Breakdown of Bărbatul nu este aici.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
aici
here
bărbatul
the man
nu
no / not
Questions & Answers about Bărbatul nu este aici.
Why does nu come right before este?
Why is "the man" translated as a single word, bărbatul?
In Romanian, the word for "the" (the definite article) attaches to the end of the noun rather than sitting in front of it as a separate word. Bărbat means "man", and adding -ul at the end makes it bărbatul ("the man").
I sometimes see nu e instead of nu este. Are they both correct?
Yes! E is a shorter, very common way to say este (is) in everyday speech. You can say Bărbatul nu este aici or Bărbatul nu e aici—they mean exactly the same thing.
How do you pronounce the end of the word aici?
In Romanian, when the letter 'c' is followed by an 'i', it makes a soft "ch" sound (like in the English word "cheese"). Therefore, aici is pronounced roughly like "ah-EECH".