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Cum vă numiți, doamnă?

Cum vă numiți, doamnă?
What is your name, madam?
From Lesson 30:Introducing yourself (mă numesc, sunt din România)·Romanian

Breakdown of Cum vă numiți, doamnă?

cum
how
doamna
the lady / Mrs.
se numi
to be called

Questions & Answers about Cum vă numiți, doamnă?

Why do we use Cum (how) instead of a word for what?
In Romanian, you do not literally ask what someone's name is. Instead, you use the verb a se numi (to be called). The literal translation of this sentence is How do you call yourself?, which is why it starts with Cum (how).
What is the word vă doing in this sentence?
vă is a reflexive pronoun meaning yourself. Because the verb a se numi involves calling yourself a name, you need this extra word. Here, it is the formal, polite version of yourself.
Why is the verb numiți in the plural form if we are only talking to one lady?
In Romanian, politeness is shown by using the plural form of you. Even though you are speaking to just one person, you use the plural verb numiți (along with the plural pronoun vă) to show respect.
Why isn't the formal word for you (dumneavoastră) included here?
Romanian often drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. The polite plural ending on numiți combined with vă makes it perfectly clear that you are addressing someone formally, so actually saying dumneavoastră is optional.

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