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Scuze, nu am apă.

Scuze, nu am apă.
Sorry, I have no water.
FromLesson 1inHardcore Romanian

Breakdown of Scuze, nu am apă.

scuze
sorry
nu
not
a avea
to have
apa
the water

Questions & Answers about Scuze, nu am apă.

What does scuze mean in Romanian and how is it used?
Scuze is the plural of scuză (excuse), but in everyday speech it functions like the English “sorry” or “excuse me.” You use it for a quick, casual apology or to get someone’s attention. For a more formal apology, you might say îmi cer scuze (“I apologize”) or îmi pare rău (“I’m sorry” in a more heartfelt sense).
Why is there no article before apă in nu am apă?
In Romanian, when you negate possession, you leave out the indefinite article. Also, apă (“water”) is an uncountable (mass) noun, so you wouldn’t normally say o apă to mean “water.” Instead, nu am apă literally means “I have no water” or “I don’t have any water.”
How is nu am apă built grammatically?

It splits into three parts:

  • nu = the negation particle (“not”)
  • am = first-person singular present of a avea (“to have”)
  • apă = the noun “water”
    Together, nu am apă = “I don’t have water.”
How do you pronounce scuze, nu am apă?

In IPA roughly: [ˈsku.zə nu am ˈa.pə]

  • scuze = “SKU-zə” (stress on the first syllable)
  • nu am = “noo am”
  • apă = “AH-puh” (with the Romanian ă like the ‘a’ in English “sofa”)
Can you shorten nu am to n-am, and is that okay?
Yes. In casual speech and informal writing, Romanians often contract nu am to n-am. So you’ll hear scuze, n-am apă. In more formal contexts or careful speech, however, it’s better to keep nu am spelled out.
What’s the difference between scuze and îmi pare rău?
  • scuze: a quick, everyday apology, like “sorry” or “excuse me.”
  • îmi pare rău: literally “it seems bad to me,” used for sincere, often more formal apologies—closer to “I’m truly sorry.”
How polite or formal is scuze, nu am apă?

It’s neutral to informal—perfectly fine among friends, in a café, or at a small shop. To sound more polite or official, you could say:

  • Îmi cer scuze, nu am apă. (“I apologize, I don’t have water.”)
  • Îmi pare rău, nu avem apă. (“I’m sorry, we don’t have water.”)
How would you say “I don’t have any more water” in Romanian?

You add mai (meaning “any more”):
Nu mai am apă. = “I don’t have any more water.”

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