Lessons for English speakers
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.
13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 49 min with everything
4
Vowels that arrive in teams, and the piece you lean on
≈ 4 min
What you'll learn
- Two vowels together are usually one sound with a glide: oa is “wah”, ea is “yah”.
- An i ending a word after a consonant is barely sounded — lupi — but ii is a full “ee”: lupii.
- The pronouns and the forms of “to be” that begin with e open with a y sound; other words do not.
- Nothing marks stress. Two habits get you close; a small group ignores both.
Vowel teams
| On the page | Sound to try, with a word that uses it |
|---|---|
| ea | “yah” — searaSYAH-rah“the evening” |
| oa | “wah” — floareFLWAH-reh“flower” |
| ia | “yah” — iarnăYAHR-nuh |
| ie | “yeh” — iepureYEH-poo-reh |
| iu | “yoo” — iubireyoo-BEE-reh |
| ai | “eye” — maimy |
| au | “ow” — sausow |
| ei | “ay” — leilay |
| eu | “eh-oo” — greuGREH-oo |
| oi | “oy” — noinoy |
| ou | “oh-oo” — ouOH-oo |
ea and ia land in almost the same place. The first four teams are one beat, not two — as fast as the “wa” of “water”.
Where the spelling is not the sound
ce · ci
“cheh” · “chee” — zeceZEH-cheh“ten”
Before another vowel that i is silent, there only to soften the c: ciocolatăchoh-koh-LAH-tuh.
ge · gi
“jeh” · “jee” — mergeMEHR-jeh“he goes”
che · chi
“keh” · “kee” — cheieKEH-yeh“key”
ghe · ghi
“geh” · “gee” — gheațăGYAH-tsuh“ice”
the pronouns eu, el, ea, ei, ele and every form of a fi“to be” that begins with e
they open with a y sound — esteYES-teh“is” · erayeh-RAH“was”
That group and no other. An e opening any other word is a plain “eh”: elefanteh-leh-FAHNT“elephant”.
a final i after a consonant
barely there — lupiLOO-p(y)“wolves”
Doubled to ii it is a full “ee”: lupiiLOO-pee“the wolves” — one letter apart from “wolves”.
â
î
One sound, two letters: în at the edge, când inside. A few words built out of others keep î in the middle.
The piece you lean on
a word ending in a consonant
lean on the last piece — copackoh-PAHK · băiatbuh-YAHT
a word ending in -ă or -e
lean on the piece before it — casăKAH-suh · pădurepuh-DOO-reh
a small group that leans further back than either habit predicts
pasărePAH-suh-reh · iepureYEH-poo-reh · prietenPRYEH-ten · galbenGAHL-ben
Romanian never writes an accent to tell you, so learn these as you meet them. One thing is reliable: welding an ending on never moves the lean — lupulLOO-pool“the wolf” leans where lup did.
One sound, or two
- floare
oa is a single sound: wah.
Show answer +Hide answer −
floareFLWAH-reh“flower” - lupii
Written with two i, so the ee is full.
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lupiiLOO-pee“the wolves” - când
â is the tight, dark ih.
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cândkihnd“when” - mergi
The g softens in front of that i, and the i itself is barely there.
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mergimehrj(y)“you go”