Learn Romanian: Doamnă, ce doriți? - Madam, what do you want?

Doamnă, ce doriți?

Madam, what do you want?

Breakdown of Doamnă, ce doriți?

what / how (exclamatory, + adjective)

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Questions & Answers about Doamnă, ce doriți?

Why does the verb end in -ți (doriți) if I am only talking to one person?

In Romanian, you use the plural "you" (the same form you would use to say "you all") to show respect to a single person. Since you are talking to a Doamnă (Madam), you use the formal polite register, so the verb takes the plural ending -ți.

The translation says "what do you want", but where is the formal word for "you" (dumneavoastră)?

Romanian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. Doriți on its own clearly means "you want", so adding dumneavoastră is not strictly necessary unless you want to add extra emphasis.

Why use doriți here instead of vreți for "you want"?

While both mean "you want", the verb a dori (to wish or to desire) is slightly softer and more polite than a vrea (to want). It perfectly matches the highly respectful tone of using the formal plural and calling someone Doamnă.

Why is it Doamnă and not Doamna?

Doamna means "the lady" or "Mrs." when talking about someone. But when you are speaking directly to a woman (saying "Madam"), you use the base form without the word for "the" attached to the end, which is Doamnă.