Verbs of speaking are everywhere in conversation, and Romanian arranges their objects in ways that quietly trip up English speakers. The two biggest snags: English "tell" hides a dative person in Romanian (you say to me, not just me), and English "ask" splits into two completely different verbs — a întreba (ask a question) and a cere (ask for / request a thing). This page covers a spune, a zice, a vorbi, a întreba, and a cere, and the structures each one demands.
a spune and a zice: to say / to tell
These two are near-synonyms meaning "say" or "tell." The difference is almost purely register: a zice is the more colloquial, conversational choice, while a spune is slightly more neutral and is preferred in writing. Both take a dative for the person told and an accusative (or a clause) for the thing said: a spune cuiva ceva — "to say something to someone."
Spune-mi adevărul, te rog.
Tell me the truth, please.
Ce-ai zis? N-am auzit.
What did you say? I didn't hear.
I-am spus Mariei că întârzii.
I told Maria I'd be late.
In that last sentence, i- is the dative clitic doubling Mariei (also dative). Romanian regularly doubles the dative person with a clitic — the clitic is not optional in natural speech.
The dative person: "tell ME"
This is the structural habit to build. Where English says "tell me" with a plain object, Romanian uses the dative: the person you tell is the indirect object, marked by a dative clitic (îmi, îți, îi, ne, vă, le) and, with a full noun, by dative case.
| English | Romanian clitic | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tell me | îmi / -mi | Îmi spune / Spune-mi |
| tell you (sg) | îți / -ți | Îți spun |
| tell him/her | îi / -i | Îi spun / I-am spus |
| tell us | ne | Ne spune |
| tell you (pl) | vă | Vă spun |
| tell them | le | Le spun |
Îmi spune mereu același lucru.
He always tells me the same thing.
Le-am zis copiilor să nu deschidă ușa.
I told the kids not to open the door.
Note the clitic le doubling the dative copiilor. The thing said can also be a subjunctive clause (să nu deschidă) when it's an instruction or wish.
Reported speech: the că-clause
To report what someone says, Romanian uses a spune / a zice că + an indicative clause. Unlike English, the conjunction că ("that") is not optional — you cannot drop it the way English drops "that" in he says he's coming.
Zice că vine mai târziu.
He says he's coming later.
Mi-a spus că nu mai are bani.
He told me he's out of money.
Toți spun că filmul e prost, dar mie mi-a plăcut.
Everyone says the film is bad, but I liked it.
a vorbi: to speak, to talk
a vorbi is intransitive in its core meaning. You do not "speak something" to someone the way you "say something"; instead you vorbi cu (talk with) a person and vorbi despre (talk about) a topic. You can, however, vorbi o limbă — speak a language.
Trebuie să vorbesc cu șeful despre concediu.
I need to talk to my boss about my holiday.
Vorbește trei limbi fluent.
She speaks three languages fluently.
Nu vorbi cu mine pe tonul ăsta.
Don't talk to me in that tone.
The contrast with a spune is worth holding onto: a spune takes what you say (a thing or a clause); a vorbi takes with whom and about what. "I told him the news" is a spune; "I talked to him about the news" is a vorbi.
a întreba vs a cere: the English "ask" split
English "ask" does two jobs that Romanian keeps strictly separate.
a întreba = to ask a question — to seek information. It takes the person as a direct object (accusative), and the question itself as a second object or an embedded clause.
a cere = to ask for / to request a thing or an action — to seek to obtain something. It takes the thing requested as a direct object.
Te întreb ceva: la ce oră începe meciul?
Let me ask you something: what time does the match start?
L-am întrebat dacă a terminat proiectul.
I asked him whether he'd finished the project.
A cerut o cafea și un pahar cu apă.
He asked for a coffee and a glass of water.
Le-am cerut ajutorul, dar n-au răspuns.
I asked them for help, but they didn't reply.
The litmus test: if you can paraphrase with "pose a question," it's a întreba. If you can paraphrase with "request / ask for," it's a cere. "I asked him a question" → l-am întrebat. "I asked him for money" → i-am cerut bani.
How this differs from English
Two reanalyses are required. First, English "tell" hands the recipient over as a plain object ("tell me"); Romanian routes it through the dative (îmi spune) and usually doubles a full noun with a dative clitic. Second, English collapses two distinct acts under "ask," while Romanian — like many languages — separates questioning (a întreba, person in accusative) from requesting (a cere, person in dative). Internalising that split, and not dropping the obligatory că, removes most learner errors with these verbs.
Common Mistakes
❌ Am cerut-o ce vrea.
Incorrect — to ask a question is 'a întreba', and the person is accusative.
✅ Am întrebat-o ce vrea.
I asked her what she wants.
❌ L-am întrebat un pahar cu apă.
Incorrect — requesting a thing is 'a cere', not 'a întreba'.
✅ I-am cerut un pahar cu apă.
I asked him for a glass of water.
❌ Spune adevărul mie.
Incorrect — the recipient is a dative clitic attached to the verb, not a stranded 'mie'.
✅ Spune-mi adevărul.
Tell me the truth.
❌ Zice vine mai târziu.
Incorrect — the conjunction 'că' cannot be dropped in reported speech.
✅ Zice că vine mai târziu.
He says he's coming later.
❌ Vreau să vorbesc the news cu tine.
Incorrect — 'a vorbi' takes 'despre' for the topic, not a direct object.
✅ Vreau să vorbesc cu tine despre noutăți.
I want to talk to you about the news.
Key Takeaways
- a spune (neutral/written) and a zice (colloquial) both mean "say/tell"; the person told is in the dative (îmi spune, i-am zis Mariei).
- Reported speech uses că
- indicative, and că is obligatory — never drop it.
- a vorbi is intransitive: vorbi cu (someone), vorbi despre (a topic), vorbi o limbă.
- English "ask" splits: a întreba = ask a question (person in accusative); a cere = request a thing (person in dative).
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