Learn Romanian: Bunicii sunt foarte buni. - The grandfathers are very good.

Bunic (grandfather) is a masculine noun. To make it plural (grandfathers), we add -i to get bunici. To say the grandfathers, we add a second -i (the definite article), giving us Bunicii. The adjective bun (good) only gets one -i to match the masculine plural form (buni) because the word for "the" is already attached to the noun, not the adjective.

How do I pronounce the difference between the single -i and the double -ii?

A single -i at the end of a word (like in buni or the indefinite bunici) is "whispered." It doesn't add a new syllable; it just makes the consonant before it sound softer. But when you add the second -i to make it definite (Bunicii), it becomes a full, clear "ee" vowel sound that adds a whole extra syllable to the end of the word.

Wait, doesn't sunt mean "I am"? Why is it used here for "the grandfathers"?

The Romanian verb a fi (to be) is a bit quirky because it uses the exact same word—sunt—for both "I am" (eu sunt) and "they are" (ei/ele sunt). Here, because we are talking about Bunicii (they), sunt translates to "are".

Could Bunicii also be translated as "the grandparents"?