Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

### Replacing Nouns with "The One"

When shopping or comparing items, you often want to avoid repeating the same noun. In English, you do this by saying "the one" or "the ones" (e.g., "the red dress is nice, but *the elegant one* is cheap").

In Romanian, you use the demonstrative adjectival article. Its form changes to match the gender and number of the noun it replaces.

| Number | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Singular | cel | cea | cel |
| Plural | cei | cele | cele |

Here are examples using the singular forms **cel** (masculine/neuter) and **cea** (feminine). Notice how they are followed directly by the adjective.

{{item:1125103}}

{{item:1125082}}

### Direct Objects and *pe*

When "the one" is the specific direct object of a verb (like when you are pointing out exactly which item you prefer), it takes the preposition **pe**. You must also use the matching direct object pronoun (like **îl**) right before the verb.

{{item:1125084}}

### The Plural Forms: *cei* and *cele*

For plural nouns, use **cei** for masculine nouns (like *pantaloni*) and **cele** for feminine and neuter nouns (like *coșuri* or *cămăși*).

{{item:1125104}}

{{item:1125091}}

### Describing Materials: "The Cotton One"

In English, we often use materials directly as adjectives, like "the cotton shirt." In Romanian, you use the preposition **din** (of/from) followed by the material, such as **bumbac** (cotton) or **mătase** (silk).

To say "the cotton one" or "the silk ones," simply combine the demonstrative article with **din** + the material.

{{item:1125093}}

{{item:1125087}}

Noun replacement (cel, cea, cei, cele)

adjective

adverb

adverbial phrase

auxiliary

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The verb to be and definite articles (a fi, -ul, -le)

Feminine definite articles (-a, -ua)

Indefinite articles (un, o)

Negative sentences (nu)

Question words (ce, unde, cine)

The verb to have (a avea)

Masculine plural nouns (-i, -ii)

Feminine plural nouns (-e, -i, -le)

Neuter plural nouns (-uri, -e, -le)

Adjectives and agreement

Present tense of regular -a verbs

Present tense of -a verbs with suffix (-ez)

Present tense of regular -i and -î verbs

Present tense of -i and -î verbs with suffix (-esc / -ăsc)

Present tense of -ea and -e verbs

Reflexive pronouns (mă, te, se, ne, vă)

Accusative prepositions (în, la, pe, din, cu)

Likes and dislikes (îmi place)

Possessive adjectives (meu, tău, său)

Third-person possessives (lui, ei, lor)

Possessive articles (al, a, ai, ale)

Formal politeness (dumneavoastră)

Demonstrative adjectives (acest, acel)

Numbers 1 to 10

The number two (doi, două)

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Quantifying large numbers (de)

The subjunctive (să)

Third-person subjunctive (să)

Direct object pronouns (îl, o, îi, le)

Personal direct objects (pe)

Days of the week

Telling time (e ora...)

Months of the Year (January to June)

Months of the Year (July to December)

The Four Seasons

Weather Conditions

Rooms in a House

Basic Body Parts: Upper Body

Basic Body Parts: Limbs

Everyday Clothing

Basic Foods: Groceries

Fruits and Vegetables

Around Town

Getting Around

Setting the Table

A Colorful World

Common Animals

In the Wild

Jobs and Careers

Everyday Tech

Describing people (tânăr, bătrân, înalt)

Asking when and why (când, de ce, care)

Hello and goodbye (bună ziua, la revedere)

Coming and going (intra, sta, trece)

Where is it? (sub, lângă, între)

Knowing and thinking (știu că, cred că)

Sorry, welcome, congratulations (îmi pare rău, la mulți ani)

Introducing yourself (mă numesc, sunt din România)

How much and how many (puțin, prea, doar)

Can and may (pot merge, pot să merg)

If and whether (dacă)

At school and university

Irregular verbs in the present (vrea, lua, da, bea, sta)

Free time and sport

How much is it? (cât costă, câți, câte)

Before and after (înainte, după, până)

At the doctor (mă doare)

Meals of the day (micul dejun, prânzul, cina)

At the restaurant

Ability and permission (a putea să)

Obligation and necessity (trebuie să)

Desires and intentions (a vrea să)

Impersonal statements (se)

Adverbs of frequency (adesea, uneori)

Conjunctions for reasons and links (pentru că, deci)

Stressed accusative pronouns (pe mine, pe tine)

Indefinite pronouns (cineva, ceva)

Negative pronouns and double negation (nimeni, nimic)

The past tense auxiliary (am, ai, a)

The past tense (am, ai, a)

Regular past participles (-at, -it)

Regular past participles (-ut, -s, -t)

Negative past tense (nu am)

Question	Answer
the one (f) / the most (f, superlative article)	cea
elegant	elegant
The new dress is expensive, but the elegant one is cheap.	Rochia nouă este scumpă, dar cea elegantă este ieftină.
wide	larg
The sweater is good, but I prefer the wide one.	Puloverul este bun, dar îl prefer pe cel larg.
the ones (m)	cei
the silk	mătasea
The red trousers are here, but where are the silk ones?	Pantalonii roșii sunt aici, dar unde sunt cei din mătase?
the ones (f/n) / the (superlative article)	cele
tight (too narrow: clothes, shoes)	strâmt
the cotton	bumbacul
The white shirts are there, and the tight cotton ones are here.	Cămășile albe sunt acolo, iar cele strâmte din bumbac sunt aici.
I am looking for a T-shirt to try the cotton one.	Caut un tricou ca să îl încerc pe cel din bumbac.
The seller showed me the green dress, but I like the silk one.	Vânzătorul mi-a arătat rochia verde, dar îmi place cea din mătase.
The elegant trousers are tight, but the cotton ones are wide.	Pantalonii eleganți sunt strâmți, dar cei din bumbac sunt largi.
the material	materialul
He showed us the skirts, and the ones in this material are very wide.	El ne-a arătat fustele, iar cele din acest material sunt foarte largi.
This material is expensive, but the red one is cheap.	Acest material este scump, dar cel roșu este ieftin.
My sister wants a dress, but the elegant one is too expensive.	Sora mea vrea o rochie, dar cea elegantă este prea scumpă.
the department (in a store)	raionul
The new department is next to the entrance. Where is the old one?	Raionul nou este lângă intrare. Unde este cel vechi?
The first department is small. The big one is there.	Primul raion este mic. Cel mare este acolo.
the basket	coșul
This basket is heavy, but the green one is light.	Acest coș este greu, dar cel verde este ușor.
We will take the white baskets. The blue ones are dirty.	Vom lua coșurile albe. Cele albastre sunt murdare.
the bag (plastic or paper)	punga
I prefer to use the small bag. The big one is too expensive.	Prefer să folosesc punga mică. Cea mare este prea scumpă.
The red bag is cheap, and the blue one is expensive.	Punga roșie este ieftină, iar cea albastră este scumpă.
one (of them)	unul
I have two cars, but one is old.	Am două mașini, dar una este veche.
among, of (as in "one of")	dintre
One of the friends is a doctor.	Unul dintre prieteni este medic.
One of the girls is my sister.	Una dintre fete este sora mea.
Which of them is yours?	Care dintre ele este a ta?

Contributors