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

### A thing: chestia

**Lucrul** is the neutral word for *a thing*. **Chestia** (plural *chestii*) is its everyday, colloquial partner, and *chestia e că…* is how you say *the thing is…*

{{item:1139013}}

{{item:1139014}}

### Ways: calea and modul

**Calea** (plural *căi*) is a way you travel, or a way to reach a goal. It also names big avenues: *Calea Victoriei* in Bucharest. **Modul** is a manner of doing something. *În mod* + adjective makes an adverb: *în mod normal* (normally). *Modul în care* is *the way in which* — a little more formal than *felul în care*.

{{item:1139027}}

{{item:1139029}}

{{item:1139030}}

### Kinds: genul

**Genul** is the kind or type of something, and also a genre. *Ce gen de…?* asks *what kind of…?*, and *nu e genul meu* is *not my type*.

{{item:1139032}}

### Causes and links

**Cauza** is the cause. You already know it inside *din cauza* (because of). **Legătura** is a link or tie; *a păstra legătura* is to keep in touch.

{{item:1139022}}

{{item:1139020}}

### Small words

| word | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| **numai** | only (= *doar*) | *am numai zece lei* |
| **către** | toward; to (a person, formal) | *către seară*, *o scrisoare către director* |
| **cumva** | somehow; by any chance | *ai cumva un pix?* |

{{item:1139043}}

### An exchange, a shift

**Schimbul** is an exchange: *în schimb* means *in return*. At a factory or a hospital it is also a work shift: *schimbul de noapte*. As a set phrase, **în schimb** means *instead* or *in return*.

{{item:1139046}}

{{item:1139050}}

### Three ways to say "only"

**Numai** and *doar* both mean *only* and go right before what they limit: *numai tu*, *doar zece lei*. The third way wraps the verb: **nu** + verb + *decât* + what you have. It looks negative, but it means *only*: *nu am decât o întrebare* is "I only have one question", not "I don't have".

| | only ten lei |
|---|---|
| numai | Am **numai** zece lei. |
| doar | Am **doar** zece lei. |
| nu … decât | **Nu** am **decât** zece lei. |

{{item:1139036}}

{{item:1139015}}

{{item:1139016}}

Things, ways and reasons (chestia, modul, cauza)

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 thing (colloquial)	chestia
What's this thing?	Ce e chestia asta?
The thing is, I don't have time.	Chestia e că nu am timp.
I only have one question.	Nu am decât o întrebare.
He only speaks Romanian.	Nu vorbește decât românește.
the connection, the link	legătura
I have nothing to do with this.	Nu am nicio legătură cu asta.
What's the link between them?	Care este legătura dintre ele?
Let's keep in touch!	Hai să păstrăm legătura!
the cause	cauza
What caused the accident?	Care este cauza accidentului?
The doctor doesn't know the cause of the pain.	Medicul nu știe cauza durerii.
We don't know the cause, which is strange.	Nu știm cauza, ceea ce e ciudat.
the way (path, route)	calea
We have to find a way.	Trebuie să găsim o cale.
There's no other way.	Nu există altă cale.
the manner, the mode	modul
I don't like the way he talks.	Nu-mi place modul în care vorbește.
Normally, I get home at six.	În mod normal, ajung acasă la șase.
the genre, the sort	genul
What kind of music do you listen to?	Ce gen de muzică asculți?
He's not my type.	Nu este genul meu.
I like movies like this.	Îmi plac filmele de genul ăsta.
only	numai
I only have ten lei.	Am numai zece lei.
Only you understand me.	Numai tu mă înțelegi.
towards; to (a person, formal)	către
We're heading toward the center.	Mergem către centru.
Toward evening, it started to rain.	Către seară, a început să plouă.
I sent a letter to the director.	Am trimis o scrisoare către director.
somehow; by any chance	cumva
Do you happen to have a pen?	Ai cumva un pix?
Somehow, I managed to finish on time.	Cumva, am reușit să termin la timp.
the exchange; the (work) shift	schimbul
I work the night shift.	Lucrez în schimbul de noapte.
The night shift starts at ten.	Schimbul de noapte începe la zece.
instead; in return	în schimb
What do you want in return?	Ce vrei în schimb?
I don't drink coffee; I drink tea instead.	Eu nu beau cafea; în schimb, beau ceai.

Contributors