A zice ("to say") is the everyday, conversational verb of speech in Romanian. It is a third-conjugation verb (short infinitive in -e: a zice) with a slightly irregular but very stable paradigm — the present is fully regular, and the participle contracts to the short form zis. It shares its core meaning with a spune, but the two differ in register: a zice is the verb you reach for in casual talk, gossip, and reported speech among friends, while a spune is the neutral, slightly more formal default for "say" and "tell."
For an English speaker the useful instinct is this: if you would naturally say "he goes…" or "she's like…" when quoting a friend, Romanian uses zice in exactly that slot. Zice că vine ("he says he's coming") is the bread-and-butter of everyday reported speech.
Prezent indicativ
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | zic |
| tu | zici |
| el / ea | zice |
| noi | zicem |
| voi | ziceți |
| ei / ele | zic |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | ziceam |
| tu | ziceai |
| el / ea | zicea |
| noi | ziceam |
| voi | ziceați |
| ei / ele | ziceau |
Perfect compus
Auxiliary a avea plus the short participle zis.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | am zis |
| tu | ai zis |
| el / ea | a zis |
| noi | am zis |
| voi | ați zis |
| ei / ele | au zis |
Mai-mult-ca-perfectul (pluperfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | zisesem |
| tu | ziseseși |
| el / ea | zisese |
| noi | ziseserăm |
| voi | ziseserăți |
| ei / ele | ziseseră |
Viitor (future)
| Person | voi-future (formal) | o să-future (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | voi zice | o să zic |
| tu | vei zice | o să zici |
| el / ea | va zice | o să zică |
| noi | vom zice | o să zicem |
| voi | veți zice | o să ziceți |
| ei / ele | vor zice | o să zică |
Conjunctiv prezent
The third person is irregular: să zică (not să zice).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | să zic |
| tu | să zici |
| el / ea | să zică |
| noi | să zicem |
| voi | să ziceți |
| ei / ele | să zică |
Condițional prezent
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | aș zice |
| tu | ai zice |
| el / ea | ar zice |
| noi | am zice |
| voi | ați zice |
| ei / ele | ar zice |
Imperativ
The singular imperative is the short zi! The plural is ziceți! The negative singular uses the infinitive: nu zice!
| Type | Singular (tu) | Plural (voi) |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | zi! | ziceți! |
| Negative | nu zice! | nu ziceți! |
Non-finite forms
| Form | Romanian |
|---|---|
| Infinitive (short / long) | (a) zice / zicere |
| Gerunziu | zicând |
| Participiu | zis |
| Supin | de zis |
Usage
The default everyday reported speech, with că ("that") introducing the clause:
Zice că vine pe la opt.
He says he's coming around eight.
Mi-a zis că nu poate ajunge la timp.
She told me she can't make it on time.
Asking how something is said — the standard phrasebook question:
Cum se zice „mulțumesc” în maghiară?
How do you say 'thank you' in Hungarian?
The short imperative zi! urging someone to speak:
Zi-mi tot, te ascult.
Tell me everything, I'm listening.
Hai, zi odată, ce s-a întâmplat?
Come on, out with it, what happened?
The hedging conditional and a common discourse filler:
Aș zice că e o idee bună, dar nu sunt sigur.
I'd say it's a good idea, but I'm not sure.
Cum să zic… nu prea mi-a plăcut.
How should I put it… I didn't really like it.
The set expression ce zici? asking for an opinion:
Mergem la film diseară, ce zici?
Shall we go to a film tonight, what do you say?
Register
Common Mistakes
❌ El a zicut că vine.
Incorrect — the participle is the short form zis, not *zicut.
✅ El a zis că vine.
He said he's coming.
❌ Vreau să zice ceva.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person subjunctive is zică, not zice.
✅ Vreau să zică ceva.
I want him to say something.
❌ Zice-mi adevărul!
Incorrect — the singular imperative is the short zi!, so it's zi-mi.
✅ Zi-mi adevărul!
Tell me the truth!
❌ Cum zice „pâine” în engleză?
Incorrect — this 'how do you say' construction needs the reflexive se.
✅ Cum se zice „pâine” în engleză?
How do you say 'bread' in English?
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- a spune — to say, to tellA1 — Full conjugation of a spune (to say, to tell), the neutral verb of speech, with its dative-person + accusative-thing pattern and clitic placement.
- Class III Present: -e VerbsA2 — How to conjugate Class III (-e) verbs in the present indicative, with their stem stress, consonant alternations, and the irregularity-dense core verbs a face, a zice, and a duce.
- Frequent Irregular ParticiplesB1 — A frequency-ordered reference of the must-know irregular past participles — the small set of verbs that covers most spoken-past usage.
- Communication Verbs (a spune, a zice, a vorbi, a întreba)B1 — How Romanian verbs of speaking take their objects: the dative person of a spune, the că-clause for reported speech, and the split between a întreba (ask a question) and a cere (request a thing).
- Direct and Indirect SpeechB2 — Turning direct speech into indirect: că for statements, să for commands, dacă for yes-no questions, wh-words for content questions, plus pronoun and deixis shifts.