Saying "Both" in Romanian
When you want to describe two subjects at once—like trying to choose between two adorable rescue animals—you'll need to say "both". Romanian has two sets of dual quantifiers: amândoi and ambii. They mean exactly the same thing, but they have distinct grammar rules for how they interact with nouns.
"Amândoi" (The Noun Takes the Article)
The first word for "both" is amândoi (masculine). It can be used all by itself as a pronoun to replace a noun entirely.
| Both are abandoned dogs. | Amândoi sunt câini abandonați. |
However, when you place amândoi right before a noun, the noun must have a definite article appended to it (e.g., câinii instead of câini).
| We want to adopt both abandoned dogs. | Vrem să adoptăm amândoi câinii abandonați. |
"Ambii" (The Word Has the Article Built-In)
The alternative is ambii (masculine). Unlike amândoi, the definite article is already built into the end of the word (ambi-i). Because of this, any noun that follows it must remain indefinite (bare). You say ambii câini, never ambii câinii.
| Both dogs need a good owner. | Ambii câini au nevoie de un stăpân bun. |
Like amândoi, ambii works perfectly on its own as a pronoun too.
| Both are vaccinated and are waiting for an owner. | Ambii sunt vaccinați și așteaptă un stăpân. |
Feminine and Neuter Forms
When talking about feminine or neuter nouns (like pisică), both of these quantifiers change their forms to match.
Amândouă is the feminine/neuter form of amândoi. Just like its masculine counterpart, the noun that follows it must have a definite article (pisicile).
| Both cats are very playful. | Amândouă pisicile sunt foarte jucăușe. |
Ambele is the feminine/neuter form of ambii. Sticking to the rule, because it has the article built in, the noun following it stays bare (pisici).
| Both cats have white fur and are playful. | Ambele pisici au blana albă și sunt jucăușe. |
And of course, ambele easily stands on its own when the noun is already understood from context.
| Both are wonderful, so we will adopt them. | Ambele sunt minunate, deci o să le adoptăm. |