Țin cartea în mână.

the book

Breakdown of Țin cartea în mână.

• în: in
• mâna: the hand
• a ține: to hold; keep

Questions & Answers about Țin cartea în mână.

What does țin mean here?

Țin is the 1st person singular present form of a ține.

In this sentence, it means I hold or I am holding.
Depending on context, a ține can also mean things like to keep, to maintain, or to support, but here the natural meaning is to hold.

Why isn’t eu included?

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb form țin already tells you the subject is I, so eu is usually omitted:

• Țin cartea în mână. = I’m holding the book in my hand.
• Eu țin cartea în mână. = also possible, but eu adds emphasis, like I am the one holding it.

This is called a pro-drop language pattern.

Why is it cartea instead of carte?

Because cartea means the book, while carte means book or a book.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun:

• carte = a book / book
• cartea = the book

So cartea is used because the sentence refers to a specific book.

Is țin more like or ?