Learn to read Romanian
A short, active path into reading Romanian: decode real words from a small sound guide, learn why the word for “the” is welded onto the end of the noun, meet the past that fables are told in, and read a whole fable before opening your first book.
Everything sits around the verb
- The verb is the doing word — is, see, go, eat.
- Its ending is the subject: văd I see, vezi you see, vede he or she sees.
- nu goes straight in front of the verb; no word matches “do”.
- A statement becomes a question with your voice — nothing reordered, nothing added.
- Six question words carry almost every question a fable asks.
The verb is the doing word in a sentence — is, see, go, eat. Romanian puts things roughly where English does: who, the doing word, then the thing it was done to.
The ending is the subject
I see the wolf.
Văd lupul.
vuhd LOO-pool
Two words where English needs four: one is the seeing and the “I” together, the other the wolf and the “the” together. When a sentence seems to have no subject, read the end of the verb.
I do not see the fox.
Nu văd vulpea.
noo vuhd VOOL-pyah
nu goes in front of văd; everything else stays put. For don’t, doesn’t and isn’t alike it is nu and then the verb. In print it also shortens onto the next word: n-amnahm“I do not have”.
Six question words
| English | Romanian | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| who | cine | CHEE-neh |
| what | ce | cheh |
| where | unde | OON-deh |
| when | când | kihnd |
| why | de ce | deh CHEH |
| how | cum | koom |
Ești Tobi?“Are you Tobi?” reorders nothing and adds nothing: on the page the question mark is the only signal.
Find the verb, then everything around it
- Nu văd vulpea.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Nu văd vulpea.noo vuhd VOOL-pyah“I do not see the fox” - Unde este casa?
Peel the ending off the last word.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Unde este casa?OON-deh YES-teh KAH-sah“Where is the house?” - Ce vede lupul?
The verb ending says he or she.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Ce vede lupul?cheh VEH-deh LOO-pool“What does the wolf see?” - Vezi copacul?
No reordering at all.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Vezi copacul?vez(y) koh-PAH-kool“Do you see the tree?”