Fratele meu este englez.

to be

Breakdown of Fratele meu este englez.

• meu: my
• fratele: the brother
• englez: English

Questions & Answers about Fratele meu este englez.

Why is it fratele and not just frate?

Frate means brother in general (indefinite).
Fratele means the brother (definite).

In Romanian, the definite article is attached to the end of the noun:

• frate = brother
• fratele = the brother

Because you are talking about a specific person (my brother), Romanian uses the definite form: Fratele meu… = My brother… (literally “The brother my…”).

Why is it fratele meu and not meu frate?

In Romanian, possessive adjectives like meu (my) usually come after the noun they modify:

• fratele meu = my brother (literally: the brother my)
• cartea mea = my book (literally: the book my)

Saying meu frate is not correct in standard Romanian. There are some fixed expressions and poetic uses where the order can change, but for normal speech you almost always put the possessive after the noun.

What does meu mean exactly, and does it change form?

Meu means my (for masculine singular nouns in the nominative–accusative case). It changes depending on the gender and number of the noun:

• Masculine singular: meu
  
  • fratele meu – my brother
• Feminine singular: mea
  
  • sora mea – my sister
• Masculine plural: mei
  
  • frații mei – my brothers
• Feminine plural: mele
  
  • surorile mele – my sisters

So you must match the form of meu/mea/mei/mele to the noun it refers to.

Can I say Fratele meu e englez instead of este englez?

Yes. Este and e are both forms of to be (3rd person singular).

• este – full form, a bit more formal or neutral
• e – shortened form, very common in speech and in informal writing

Both Fratele meu este englez and Fratele meu e englez are correct and mean the same thing.

Why don’t we use an article before englez? Why not un englez?

In this sentence, englez functions like an adjective or a nationality label, similar to English “is English” or “is British”—no article is needed:

• Fratele meu este englez. – My brother is English.

If you say este un englez, it sounds more like:

• Fratele meu este un englez. – My brother is an Englishman / an English guy.

So:

• este englez = describes his nationality/identity in a general way
• este un englez = presents him as one example of a category (an Englishman), a bit more “countable” and sometimes more emphatic or contrastive.

What exactly does englez mean here? Adjective or noun?

Englez can be both:

• a noun: an Englishman
• an adjective: English (masculine form)

In Fratele meu este englez, it can be understood in both ways:

• as an adjective: My brother is English.
• as a noun: My brother is an Englishman.

Romanian doesn’t need to change the form here; the context tells you how to translate it naturally into English.

Why is englez not capitalized like English in English?

In Romanian, nationalities and adjectives derived from countries are not capitalized:

• englez, francez, român, german

Country names are capitalized:

• Anglia (England)
• Franța (France)
• România (Romania)

So englez is correctly written with a lowercase e, even though English uses a capital letter for English.

How would the sentence change if I talk about my sister instead of my brother?

For a sister, you use the feminine forms:

1. If you mean “My sister is English (nationality, female)”:

   • Sora mea este englezoaică.

   • sora = the sister
   • mea = my (feminine singular)
   • englezoaică = Englishwoman (female English person)

2. You might also see:

   • Sora mea este engleză.

Here engleză is the feminine adjective English, but for nationality referring to a woman, englezoaică is more specific.

How would I say “My brothers are English”?

You need the plural for both brother and English and the plural form of to be:

• Frații mei sunt englezi.

Breakdown:

• frate → frați (brothers)
• frații = the brothers
• mei = my (masculine plural)
• sunt = are (3rd person plural of a fi, to be)
• englezi = English (masculine plural)

Can I drop este and just say Fratele meu englez like in some other languages?

No. In standard Romanian, you normally cannot drop the verb “to be” in this kind of sentence.

You must say:

• Fratele meu este englez.
  or
• Fratele meu e englez.

Fratele meu englez sounds incomplete or like a fragment (it could work only in special contexts like titles or notes, not as a normal full sentence).

What is the pronunciation of Fratele meu este englez?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):
/ˈfrate.le mew ˈeste eŋˈɡlez/

Syllable breakdown and stress:

• FRA-te-le – stress on FRA
• meu – like “meh-oo” fused into one syllable
• ES-te – stress on ES
• en-GLEZ – stress on GLEZ, z like in “zoo”

Spoken more naturally, este might sound like ie-ste or shortened to e:
Fratele meu e englez. /ˈfrate.le mew e eŋˈɡlez/

Why is it fratele and not frate-le? Is the -le a separate word?

The -le is not a separate word; it is a suffix that marks the definite article. Romanian uses enclitic definite articles, which means the article is attached to the end of the noun:

• frate → fratele (brother → the brother)
• băiat → băiatul (boy → the boy)
• om → omul (man → the man)

So you write and pronounce it as one word: fratele, not frate le or frate-le in normal spelling.