Practical
Romanian phrasebook
Romanians love it when you try. A few words go a long way — here are the essentials, with a simple guide to saying them.
The essentials
Bună ziua
/ BOO-nah ZEE-wah /
Hello / Good day
Bună / Salut
/ BOO-nah / sah-LOOT /
Hi (informal)
La revedere
/ lah reh-veh-DEH-reh /
Goodbye
Vă rog
/ vah ROG /
Please
Mulțumesc
/ mool-tsu-MESK /
Thank you
Cu plăcere
/ koo plah-CHEH-reh /
You're welcome
Da / Nu
/ dah / noo /
Yes / No
Scuzați-mă
/ skoo-ZAHTS-mah /
Excuse me / Sorry
Getting by
Vorbiți engleză?
/ vor-BEETS en-GLEH-zah /
Do you speak English?
Nu înțeleg
/ noo un-tse-LEG /
I don't understand
Cât costă?
/ kut KOS-tah /
How much is it?
Unde este...?
/ OON-deh YES-teh /
Where is...?
Nu vorbesc română
/ noo vor-BESK ro-MU-nah /
I don't speak Romanian
Mă puteți ajuta?
/ mah poo-TETS ah-zhoo-TAH /
Can you help me?
At the table
Meniul, vă rog
/ MEH-nee-ool vah ROG /
The menu, please
O bere / un vin
/ oh BEH-reh / oon veen /
A beer / a wine
Nota, vă rog
/ NOH-tah vah ROG /
The bill, please
A fost delicios
/ ah fost deh-lee-CHOS /
It was delicious
Noroc! (toast)
/ no-ROK /
Cheers!
Poftă bună
/ POF-tah BOO-nah /
Enjoy your meal
On the road
Un bilet până la...
/ oon bee-LET PUH-nah lah /
A ticket to...
La stânga / la dreapta
/ lah STUN-gah / lah DRYAP-tah /
Left / right
Drept înainte
/ drept un-ah-IN-teh /
Straight ahead
Gara / aeroportul
/ GAH-rah / ah-eh-ro-POR-tool /
Train station / airport
Cât e ceasul?
/ kut yeh CHYAH-sool /
What time is it?
Numbers
unu, doi, trei
/ OO-noo, doy, tray /
1, 2, 3
patru, cinci, șase
/ PAH-troo, cheench, SHAH-seh /
4, 5, 6
șapte, opt, nouă, zece
/ SHAP-teh, opt, NOH-wah, ZEH-cheh /
7, 8, 9, 10
o sută / o mie
/ oh SOO-tah / oh MEE-eh /
one hundred / one thousand
Emergencies
Ajutor!
/ ah-zhoo-TOR /
Help!
Sunați la 112
/ soo-NAHTS lah 112 /
Call 112 (emergency)
Am nevoie de un doctor
/ am neh-VOH-yeh deh oon DOK-tor /
I need a doctor
Unde e spitalul / farmacia?
/ OON-deh yeh spee-TAH-lool / far-mah-CHEE-ah /
Where is the hospital / pharmacy?
Good to know
Romanian is a Romance language — if you know some Italian, Spanish or French, you'll recognise a lot. The emergency number across the EU is 112.