to vind. Take a moment with the present table below — it's the heart of the verb.
Prezent indicativ
The stem is vând- in the 1st singular and 3rd plural, but vind- elsewhere — and the d of vind- becomes z before the 2nd-singular -i.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vând |
| tu | vinzi |
| el / ea | vinde |
| noi | vindem |
| voi | vindeți |
| ei / ele | vând |
Vând mașina, pentru că m-am mutat în centru și nu-mi mai trebuie.
I'm selling the car, because I moved downtown and don't need it anymore.
Tu chiar vinzi apartamentul? Credeam că glumești.
Are you really selling the apartment? I thought you were joking.
Imperfect
Third-conjugation imperfect: stem vinde- plus the -eam endings. Crucially, the imperfect uses the i-stem throughout — vindeam, never vândeam.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vindeam |
| tu | vindeai |
| el / ea | vindea |
| noi | vindeam |
| voi | vindeați |
| ei / ele | vindeau |
La colț era un bătrân care vindea ziare de dimineața până seara.
On the corner there was an old man who sold newspapers from morning till night.
Perfect compus
The everyday past tense: the auxiliary a avea plus the participle vândut (note the â).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am vândut |
| tu | ai vândut |
| el / ea | a vândut |
| noi | am vândut |
| voi | ați vândut |
| ei / ele | au vândut |
Au vândut casa bunicilor mult sub prețul pieței.
They sold the grandparents' house well below market price.
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul
The pluperfect is a single synthetic word, built on the participle stem vându-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vândusem |
| tu | vânduseși |
| el / ea | vânduse |
| noi | vânduserăm |
| voi | vânduserăți |
| ei / ele | vânduseră |
Până să mă hotărăsc, vânduseră deja ultimul bilet.
By the time I made up my mind, they had already sold the last ticket.
Viitor
Romanian has a formal future with voi + infinitive and a colloquial everyday future with o să + conjunctiv.
| Person | Viitor (voi-form, formal) | Colloquial (o să) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi vinde | o să vând |
| tu | vei vinde | o să vinzi |
| el / ea | va vinde | o să vândă |
| noi | vom vinde | o să vindem |
| voi | veți vinde | o să vindeți |
| ei / ele | vor vinde | o să vândă |
O să vând bicicleta dacă găsesc un cumpărător serios.
I'll sell the bike if I find a serious buyer.
Conjunctiv prezent
Identical to the indicative except in the 3rd person, where vinde becomes să vândă — and note that the 3rd person takes the â-stem, like the 1st singular.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să vând |
| tu | să vinzi |
| el / ea | să vândă |
| noi | să vindem |
| voi | să vindeți |
| ei / ele | să vândă |
Vrea să vândă tot și să plece în străinătate.
He wants to sell everything and move abroad.
Condițional prezent
Formed with the conditional auxiliary (aș, ai, ar, am, ați, ar) plus the short infinitive vinde.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș vinde |
| tu | ai vinde |
| el / ea | ar vinde |
| noi | am vinde |
| voi | ați vinde |
| ei / ele | ar vinde |
Aș vinde tabloul, dar e o amintire de la mama.
I'd sell the painting, but it's a keepsake from my mother.
Imperativ
The singular imperative is vinde! (identical to the 3sg present); the plural is vindeți! The negative singular uses the bare infinitive: nu vinde!
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tu (sg.) | vinde! | nu vinde! |
| voi (pl.) | vindeți! | nu vindeți! |
Vinde-mi mie ceasul, îți dau un preț bun.
Sell me the watch, I'll give you a good price.
Nu vinde casa acum, piața e la pământ.
Don't sell the house now, the market is rock-bottom.
Forme nepersonale
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitiv | (a) vinde |
| Gerunziu | vânzând |
| Participiu | vândut |
| Supin | de vândut |
Usage
A vinde takes a plain direct object (the thing sold) and the buyer in the dative: îi vând mașina, "I'm selling him the car." The reflexive se vinde is extremely common, meaning "sells" / "is sold" / "is selling well" — a se-passive that lets you talk about a product without naming who buys it: se vinde bine, "it sells well"; cartea s-a vândut în mii de exemplare, "the book sold thousands of copies." Set phrases include a vinde cu amănuntul (to sell retail), a vinde cu ridicata (to sell wholesale), and de vânzare ("for sale," on signs). Don't confuse the supine de vândut (still to be sold) with the noun phrase de vânzare (on the market).
Apartamentul se vinde repede, e într-o zonă căutată.
The apartment is selling fast, it's in a sought-after area.
Magazinul vinde cu amănuntul, dar și cu ridicata pentru firme.
The shop sells retail, but also wholesale to companies.
I-am vândut vecinului vechea mea chitară.
I sold my old guitar to the neighbor.
Mai am două mașini de vândut până la sfârșitul lunii.
I still have two cars to sell by the end of the month.
Common Mistakes
Don't regularize the 1st singular to vind — it's vând:
❌ Eu vind mașina.
Incorrect — the 1st singular takes the â-stem: vând.
✅ Eu vând mașina.
I'm selling the car.
Don't keep the d before the 2nd-singular -i — it becomes z:
❌ Tu vindi apartamentul?
Incorrect — the 2nd singular is vinzi, with d→z.
✅ Tu vinzi apartamentul?
Are you selling the apartment?
Don't build an -s participle — a vinde takes the -ut type:
❌ Au vâns casa.
Incorrect — the participle is vândut, not vâns.
✅ Au vândut casa.
They sold the house.
Don't use the i-stem in the 3rd-person subjunctive — it takes â:
❌ Vrea să vindă tot.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person subjunctive is să vândă.
✅ Vrea să vândă tot.
He wants to sell everything.
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