Chapter 2 of 16 · Explore the Romanian path
The script · Chapter 2 of 16
Five extra letters, and two that change their sound
Romanian is written very nearly as it is said. Learn the seven vowel sounds, the five letters English does not have, and why c and g soften in front of an e or an i.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Romanian is written very nearly as it is said.
- Its alphabet is the English twenty-six plus ă â î ș ț.
- â and î are one sound: î at the edges, â inside.
- c and g soften before e and i; ch and gh harden them.
- Romanian says the vowels it writes, bar two exceptions taught later.
The one thing the spelling keeps back is which piece of a word you lean on. A section two steps on deals with it.
Seven vowel sounds to listen for
A vowel is a sound like the a in father or the ee in see. Romanian has seven. Read across each row for the letter, the sound to try, and a word that uses it.
| Letter | Sound to try | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | ah, as in father | casă |
| e | eh, as in bed | verde |
| i | ee, as in machine | mic |
| o | oh, as in more | pot |
| u | oo, as in food | lup |
| ă | uh — the a at the end of sofa | apă |
| â · î | ih — one tight, dark vowel | când |
A final -ă or -e is said in full: vulpe
The five letters English does not have
These five carry sounds an English keyboard has no letter for. Learn the sound each one holds and the marks stop looking strange.
- ăa with a breveuh — the relaxed vowel ending English “sofa”The little cup scoops the sound out of the a.casăKAH-suh“house”
- âa with a circumflexih — say “ee”, tongue pulled back, lips unroundedThe hat is French; the sound is not.cândkihnd“when”
- îi with a circumflexih — the same sound as â; only the spelling changesî at a word’s edges; â inside it.înihn“in”
- șs with a commash, as in shipAn s whose tail is the h. Older printing hooks on a cedilla instead — ş — for the same letter and the same sound.șoareceSHWAH-reh-cheh“mouse”
- țt with a commats, as in catsA t whose tail is the s — and ţ with a cedilla is the very same letter.mulțumescmool-tsoo-MESK“thank you”
When c and g go soft
c and g each say two sounds, and an h puts the hard sound back. Read across each row to see all three.
| Letter | before a, o, u | before e, i | with an h put back in |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | k — casă | ch — ce | k again — cheie |
| g | g — gând | j — ger | g again — ghid |
Six cells, the whole rule. That h is a wall stopping the e or i from softening the letter before it; elsewhere it is the breathed h of “hat”.
Say three words with the new letters
Try each aloud first.
- ce
c before an e.
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cecheh “what” - ghid
The h is a wall.
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ghidgeed “guide” - mulțumesc
ț is ts; lean on the last piece.
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mulțumescmool-tsoo-MESK “thank you”