Learn Hardcore Romanian: Soția lui Andrei are un program lung la birou, dar soțul ei are zi liberă azi. - Andrei's wife has a long schedule at the office, but her husband has a day off today.

You generally do not say „soția Andrei” in standard Romanian. With names, you almost always need lui (for masculine names) or lui / a (in some constructions) for feminine names:

cartea lui Andrei – Andrei’s book
mașina lui Maria – Maria’s car

So „soția lui Andrei” is the natural, grammatical way to say “Andrei’s wife.”

What does „are un program lung” literally mean, and why use „are”?

Literally:

are = has (3rd person singular of a avea – to have)
un program = a schedule / a program
lung = long

So „are un program lung” literally means “has a long schedule”. Contextually, it’s understood as:

“has a long day (at work)” or
“has a long work schedule”

Romanian often uses a avea + program to talk about work hours:

Am program scurt azi. – I have a short schedule today.
Are program de noapte. – He/She has a night shift.

Why is „soția” with -a at the end, and „soțul” with -ul at the end?

Romanian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

soție – wife
- soția – the wife (definite form, feminine singular)
soț – husband
- soțul – the husband (definite form, masculine singular)

Patterns:

many feminine nouns form the definite singular with -a
- fată → fata (girl → the girl)
- casă → casa (house → the house)
many masculine nouns form the definite singular with -ul / -le / -l
- băiat → băiatul (boy → the boy)
- birou → biroul (office/desk → the office/desk)

So:

Soția lui Andrei = The wife of Andrei
soțul ei = her husband

What’s the difference between „soția lui Andrei” and „soțul ei”? Why not use the same type of possessive?

They use two different possessive structures:

soția lui Andrei – Andrei’s wife
- lui Andrei is a genitive construction; the possessor is named explicitly.
soțul ei – her husband
- ei is the possessive pronoun her (genitive of ea = she).
- The possessor is referred to by a pronoun, not by name.

You could also say:

soțul soției lui Andrei – the husband of Andrei’s wife (very redundant and unnatural here)
More natural: once Andrei’s wife is introduced, Romanian prefers the pronoun ei (her) for the second mention: soțul ei.

Who exactly does „soțul ei” refer to here? Her husband or Andrei’s husband?

In context, „soțul ei” refers to the husband of Andrei’s wife, which is Andrei himself.

The sentence is:

Soția lui Andrei are un program lung la birou, dar soțul ei are zi liberă azi.

So:

First we talk about soția lui Andrei (Andrei’s wife).
Then ei = her refers back to this wife.
soțul ei = her husband = Andrei.

Romanian doesn’t have grammatical gender marking on the pronoun here to distinguish “her husband” vs. “his husband,” so context tells you whose husband is meant.

Why is it „la birou” and not something like „în birou” for “at the office”?

Both la and în can relate to places, but they’re used differently:

la birou – usually means at the office, as in your workplace in general:
- Lucrez la birou. – I work at the office.
- Focus is on the workplace as a location/activity, not the physical inside of the room.
în birou – means in the office, inside the office room:
- Șeful este în birou. – The boss is in the office (room), not in the corridor.

In this sentence, „are un program lung la birou” is about her work schedule, so „la birou” = at the office (job) is the natural choice.

What does „program” mean here? Is it like an English program (TV program, software)?

Romanian program has several meanings. In this context it means work schedule / working hours.

are un program lung la birou = has a long work schedule at the office / has a long day at the office

Other meanings:

program TV – TV program
program de calculator – computer program (software)
program de vizită – visiting hours

But when talking about someone’s day at work, program is understood as work schedule.

Why is „lung” after „program”? Can adjectives come before the noun?

The normal order in Romanian is:

noun + adjective

So:

un program lung – a long schedule
o zi liberă – a free day

Many adjectives must come after the noun. Some can come before for stylistic or emotional emphasis, but the default, neutral position is after the noun.

Examples:

o casă mare – a big house
un film interesant – an interesting movie

So „un program lung” is the standard, neutral word order.

Why is it „zi liberă” without an article, and not „o zi liberă”?

Literally:

o zi liberă = a free day / a day off
zi liberă (without o) can still mean a day off in a more general or idiomatic way.

In this sentence:

soțul ei are zi liberă azi.

This is a very common pattern in Romanian with certain fixed expressions:

Are zi liberă. – He/She has a day off.
Am concediu. – I’m on leave (no article).

You could say:

soțul ei are o zi liberă azi.

That’s also grammatical and understandable, but „are zi liberă” is more idiomatic and sounds more like the usual formula for “he has the day off.”

What is the difference between „azi” and „astăzi”?

Both mean “today.”

azi – shorter, more colloquial, very common in everyday speech.
astăzi – slightly more formal or neutral; often used in writing, news, etc.

You can use either:

Are zi liberă azi.
Are zi liberă astăzi.

In most situations, they’re interchangeable.

Why is the verb „are” used twice and not something like “are… este…”?

Romanian uses a avea (are) for both:

possession and
some fixed expressions about schedules, responsibilities, etc.

So:

Soția lui Andrei are un program lung – Andrei’s wife has a long schedule.
soțul ei are zi liberă – her husband has a day off.

Both are about having a certain type of day/schedule. Using este (is) would change the meaning:

Soția lui Andrei este la birou. – Andrei’s wife is at the office.
Soțul ei este liber azi. – Her husband is free today.

These are possible sentences, but they do not say she has a long schedule; they instead describe their states or locations. The original prefers the “has schedule / has day off” structure.

How do „soț” and „soție” work with gender? Are these the standard words for husband and wife?

Yes, soț and soție are the standard terms for husband and wife.

soț – husband
- soțul – the husband
- soți – husbands
- soții – the husbands (context tells you if it’s masculine plural or mixed)
soție – wife
- soția – the wife
- soții – wives
- soțiile – the wives

So:

soția lui Andrei – Andrei’s wife
soțul ei – her husband

Why is it „dar” and not „însă” or „ci” for “but”?

Romanian has several words that can translate as “but”:

dar – the most common, neutral “but”
însă – also “but/however”, often a bit more formal or emphatic
ci – used only after a negation, meaning “but rather / but instead”

In this sentence there is no negation, so ci would be wrong.

You could say:

… la birou, dar soțul ei are zi liberă azi. – perfectly natural.
… la birou, însă soțul ei are zi liberă azi. – also correct, slightly more formal or contrastive.

dar is simply the default, most frequent word for “but.”

How would this sentence change if we said “Andrei’s husband” instead of “Andrei’s wife”?

If you wanted “Andrei’s husband” (grammatically, assuming Andrei is a person who has a husband), you’d say:

Soțul lui Andrei are un program lung la birou, dar soția lui are zi liberă azi.

Here:

Soțul lui Andrei – Andrei’s husband
soția lui – his wife (referring back to Andrei)

So you’d swap soția / soțul roles and adjust the pronouns accordingly to keep the references clear.

Can „ei” ever mean “their” instead of “her” in a phrase like „soțul ei”?

Yes, ei can be:

“her” (genitive of ea = she)
“their” (genitive of ei/ele = they)

So in isolation:

soțul ei could mean:
- her husband
- their husband (in a context where they are a group with a shared husband, e.g. sisters speaking)

Context usually clarifies:

Here, we just mentioned soția lui Andrei (a single woman), so ei naturally refers to her, not “their.”