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Questions & Answers about Mulțumesc pentru cafea.
What does Mulțumesc mean and where does it come from?
Mulțumesc is the Romanian verb for “I thank” or simply “Thank you.” It comes from the verb a mulțumi, meaning “to thank” or “to be thankful.” By using the first person singular present tense form mulțumesc, you are literally saying “I thank.”
Why is there no article before cafea?
In this sentence, cafea is an uncountable/nonspecific noun (coffee in general). Romanian, like English, often omits the article with mass or abstract nouns when you’re not specifying a particular instance (e.g., I like coffee = Îmi place cafea). If you wanted to say “Thank you for the coffee” (a specific cup), you would add the definite article: Mulțumesc pentru cafeaua (pe care mi-ai oferit-o).
What case does pentru cafea use, and why?
Pentru always takes the accusative case in Romanian. However, with many inanimate nouns like cafea, the accusative form is identical to the nominative (no ending change). So cafea remains cafea. If you had a masculine noun like măr (apple), pentru măr would also remain măr, but you still treat it grammatically as accusative.
Is there a more informal way to say “Thank you for the coffee”?
Yes. You can say Mulțam pentru cafea or simply Mersi pentru cafea, borrowing from French/English merci/thanks. Keep in mind that Mulțam is a clipped colloquial form of Mulțumesc and Mersi is an informal loanword, suitable among friends or in casual settings.
How do you pronounce the letter ț in Mulțumesc?
The letter ț is pronounced like the ts in cats. So Mulțumesc sounds approximately like mool-tsoo-mesk (with a short “oo” as in “book,” “mool,” and stress on the penultimate syllable: mul-TZU-mesc).
Can I use a direct translation of “Thank you for coffee” without pentru?
No. Romanian requires a preposition to link mulțumesc to its object. You must use pentru (for) or another appropriate preposition if the context changes (e.g., Mulțumesc de invitație – “Thanks for the invitation”). Omitting pentru would be ungrammatical in this structure.
Does mulțumesc ever change according to gender or number?
No. Mulțumesc is a verb form, not an adjective, so it doesn’t agree in gender or number. Whether you’re a man or a woman, single or plural, you always say mulțumesc for “I thank.” If you’re thanking on behalf of a group (“We thank”), you’d use mulțumim.