Legs and Fingers
Let's add limbs to your anatomy vocabulary, starting with piciorul (the leg) and degetul (the finger or toe).
Both are neuter nouns. In the plural, they take the ending -e, becoming picioare and degete.
| The boy has two legs. | Băiatul are două picioare. |
| I see the right leg. | Văd piciorul drept. |
| The girl has ten fingers. | Fata are zece degete. |
Left and Right
Because Romanian adjectives must match the noun's gender, words for "left" and "right" change forms. For masculine and neuter nouns like brațul (the arm), use stâng and drept. For a feminine noun like mâna (the hand), use stângă and dreaptă.
| I write with my left hand. | Scriu cu mâna stângă. |
| You raise your right arm. | Dumneavoastră ridicați brațul drept. |
| She raises her left hand. | Ea ridică mâna stângă. |
Shoulders, Knees, and Actions
Let's add two more body parts: umărul (the shoulder) and genunchiul (the knee).
Notice the specific structure used for washing body parts. Romanian uses the reflexive phrase mă spăl (I wash myself) followed by the preposition pe (on). It literally translates to "I wash myself on the fingers."
| I wash my fingers. | Mă spăl pe degete. |
| I sleep on my left shoulder. | Dorm pe umărul stâng. |
| I wash my right knee. | Mă spăl pe genunchiul drept. |
When talking about multiple limbs, attach the plural definite article -le to neuter nouns to say "the arms" (brațele) and "the legs" (picioarele).
| We raise our arms and legs. | Ridicăm brațele și picioarele. |
