Negating the Present: nu + verb | Romanian Grammar

Negating a verb in Romanian is mechanically simple: put nu in front of it. There is no auxiliary, no "do not," no change to the verb itself. Vorbesc (I speak) becomes Nu vorbesc (I don't speak); este aici (he's here) becomes nu este aici (he isn't here). The simplicity is real, but there is one feature that will trip up every English speaker, and it is the opposite of an English habit: Romanian stacks negatives rather than canceling them. "I don't see anyone" comes out as Nu văd pe nimeni — literally "I don't see no one" — and that doubling is not a mistake but the only correct form.

The basic rule: nu goes before the verb

Place nu directly before the verb you want to negate. The verb keeps its normal present-tense form; nothing else moves.

Nu vorbesc spaniolă, doar engleză.

I don't speak Spanish, only English.

Nu este aici, a plecat acum o oră.

He isn't here, he left an hour ago.

Nu am timp acum, te sun mai târziu.

I don't have time right now, I'll call you later.

💡

There is no "do" in Romanian negation. English inserts a helper verb — "I do not know" — but Romanian just prefixes nu to the real verb: nu știu. Trying to translate "do not" word for word produces nothing usable; drop the helper entirely.

With clitic pronouns, nu comes first

When the verb is preceded by an object or reflexive clitic (mă, te, îl, îi, ne, vă, le, se), nu sits in front of the whole cluster — it negates the verb phrase, not just the bare verb.

Nu te aud, vorbește mai tare.

I can't hear you, speak louder.

Nu mă deranjează deloc, stai liniștit.

It doesn't bother me at all, relax.

Nu o cunosc personal, doar din ziare.

I don't know her personally, only from the papers.

Spoken contractions: n-am, n-are, n-aude

In speech — and increasingly in informal writing, texting, and dialogue in fiction — nu contracts to n- before a verb that begins with a vowel. Nu am becomes n-am, nu are becomes n-are, nu aude becomes n-aude. The full nu am is the careful or formal written form; the contracted n-am is what you actually hear.

Full form (written)	Contracted (spoken / informal)	Meaning
nu am	n-am	I don't have
nu are	n-are	he/she doesn't have
nu aude	n-aude	he/she doesn't hear
nu îmi	nu-mi	not to me
nu îl	nu-l	(not) him

N-am idee unde mi-am pus cheile.

I have no idea where I put my keys.

N-are rost să mai aștepți.

There's no point in waiting any longer.

Nu-mi place cum sună asta.

I don't like how that sounds.

💡

Use the contracted forms in speech and casual messages; they sound natural and native. In formal writing — an official letter, an essay — write nu am, nu are in full. Both are correct; the difference is register, not grammar.

Double negation is obligatory

Here is the rule that runs opposite to English. With negative words like nimic (nothing), nimeni (nobody), niciodată (never), nicăieri (nowhere), and niciun / nicio (no, not any), Romanian keeps nu on the verb as well. The two negatives do not cancel — they reinforce. English logic says "two negatives make a positive"; Romanian logic says "the sentence is negative, so everything in it agrees and goes negative." Linguists call this negative concord, and it is the standard, mandatory pattern.

Nu văd pe nimeni în parc.

I don't see anyone in the park. (lit. 'I don't see nobody')

Nu înțeleg nimic din ce spui.

I don't understand anything you're saying. (lit. 'nothing')

Nu merg niciodată la teatru.

I never go to the theater. (lit. 'I don't go never')

Nu găsesc cheile nicăieri.

I can't find the keys anywhere. (lit. 'nowhere')

You can even stack three or more negatives in one clause, and it is still simply emphatic, never self-canceling:

Nu spune nimeni nimic niciodată.

Nobody ever says anything. (three negatives, all reinforcing)

💡

Think of nu on the verb as the "switch" that turns the whole clause negative. Once that switch is on, nimic / nimeni / niciodată are not "negatives that cancel it" — they are pieces that have to agree with it. Drop nu and the sentence breaks.

Comparison with English single-negation

This is the single hardest thing for an English speaker to internalize, precisely because standard English forbids exactly what Romanian requires. "I don't see nobody" is stigmatized in English; in Romanian it is the only grammatical option. The fix is not to translate word for word but to learn the pattern as a unit: nu ... nimic, nu ... nimeni, nu ... niciodată. Whenever one of those words appears, nu must already be sitting on the verb.

When the negative word comes first

If you front a negative word for emphasis, nu still stays on the verb. The negative word at the front does not "use up" the negation.

Niciodată nu mănânc dimineața.

I never eat in the morning. (nu stays on the verb)

Nimeni nu știe adevărul.

Nobody knows the truth.

Common Mistakes

❌ Văd nimic.

Incorrect — a negative word (nimic) requires 'nu' on the verb too.

✅ Nu văd nimic.

I don't see anything.

❌ Eu nu do vorbesc engleză.

Incorrect — there is no 'do' in Romanian negation; just 'nu' + verb.

✅ Eu nu vorbesc engleză.

I don't speak English.

❌ Merg niciodată la sală.

Incorrect — 'niciodată' needs the verb negated with 'nu'.

✅ Nu merg niciodată la sală.

I never go to the gym.

❌ Nimeni știe răspunsul.

Incorrect — even with 'nimeni' first, 'nu' must stay on the verb.

✅ Nimeni nu știe răspunsul.

Nobody knows the answer.

❌ Nu cunosc cineva aici.

Incorrect — in a negative clause use the negative pronoun 'nimeni', not 'cineva'.

✅ Nu cunosc pe nimeni aici.

I don't know anyone here.

Key Takeaways

Negate any present verb by putting nu directly before it — no auxiliary, no "do."
Nu sits in front of clitic pronouns (nu te aud), negating the whole verb phrase.
In speech, nu contracts to n- before a vowel (n-am, n-are); the full form is formal.
Double negation is mandatory: nimic, nimeni, niciodată co-occur with nu, never replace it.
This is the mirror image of English single-negation — learn nu ... nimic / nimeni / niciodată as fixed pairs.

Now practice Romanian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Romanian→