When sharing gossip or sensational news, you often want to clarify that you are just repeating what you heard. Romanian uses specific evidential adverbs to signal hearsay, letting you distance yourself from the truth of a scandalous claim.
Allegedly: "Cică"
The adverb cică is extremely common in spoken Romanian. It is a contraction of se zice că ("it is said that") and translates to "allegedly," "supposedly," or "word on the street is." It usually sits at the beginning of the clause. You will hear it often when discussing neighborhood drama, like someone cheating (a înșela).
| Allegedly the neighbor had cheated on his wife with a colleague. | Cică vecinul o înșelase pe soția lui cu o colegă. |
Supposedly: "Chipurile"
The adverb chipurile also means "supposedly" or "ostensibly," but it often carries an extra layer of skepticism or irony. You can use it when doubting rumors about serious things, like a bribe (mita) or blackmail (a șantaja).
Unlike cică, chipurile is highly flexible and can be placed in the middle or even at the very end of a sentence.
| The judge did not take the bribe, but supposedly they had blackmailed her. | Judecătoarea n-a luat mita, dar chipurile ei o șantajaseră. |
| The anonymous informant said that she accepted the bribe, supposedly. | Informatorul anonim a spus că ea a acceptat mita, chipurile. |
Sensational Revelations
When discussing a revelation (dezvăluirea) that seems a bit too sensational (senzațional), you can use both cică and chipurile to cast doubt on the narrative.
| This revelation is more and more sensational, but allegedly the judge doesn't care. | Această dezvăluire este tot mai senzațională, dar cică judecătoarei nu-i pasă. |
You can even use both adverbs in the same sentence if you are reporting a multi-layered rumor!
| Allegedly the woman divorced because, supposedly, the husband had blackmailed her. | Cică femeia a divorțat pentru că, chipurile, soțul o șantajase. |
Guessing and Doubting
If you aren't just reporting hearsay but actually guessing what happened with an anonymous informant (informatorul anonim), you can use phrases like poate că (maybe) and probabil că (probably). Note that these require the conjunction că when introducing a new clause.
| Maybe the anonymous informant had deceived her about the bribe. | Poate că informatorul anonim o înșelase în legătură cu mita. |
