Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Romanian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Unde este biroul tău?
What does Unde este biroul tău? literally mean in English?
It literally means Where is your office?. Breaking it down:
- unde = where
- este = is
- biroul = the office
- tău = your (masculine singular)
Why do we use este instead of ești or sunteți?
Because este is the 3rd person singular form of a fi (to be) used here with biroul tău as the subject (“the office”).
- ești is 2nd person singular (“you are”)
- sunteți is 2nd person plural/formal (“you are” polite)
Using ești or sunteți would mean you’re asking “Are you …?” rather than “Where is …?”
Why is biroul written with -ul at the end?
Romanian enclitic definite articles attach to the end of nouns.
- birou = office
- biroul = the office
In English we say the office, but in Romanian the -ul signals the.
Why does the possessive tău come after the noun instead of before?
In Romanian, possessive pronouns typically follow the noun they modify.
- English: your office
- Romanian: biroul tău (literally “the office your”)
What’s the difference between birou and oficiu?
- birou is the everyday word for an office as a workspace or department.
- oficiu is more formal and usually refers to an official institution or agency (e.g., oficiul poștal = the post office).
When asking where someone works, you almost always use birou.
How would you ask Where is your office? formally?
Use the formal possessive dumneavoastră:
Unde este biroul dumneavoastră?
Here dumneavoastră is the polite 2nd person singular/plural possessive.
Can I say Unde este biroul tău? to a woman?
Yes. The form tău agrees with the gender of the noun (birou is masculine), not the gender of the person.
For a feminine noun like mașina (car), you’d use ta: Unde este mașina ta?
How do you pronounce Unde este biroul tău??
Approximate pronunciation:
- Unde = OON-deh
- este = EH-steh
- biroul = bee-ROUL (the ou sounds like ow in cow)
- tău = tuh-OO (the ă is like the a in sofa)
Altogether: /ˈunde ˈeste biˈroul təˈu/