Learn Romanian: Tricoul este ieftin, dar frumos. - The t-shirt is cheap, but beautiful.

Tricoul este ieftin, dar frumos.

The t-shirt is cheap, but beautiful.

Breakdown of Tricoul este ieftin, dar frumos.

to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)

beautiful / beautifully

Questions & Answers about Tricoul este ieftin, dar frumos.

Why do ieftin and frumos take this specific form instead of ending in "-ă" or "-e"?

They are describing tricoul (the t-shirt), which is a neuter noun. In the singular, Romanian neuter nouns use the exact same adjective forms as masculine nouns. If the noun were feminine, you would see the feminine forms ieftină and frumoasă.

How can I tell that tricoul is the word for "the t-shirt" and not just "a t-shirt"?

In Romanian, the word for "the" attaches to the end of the noun. The base dictionary word for "t-shirt" is tricou. For a singular neuter noun ending in "u", we just add -l to the end to mean "the", making it tricoul.

This lesson teaches that adjectives come directly after the noun. Is that what is happening with ieftin and frumos here?

Not exactly! In this sentence, the adjectives are separated from the noun by the verb este (is), just like in the English sentence "The t-shirt is cheap." However, if you wanted to say "the cheap t-shirt" as a single phrase without the verb "is", you would place the adjective directly after the noun: tricoul ieftin.

Is frumos the normal word to use when saying a piece of clothing looks nice?

Yes! While frumos often translates to "beautiful" or "handsome" for people, it is the most common way to say that an object, place, or piece of clothing looks "nice" or "great".