Questions & Answers about El vorbește despre onoare.
Why is El included? Can Romanian drop the subject pronoun here?
Yes. Romanian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.
So Vorbește despre onoare. is also a complete and natural sentence meaning He is speaking / talks about honor.
El is included for emphasis, contrast, or clarity:
- El vorbește despre onoare. = He talks about honor.
- This can suggest he, not someone else.
What does vorbește mean exactly?
How do you pronounce vorbește?
A helpful approximation is vor-BESH-te.
Notes:
- ș is pronounced like sh in shoe
- ește sounds roughly like ESH-te
- Stress is usually on the second syllable here: vor-BEȘ-te
So the full sentence sounds roughly like: El vor-BEȘ-te DES-pre o-NOA-re.
What is the role of despre?
Despre is a preposition meaning about or concerning.
So:
- a vorbi despre ceva = to talk about something
- despre onoare = about honor
It is a very common word and is used in many contexts:
- o carte despre istorie = a book about history
- vorbim despre muncă = we talk about work
Why is it onoare and not onoarea?
Onoare is the basic indefinite form, meaning honor in a general sense.
In despre onoare, the noun is being used generically:
- about honor
If you say despre onoarea, that means about the honor, but it usually needs more context, because the definite form often points to a specific honor:
- despre onoarea familiei = about the family’s honor
So:
- despre onoare = about honor, honor as a concept
- despre onoarea cuiva = about someone’s honor
Is onoare a feminine noun?
Does despre change the form of the noun?
Not in any obvious way here. Romanian grammars sometimes describe despre as taking the accusative, but for many nouns the form looks the same as the basic dictionary form.
So in practice, you can simply learn:
- despre + noun/pronoun = about + noun/pronoun
Examples:
- despre onoare = about honor
- despre mine = about me
- despre el = about him
The main thing to remember is the preposition despre, not a visible noun ending change in this example.
Can El vorbește despre onoare mean both He speaks about honor and He is speaking about honor?
Yes. The Romanian present tense often covers both ideas:
- He speaks about honor
- He is speaking about honor
Context tells you which one is meant.
If you want to make the ongoing action more explicit, Romanian can also use structures like:
- El vorbește acum despre onoare. = He is talking about honor now.
Can the word order be changed?
Yes. Romanian word order is fairly flexible, though El vorbește despre onoare is the most neutral order.
Other orders are possible for emphasis:
- Despre onoare vorbește el. = It is about honor that he is speaking.
- El despre onoare vorbește. = also possible, but more marked
A learner should usually start with the neutral order: subject + verb + prepositional phrase
What is the difference between a vorbi despre and a spune?
Good question. They are related, but not the same.
- a vorbi despre ceva = to talk about something
- a spune ceva = to say something
So:
- El vorbește despre onoare. = He talks about honor.
- El spune că onoarea este importantă. = He says that honor is important.
Use a vorbi despre when the topic is important. Use a spune when focusing on the actual statement or words spoken.
Would pe onoare ever work here instead of despre onoare?
No. In this sentence, despre is the correct preposition because the meaning is about.
Pe has many other uses in Romanian, but it does not mean about in this structure.
So:
- vorbește despre onoare = correct
- vorbește pe onoare = not correct for this meaning
Is El only he, or can it also mean it?
In normal Romanian, el means he. It can also refer back to a masculine noun in some contexts, which English might translate as it, but for a learner, the main meaning is he.
So in this sentence, the natural reading is:
- He talks about honor.
If the subject were feminine, it would be:
- Ea vorbește despre onoare. = She talks about honor.
How would I negate this sentence?
Can I replace onoare with other nouns in the same pattern?
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning RomanianMaster Romanian — from El vorbește despre onoare to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions