Expressing Obligation with "Trebuie"
To say "must" or "have to" in Romanian, use the modal verb trebuie.
Unlike most verbs, trebuie is impersonal—it never changes form depending on who is doing the action. It is always just trebuie.
To express what must be done, follow trebuie with să and the main verb. While trebuie stays exactly the same, the main verb after să is conjugated to match the person doing the action. You can also add adverbs like neapărat (absolutely) to emphasize urgency.
| I absolutely must leave now. | Trebuie neapărat să plec acum. |
| You must be very careful on the street. | Trebuie să fii foarte atent pe stradă. |
Pronouns and Multiple Actions
Just as with other verbs, short object pronouns (like îl, o, le) are placed directly between să and the conjugated verb.
| Do you have the bill? You must pay it today. | Ai factura? Trebuie să o plătești azi. |
| There is the trash. You must throw it away. | Acolo este gunoiul. Trebuie să îl arunci. |
When listing multiple obligations in one sentence, you must repeat să before each conjugated verb.
| I must clean the room and wipe the dust. | Trebuie să curăț camera și să șterg praful. |
Chores and Rules
You will frequently use trebuie to discuss daily chores, like throwing away the trash (gunoiul) or wiping (a șterge) the dust (praful).
| Where must I throw the trash? | Unde trebuie să arunc gunoiul? |
| He must wipe the dust from the office. | El trebuie să șteargă praful din birou. |
To talk about keeping quiet in public spaces, Romanian uses the expression a păstra liniștea (literally "to keep the silence").
| In the hospital we must keep the silence. | În spital trebuie să păstrăm liniștea. |
| The children are sleeping, you must be careful and keep the silence. | Copiii dorm, trebuie să fiți atenți și să păstrați liniștea. |
