Learn Hardcore Romanian: Programul zilei începe dimineața cu micul dejun în familie. - The day's schedule starts in the morning with breakfast with the family.

You cannot say programul zi. After a definite noun (programul), the “owner” (the day) must appear in the genitive case, so zi changes to zilei.

What exactly is the form „zilei”? Why not just „zi” or „zii”?

Zilei is the genitive–dative singular of zi (day).

Singular forms of zi:

Nominative/Accusative (basic form): zi – a day
Definite: ziua – the day
Genitive/Dative (indefinite): unei zile – of a day / to a day
Genitive/Dative (definite): zilei – of the day / to the day

In programul zilei, we need “of the day” → zilei.

„Zii” is not a correct form in this context; zilei is the only correct genitive singular definite form.

Why is it „dimineața” and not „dimineață”? What’s the difference?

dimineață = a morning (indefinite)
dimineața = the morning / (in context) in the morning, in the mornings (definite, often generic)

In sentences about a typical routine or habit, Romanian often uses the definite form:

Programul zilei începe dimineața…
= The day’s schedule starts in the morning (as a general, habitual statement).

If you said într-o dimineață, that would mean “on a (particular) morning,” which is more specific and one-time.

So dimineața here is like English “in the morning” in a general sense.

Why don’t we need a preposition like „în dimineața” to mean “in the morning”?

Romanian can express “in the morning” in two ways:

Without a preposition (very common for general time):
- dimineața mă trezesc la 7 = in the morning I wake up at 7
With „dimineața, în fiecare dimineață” for emphasis/repetition:
- în fiecare dimineață mă trezesc la 7 = every morning I wake up at 7

The simple dimineața by itself already implies “in the morning” in a generic, habitual sense, so „în dimineața” would sound odd here, almost like “inside the morning” or a specific morning (“in the morning of…”), which isn’t what we want.

What does „micul dejun” literally mean, and why is it not „dejunul mic”?

Literally:

mic = small, little
dejun = (old word for) meal, breakfast

Historically, micul dejun meant “the small / first meal,” i.e. breakfast. Today it’s a fixed expression meaning simply breakfast.

Why not dejunul mic?

Romanian usually puts adjectives after the noun (e.g. dejun mic), but
when the adjective takes the definite article, it often goes before the noun:
- micul dejun = the breakfast
- structure: mic-ul dejun → mic carries the article -ul and stands before dejun.

Dejunul mic would be interpreted as “the small meal” (and is not the standard way to say “breakfast”).

Why is it „cu micul dejun” and not „la micul dejun”?

Both exist, but they mean slightly different things:

cu micul dejun
- literally: with breakfast
- Focus: breakfast as part of the program / activity that starts the day.
- In the sentence: the day’s schedule starts with breakfast.
la micul dejun
- literally: at breakfast
- Focus: something happening during the breakfast time.
- Example: La micul dejun bem cafea. = At breakfast we drink coffee.

In your sentence, we’re listing the first element of the day’s program, so cu micul dejun (“with breakfast”) is the natural choice.

What does „în familie” mean here, and how is it different from „cu familia”?

în familie = literally “in family,” but idiomatically:
- as a family, in a family setting, within the family
cu familia = with the family
- more neutral: just indicates you are with your family members.

Nuance:

micul dejun în familie suggests:
- a family atmosphere, an activity that is part of family life.
micul dejun cu familia would be understood and is correct, but has a slightly more literal feel: you’re having breakfast together with your family. It lacks a bit of that “family-style, family context” nuance.

In many contexts, they overlap, but „în familie” is common in set phrases like:

cină în familie – family dinner
discuție în familie – family discussion

Why is the verb „începe” in the present tense? Does it mean it’s happening now or regularly?

Romanian present tense (începe) can express both:

Right now:
- Programul zilei începe acum. = The day’s program is starting now.
General truth / usual routine (like English “The train leaves at 8”):
- Programul zilei începe dimineața cu micul dejun în familie.
  = Describes how the day typically starts.

In this sentence, it’s about a regular program, so it’s understood as habitual present: “always / usually starts.”

Can the word order in this sentence be changed? For example, can I move „dimineața” or „în familie”?

Yes, Romanian word order is relatively flexible, but changes can affect emphasis.

The neutral, natural order is:

Programul zilei începe dimineața cu micul dejun în familie.

Other possible variants:

Programul zilei începe cu micul dejun în familie, dimineața.
– Slight emphasis on when it happens (dimineața).
Dimineața, programul zilei începe cu micul dejun în familie.
– Stronger emphasis on dimineața (“In the morning, the day’s program starts…”).

What you can’t do is break fixed phrases in an odd way, for example:

✗ Programul zilei dimineața începe cu micul dejun în familie. (awkward)
✗ Programul zilei începe cu micul dimineața dejun în familie. (incorrect split of micul dejun)

Keep „micul dejun” and „în familie” together as units.

Why does Romanian add the definite article at the end of words like programul and dimineața, instead of using a separate word like English “the”?

Romanian uses enclitic definite articles, attached to the end of the noun:

program → programul (the program)
dimineață → dimineața (the morning)
dejun → dejunul (the meal / the breakfast)
mic → micul (the small / the little → the [as part of micul dejun])

In your sentence:

programul = the program
zilei already contains definiteness in its case form (genitive of “the day”)
dimineața = the morning (in a general sense)
micul dejun = the breakfast

So there is no separate word like “the”; the definiteness is built into the noun or adjective via endings.

How do you pronounce the special Romanian letters in this sentence (ă, â, ă again)?

Relevant words:

dimineața – di-mi-ne-a-ța
- ă: a short, relaxed “uh” sound, like the ‘a’ in “sofa” (but shorter).
- ț: “ts” as in “cats”.
micul dejun în familie
- în: î (also written â in other words) is a central vowel, similar to the French “un” or the sound in English “roses” if you say it very relaxed. It’s not exactly like English vowels; it’s a kind of central, muffled vowel.
- So în is roughly “uhn”.

Overall:

ă = a short, neutral “uh” (schwa-like)
î / â = a darker, central vowel, somewhat like a very relaxed “uh,” but more tense than ă.

Is „micul dejun” countable? Can I say “a breakfast” in Romanian?

Yes, micul dejun can be used both as:

a general concept:
- Micul dejun este important. = Breakfast is important.
a countable meal (one instance of breakfast):
- Am avut un mic dejun copios. = I had a hearty breakfast.
- Două mic-dejunuri sunt incluse în preț. = Two breakfasts are included in the price.

Note:

In the countable, indefinite sense, you drop the definite article (micul) and say un mic dejun.
In the plural, you often see the hyphenated form mic-dejunuri in practice.