Buying time: păi
Păi is the well… that opens a spoken answer — while you think, or when the answer seems obvious to you. It belongs to conversation, not to writing.
Not knowing: oare, habar n-am
Oare turns a question into one you ask yourself — I wonder…. It usually comes first, before the question word; in a yes/no question it simply opens the sentence. Habar n-am means I have no idea; only the verb changes with the person: habar n-ai (you have no idea), habar n-are (he/she has no idea).
Of course, just, it seems
| word | use | example |
|---|
| bineînțeles | of course; can take că + a clause | Bineînțeles că vin. |
| tocmai + past | just (a moment ago) | Tocmai a plecat. |
| tocmai + noun/pronoun | exactly, precisely | Tocmai asta… |
| parcă | it seems, I feel like | Parcă plouă. |
Parcă softens a statement you are not quite sure of — about the weather now, or about something in the past.
You already know ba da: the yes that contradicts a negative question.
Slang: mișto, baftă
Mișto is informal cool, great, and it never changes form: un film mișto, o mașină mișto. Baftă! is the friendly way to wish someone luck; succes is the neutral one. A avea baftă means to be lucky.
Sentence adverbs: how sure, how lucky
These open or close a sentence and comment on all of it: cu siguranță (certainly), într-adevăr (indeed — it confirms what was just said), din fericire (fortunately), din nefericire (unfortunately; a little more formal than din păcate). În niciun caz is a firm no way; inside a sentence it keeps the nu of Romanian double negation: în niciun caz nu plec.
Asking for agreement: nu-i așa?
Where English needs isn't it, didn't you, aren't they, Romanian uses one tag for every sentence: nu-i așa?
