On Bukovina Day, Romanians commemorate the joining of Bukovina to Romania in 1918. Bukovina is considered a significant city within the country, and has quite a history.
In this article, you’ll learn a little bit about that history, as well as how this acquisition is celebrated in Romania today. In learning about this momentous occasion in Romanian history, you’ll be gaining much insight into the overall culture of the country and see it through a clearer lens.
At RomanianPod101.com, we hope to make every aspect of your language-learning journey both fun and informative!
Let’s get started.
1. What is Bukovina Day in Romania?
Bukovina is an important city within the country, and is divided into Northern and Southern Bukovina, both of which have strong historical significance rooted in World War II.
Bukovina Day marks the date in 1918 that the region of Bukovina voted to be joined with Romania. Prior to this, Bukovina was a part of Moldavia, and for 144 years leading up to its vote, suffered many abuses and severe freedom limitations. Seeing Romania as an escape and liberation from these wrongs, Bukovina (headed by Iancu Flondor) made the decision to be joined “unconditionally and forever,” to Romania.
However, the June 1940 Soviet Ultimatum created another obstacle. The Soviet Union demanded that Romania hand over Northern Bukovina to it, in order to compensate for the Soviet Union’s heavy losses during Romania’s control of Bessarabia. In the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, Romania was made to give up the Northern Bukovina to the USSR.
Today, over half of what was Northern Bukovina is now the Chernivtsi Oblast in Ukraine. Southern Bukovina is still very much part of Romania.
2. When is Bukovina Day?
Each year, Bukovina Day is observed on November 28, the date in 1918 that Bukovina’s people voted to be united with Romania.
3. Bukovina Day Celebrations & Observations
1- Great Union Day
There are no extravagant celebrations to commemorate Bukovina Day on November 28.
Rather, Romanians celebrate a more well-known and inclusive holiday called Great Union Day each year on December 1. On this day, which is also a national holiday, Romanians celebrate the overall expansion of its territory following the First World War.
Not only did Bukovina become (officially) a part of Romania on this date, but so did Transylvania and Bessarabia. Having added these three territories, all of which had populations consisting mostly of Romanians, Romania became two times larger!
2- Celebrations
Celebrations and traditions for Great Unity Day vary from region to region, with the largest and most popular celebrations being in Bucharest and Alba Iulia (where the document confirming the union of Transylvania to Romania was read to many people).
Common traditions that thread through Romania include military parades and performances, religious ceremonies, aircraft shows, free museum admissions, music concerts, and fireworks. Television networks capture footage of numerous events, particularly the parades.
4. Bessarabia & Transylvania
Bessarabia’s reunion to Romania following WWI was brief, and today most of what was Bessarabia belongs to Moldova.
Transylvania was the most significant gain to Romania during the Union, and is today considered a historical region within the country.
5. Vocabulary You Need to Know for Bukovina Day
Here are some vocabulary words you should know for Bukovina Day!
Albastru — Blue
Munte — Mountain
Pădure — Forest
Turist — Tourist
Biserică — Church
Pictură — Painting
A diviza — Divided
A alipi — Join
Frescă — Fresco
Necunoscut — Unknown
Peisaj — Landscape
Fag — Beech
Hear the pronunciation of each word, and read them alongside relevant images, by visiting our Romanian Bukovina Day word list!
Final Thoughts
What are your thoughts on this holiday, and the Great Union Day holiday? What’s your country’s national day? Let us know in the comments; we always love to hear from you!
Learning about a country’s history and culture may be the most fascinating and enriching aspects of trying to master its language. If you enjoyed this article, you may want to check out other culture-related pages on RomanianPod101.com:
At RomanianPod101, we make every effort to make your language-learning process as painless and effective as possible. That means practical and relevant information on numerous topics, fun and simple learning materials, and multiple ways to learn Romanian based on your needs and goals.
No matter what you say in Romanian, sooner or later you’re going to run into a handful of Romanian numbers. Phone numbers, prices, ages… How are you going to react?
Are you going to freeze up and sheepishly say the number in English with a Romanian accent? (I’ve seen it happen!)
Or are you going to smoothly and serenely rattle off a tongue twister like șapte sute douăzeci și cinci (seven-hundred and twenty-five)?
Language enthusiasts know that Romanian is not the “purest” of the Romance languages. Quite a few words in everyday life have been borrowed from Slavic or other neighboring languages of the area. Numbers, though—numbers are Latin through and through.
Even substantial sound changes like decem → zece and quattuor → patru fit right into the models of how we know languages evolve. And by the way, all these numbers are related to the English numerals as well, since they all end up coming from Proto-Indo-European, spoken more than 3,000 years ago!
2. The Cardinal Numbers
English
Romanian
Zero
zero
One
unu
Two
doi
Three
trei
Four
patru
Five
cinci
Six
șase
Seven
șapte
Eight
opt
Nine
nouă
Ten
zece
One of the most obvious features of Romanian when comparing it to other languages is its noun gender. Romanian nouns have one of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Neuter nouns are interesting because they act masculine in the singular form, and feminine in the plural.
For our purposes in this article, we’ll just mention that unu and doi are the masculine forms of those numbers. The feminine forms are una and două, respectively. And above two, you don’t need to worry about that sort of declension!
When it comes to talking about zero, things work exactly like in English. We say “one degree” and “zero degrees,” and in Romanian, the plural is obligatory as well: un grad, zero grade.
Let’s move on to eleven through nineteen. If you’ve learned other European languages before, get ready for a little surprise…
English
Formal Romanian
Informal Romanian
Eleven
unsprezece
unșpe
Twelve
doisprezece
doișpe
Thirteen
treisprezece
treișpe
Fourteen
paisprezece
paișpe
Fifteen
cincisprezece
cinșpe
Sixteen
șaisprezece
șaișpe
Seventeen
șaptesprezece
șapteșpe
Eighteen
optsprezece
optișpe
Nineteen
nouăsprezece
nouășpe
They’re all regular! None of this eleven, twelve nonsense that exists in all the other European languages. Each of these comes from the base number, the word spre meaning “toward” (it used to mean “over,” which makes more sense), and zece meaning “ten.”
And what’s the deal with that third column? Well, you may have already noticed that sprezece is a bit of a mouthful. So in colloquial speech, you’ll very often just hear that ending as șpe. You wouldn’t want to write it in anything formal, and you might get made fun of by stuck-up grammarians, but in reality, everybody uses these short forms.
Take another look at that word for “eighteen.” That’s actually the word in Romanian with the most consonants all in one row: ptspr. Because of that inconvenience, you’ll often hear the variant optisprezece, which makes things easier by adding a vowel. Again, that’s not considered correct enough to write down.
After nineteen, things keep getting easier. We take the root number and stick on zeci, the plural of zece.
So “twenty” is douăzeci, made from două + zeci. “Forty” is patru + zeci on the same principle. The only strangeness is “sixty,” which doesn’t follow the pattern exactly. The regular form șasezeci is nowhere to be found, and instead șaizeci is what comes up.
For a construction like “twenty-five,” the phrasing is literally “twenty and five”: douăzeci și cinci. Nothing to it!
These words also have a simplified pronunciation: the whole zeci bit contracts to ș or zeș, so that “fifty-one” comes out to cincizeci și unu → cinzeșunu.
Also, when we count things after twenty, we add the word de meaning “of.” So we literally have “twenty of something” instead of “twenty somethings.” Observe:
Ali Baba Şi Cei Patruzeci De Hoţi
Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves (Ali Baba and The Forty of Thieves)
Once we get above ninety-nine, the sky’s the limit. Just like in English, we simply say each part of the number: so 365 is trei sute șaizeci și cinci, or literally “three hundreds sixty and five.”
And yes, I said “hundreds.” “Hundred” is sută, and the plural is sute, which is obligatory.
There’s one last thing to be appreciative of: In other Romance languages, the word for 1000 is something like mil, which is confusing for an English speaker, who thinks “million.” In Romanian, 1000 is simply mie, which is far enough away that there’s no reason to get confused!
3. The Ordinal Numbers
So we’ve got a good handle on how to count, and how to count things, in Romanian. What about listing things?
That’s where ordinal numbers come in, and they’re a total cinch.
The word for “first” in Romanian is the only irregular one; it’s primul for masculine and prima for feminine. All ordinal numbers have regular masculine and feminine variants, since what you’re actually saying is “the first [something].”
So for a masculine ordinal, you add -lea to the base number word. For a feminine ordinal, you just add -a.
“The third” becomes al treilea / a treia. Pretty cool, right? Unfortunately, it’s not quite as regular as that since there are a couple of vowel deletions and additions. Here’s a chart for you:
English
Romanian (masculine / feminine)
The first
primul / prima
The second
al doilea / a doua
The third
al treilea / a treia
The fourth
al patrulea / a patra
The fifth
al cincilea / a cincea
The sixth
al șaselea / a șasea
The seventh
al șaptelea / a șaptea
The eighth
al optulea / a opta
The ninth
al nouălea / a noua
The tenth
al zecelea / a zecea
Have a look at that last one. Anything ending in -zece is going to follow the same pattern as zece itself. So all the numbers from eleven to nineteen (and 111 – 119, 211 – 219, etc) have the same endings.
al doisprezecelea / a douăsprezecea
The twelfth (masculine / feminine)
Once we get to twenty, a new pattern emerges. As we already know, multiples of ten end in -zeci. This will regularly turn to -zecilea (masculine) and -zecea (feminine).
So we’d eventually get to al treizecilea / a treizecea meaning “the thirtieth” and al cincizecilea / a cincizecea meaning “the fiftieth.”
Further, when we’re not counting even multiples of ten, we only modify the very last digit of the number. Just like in English, we don’t say “the fortiethfifth.” We say “the forty-fifth,” which in Romanian is al patruzeci și cincilea / a patruzeci și cincea.
With this information, you should be able to count pretty much anything. Even if you can’t remember the last time you mentioned “the seventy-seventh” of something, you now know the rules behind forming them!
There’s one last thing to consider: reversed forms.
When we talk about floors in a building, we switch the order like so:
etajul al cincilea
the fifth floor (literally the floor the fifth)
It happens in a few more places, but these are the most common, by far. When you go to a museum and the exhibit for Carol the First is on the sixth floor, you’ll know how to describe it.
4. Phone Numbers
Let’s take a few moments to look at one of the most common uses of numbers in daily Romanian life: the telephone. Romania’s country code is +40, read as plus patru zero.
For a long time, international calls could not be made out of Romania unless you were in government. In the 1990s, things started opening up, but there was still a complicated system for phone numbers, where some counties got longer and shorter numbers depending on their population.
Now, though, everyone’s number is nine digits long, plus a mandatory zero at the beginning. Don’t forget it! To ask for someone’s number, simply say:
Îmi puteți da numărul de telefon?
Can you give me your phone number?
5. Conclusion: How RomanianPod101 Can Help You Master Romanian
Learning to say numbers fluently in a foreign language sometimes feels like a thankless task. After all, when was the last time you thought a foreign speaker of your language did a particularly good job with numbers?
And then before you know it, you’ll be a numbers whiz in any language you want.
What did you think about counting and numbers in Romanian? Are there some you’re still struggling with? Let us know in the comments!
Author: Yassir Sahnoun is a HubSpot certified content strategist, copywriter and polyglot who works with language learning companies. He helps companies attract sales using content strategy, copywriting, blogging, email marketing & more.
Learn how to apologize in Romanian – fast and accurately! RomanianPod101 makes it easy for you to make amends. Start with a bonus, and download your FREE cheat sheet – How to Improve Your Romanian Skills!(Logged-In Member Only)
Nobody’s perfect, not anywhere in the world. Everybody makes mistakes, and does and says regrettable things. Then it’s time to apologize, as saying ‘I’m sorry’ is not in vain. It can be very healing! Did you know that hearing a sincerely-meant apology can have a noticeable effect on a person’s body? Research has shown that it slows down breathing and heart rate, and even causes a drop in blood pressure.
Sometimes we cannot fix what’s broken, but we can make the experience a bit easier for anyone who suffered on account of our thoughtless actions or words.
Here are a number of ways to say sorry in Romanian. In any language, just make sure you really mean it! An insincere apology will not go down well with anyone.
Îmi pare rău. I’m sorry
These words should precede anything else you have to say. Use them sincerely and whenever you are clearly in the wrong. Acknowledging your guilt and apologizing for any wrongdoing will lift your spirits too! Often, remorse can eat away at us, and a simple ‘I’m sorry’, in Romanian or any other language, can open the door for forgiveness and resolution of a bad situation. It can be a true gift!
Aș vrea să-mi cer scuze. I would like to apologize.
This is a slightly more formal way to say ‘I’m sorry’ in Romanian. Use this phrase if you’re addressing your superiors and/or elders.
Îmi cer sincer scuze. I sincerely apologize.
If you feel strongly about your apology, this is another slightly more formal phrase to use. Keep it handy for graver errors, or you might come across as insincere!
Nu am să mai fac. I won’t do it again.
A promise you can only make if you intend to keep it! Few things feel as bad as having to hear repeated apologies from someone for the same behavior – it means the ‘sorry’ is not sincere. Don’t be that person!
Mă voi asigura că nu voi face din nou această greșeală. I’ll make sure not to make this mistake again.
A beautifully strong phrase! Again, say this only if you mean it – not just in the moment, but always! A bit more formal, this is an especially good phrase to use when apologizing to superiors and/or elders. It will make an especially good impression at the workplace, where accountability is an excellent quality to display!
Nu am vrut să iasă aşa. I didn’t mean that.
This is a tricky one… What did you mean, then?! Clear up any confusion with sincerity. Also, use this phrase only if the harm done or mistake made was due to an accident, and then admit to thoughtlessness on your part, if appropriate.
E vina mea. It’s my fault.
If the fault is really yours, own up to it. You will gain respect in the eyes of others! However, don’t take the blame when it’s not truly yours. It won’t be good for you, and ultimately you will not be respected much for it.
Îmi pare rău că am fost egoist. I’m sorry for being selfish.
This is a good phrase to keep handy, especially for your close relationships. It is difficult to admit you’re selfish, isn’t it?! However, it’s good to know when to be honest. We get used to our loved ones, which often means we forget that they need our good manners and unselfish behavior just as much as strangers do.
Sper să mă ierți. I hope you will forgive me.
This is a polite and gentle wish that can smooth over many harsh feelings. It also shows that the other person’s opinion and forgiveness are important to you.
Îmi asum întreaga responsabilitate. I take full responsibility.
This strong statement is similar to admitting that an error or transgression was your fault. It speaks of courage and the willingness to take remedial action. Good one to use…if you mean it!
Nu aș fi făcut așa ceva. I shouldn’t have done it.
This phrase is fine to use if you did or said something wrong. It shows, to an extent, your regret for having done or said what you did, and demonstrates that you understand your role in the mistake.
Îmi pare rău că îți returnez banii cu întârziere. Sorry for giving your money back late.
It’s rotten to have to loan money! Yet, it’s equally rotten to have to ask for the repayment of a loan. So, do your best not to pay late in the first place, but if it can’t be helped, this would be a good phrase to use!
Vă rog să nu fiți supărat pe mine. Please don’t be mad at me.
Well, this is not a very advisable phrase to use if you are clearly in the wrong. If someone is justifiably angry with you, asking them not to be mad at you would be an unfair expectation. However, if you did something wrong by accident, and if the consequences were not too serious, this request would be OK.
Scuze că am întârziat. Sorry I’m late.
Punctuality is valued in most situations, but if you really cannot help being late, then apologize! This way you show respect for your host, and win their approval.
Îmi cer scuze că am fost rău cu tine. I apologize for being mean to you.
Acknowledging your own meanness towards someone is no small thing, so good for you! Use this apology only if your intention is to seriously address your mean tendencies, or these words could become meaningless over time.
2. How To Refuse Something Politely in Romanian
Congratulations! Now you know how to apologize in Romanian! After you have apologized for a mistake, focus on fixing whatever you can, and don’t punish yourself over something that cannot be taken back or reversed. That’s healthy for you! Regret can eat away at the soul, and even destroy it. It is ultimately a useless emotion if it consumes you.
However, in language, we use apologies not only when we’ve transgressed or made mistakes. They come in handy in other situations too, when there has been no wrongdoing. Sometimes we need to express regret for having to refuse a gift, an offer, or an invitation. This can be somewhat tricky. Learn from specialists at RomanianPod101 about how to use the correct Romanian words for this kind of ‘sorry’!
3. Survival Phrases “How to Say Sorry”
On the run and need a quick lesson on how to say sorry in Romanian? Don’t fret, just listen and repeat! Click here for a recorded short lesson and learn how to give the perfect apology, with perfect pronunciation in Romanian. A little can go a long way, and you will sound like a native!
4. Why You Will NOT Be Sorry For Learning Romanian through RomanianPod101
Online learning is here to stay, that’s a fact. In 2015, the Digital Learning Compass Partnership released a report based on surveys to determine online enrollment trends in US institutions for higher education. Thirty percent of all their students learned online! And the number is growing! However, how can you be sure you will not regret your choice of an online language learning school? First, look at the school’s credentials and what it has to offer…
Fun and Easy Learning: It’s a commonly-known fact that when learning is made easy and fun, student motivation rises. And as motivation rises, so does the effort to learn – what a beautiful cycle! RomanianPod101’s language learning system is designed to get you speaking from the onset. Learn at your own convenience and pace with our short, effective and fun audio podcast lessons. Our Learning Center is comprehensive and state-of-the-art, with a vibrant user community to connect to! Our lessons are recorded with native hosts and voice actors, providing a diverse range of dialects in your lessons. You can be confident that native speakers will understand you when speaking Romanian!
Innovative Learning Tools and Apps: We make it our priority to offer you the best learning tools! These include apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac OSX; eBooks for Kindle, Nook, and iPad; audiobooks; Roku TV and so many more. This means that we took diverse lifestyles into account when we developed our courses, so you can learn anywhere, anytime on a device of your choice. How innovative!
Free Resources: Sharing is caring, and for this reason, we share many free resources with our students. For instance, start learning Romanian with our basic online course by creating a lifetime account – for free! Also get free daily and iTunes lessons, free eBooks, free mobile apps, and free access to our blog and online community. Or how about free Vocabulary Lists? The Romanian dictionary is for exclusive use by our students, also for free. There’s so much to love about RomanianPod101…!
Live Hosts and One-on-One Learning: Knowledgeable, energetic hosts present recorded video lessons, and are available for live teaching experiences if you upgrade. This means that in the videos, you get to watch them pronounce those tongue-twisters, as if you’re learning live! Add octane to your learning by upgrading to Premium Plus, and learn two times faster. Your can have your very own Romanian teacher always with you, ensuring that you learn what you need, when you need to – what a wonderful opportunity to master a new language in record time!
Start Where You Are: You don’t know a single Romanian word? Not to worry, we’ve absolutely got this. Simply enroll in our Absolute Beginner Pathway and start speaking from Lesson 1! As your learning progresses, you can enroll in other pathways to match your Romanian level, at your own pace, in your own time, in your own place!
After this lesson, you will know almost every ‘sorry for’ in Romanian, but don’t let it be that you’re sorry for missing a great opportunity. Learning a new language can only enrich your life, and could even open doors towards great opportunities! So don’t wonder if you’ll regret enrolling in RomanianPod101. It’s the most fun, easy way to learn Romanian!
The very idea of sitting down and studying what the kids are saying nowadays can sound like a cringeworthy exercise in futility, especially when internet slang in Romanian dictionary settings comes to mind.
I remember finding some ESL textbooks abroad that had awful, made-up text abbreviations that were definitely out-of-date before the ink hit the paper.
But the thing is, our Romanian slang dictionary isn’t a textbook. And when you head into the comment sections of Romanian videos or articles, you’ll see words all over the place that aren’t to be found in any copy of Easy Romanian in a Week.
So what I’m writing here about Romanian slang in texting and online is what’s current this very moment, and if one day it ceases to be, the principles outlined herein will still be helpful.
So, the Romanian alphabet has got a lot of diacritics, or special marks floating around consonants and vowels. They’re important—leave them out or switch them around, and there will be times that your meaning isn’t clear.
But only sometimes. You see, Romanians already speak Romanian. They know the context and they know what the Romanian slang words are probably referring to, even if—as an outside learner—you’re left in the dark when you don’t know for sure if it should be an ă or an â.
For that reason, it’s extremely common to see informal Romanian typed out without any special letters at all, just the plain old twenty-six letters you already know.
You’ll also see a copious amount of English. All over the world, it’s trendy now to sprinkle your native language with English, especially when you’re trying to appeal to the youth. That means you’ll see this quite often in ads, such as this promo for a concert:
unul din cele mai fun festivaluri ever!
One of the most fun festivals ever!
All lowercase, all without diacritics. Is there anything untouched? Just one thing: the humble dash.
The dash mark “-” is used as a contraction in Romanian in the same way that the apostrophe is used in English to better represent connected speech. That stays put, even if someone doesn’t write the diacritics (though again, people would understand even without it).
When loanwords (or just imported English words) appear, the dash mark is also usually included to preserve the original spelling. Keeping this in mind for internet slang terms for Romanian language, you’ll see video-ul, instead of videoul, to mean “the video.”
2. Abbreviations
From English to Romanian internet slang, the most common factor is abbreviation. That said, there are some Romanian slang tendencies that are confusing to English-speakers.
By far, the most confusing thing that Romanians do to their language online (until you get used to it) is taking out all the extra letters. Most English speakers don’t do this in their Internet conversations, but the practice remains alive and well in Europe, making it a vital language venture if you want to learn Romanian internet slang words.
Let’s have a look here at the most common Romanian slang expressions and abbreviations you’ll find and what they mean.
1- vb
This Romanian text slang in chatting is a shortening of vorbesc, meaning “to talk.” This actually works out pretty well in Romanian—you’d think that a language with a lot of complicated conjugations would have trouble with shortening verbs, but all the conjugations still have the vorb– root so it’s always interpreted correctly.
2- ms
Here’s one we could be using in English if things had gone a little bit differently in the past. It’s a contraction of mersi, which to anyone who’s ever taken French will be evident as meaning “thank you.” Instead, the homegrown English version is “thx.” The textbook Romanian word for “thank you” is longer and more formal, but mersi is acceptable online and off.
3- Cnv
This is a shortening, plain and simple, though for a learner it’s far from transparent. Cineva just means “somebody,” and so when time is of the essence, it gets cut down. Come to think of it, this is rather similar to how English speakers might write “sb.”
4- pt
With just these two letters, this Romanian internet slang in chatting could mean anything! But it’s only another typical shortening; pt is short for pentru, which means “for” as in “This is for you,” or “How much for breakfast?”
5- pwp
Here’s a cute and uniquely Romanian internet slang from SMS slang. The word for “kiss” in Romanian is pup, and it expresses the idea of a childlike peck on the cheek. It got transformed into pwp to make it sound even shorter, just the sound of the kiss itself.
6- kkt
Here’s a short form of căcat, meaning, well, “excrement.” But in a ruder sense. Compare with Spanish caca, but note that it’s more offensive in Romanian.
KKT is the most offensive we’re going to get in this article in order to keep up professional standards. But there are a number of more vulgar terms that you can find in slang form online, in forums and comment sections. Simply have a look at this Wikipedia article on Romanian profanity and imagine the phrases written without any vowels, and you’ll be most of the way there.
3. Other Informal Terms
There’s still more internet text slang in Romanian language that you should be aware of to fully integrate into Romanian online social circles. Look over our short list of Romanian to English internet slangs to become better acquainted!
1- frumiiii
This is far from the only word that gets this treatment, though it’s one of the most common. The word frumi means “beautiful,” and usually appears with just the one I. Online, any word you like can be made into a long and musical exclamation by simply adding as many vowels as you deem necessary. Usually two to four extras will do it, and anything above that risks coming off as over exuberant. “Yippeee?”
2- Bă
Here’s a simple way to say hello—it’s kind of equivalent to “hey man” or “hey guys!” Start off your sentence with bă for an immediately casual, informal tone. Now and then, you’ll see it written online as băăăă (or even longer), just like you might read “bă is used only for masculine, when you’re talking with a boy or a man.
3- mda
This one’s hidden in plain sight. The word for “yes” in Romanian is da, but adding the m in front of it makes it sound more casual and off-the-cuff. In English we actually do this too, with the word “mmyeah,” although that indicates hesitancy, where there’s none in the Romanian equivalent.
4- Mișto
This is kind of a unique example. As mentioned before, English words are quite trendy in Romanian. Plenty of people near border regions and in big cities snatch little bits of language from other “cool” languages such as Italian or German.
But the humble mișto (which means “cool” as if there weren’t enough synonyms for that already) actually comes from the Romani language of the gypsy peoples—tracing its roots all the way back to India, from the Hindi word miithaa meaning “good!”
5- Nașpa
Here’s an interesting slang word that dates back to just about the beginning of the internet days, though it doesn’t have any meaning related to internet stuff. It means something like “low-quality,” and it’s usually used to describe objects or situations, but not people. Although it doesn’t look out of the ordinary,keep in mind that it never declines or changes its form to fit other grammatical rules—it barges right through the rules and stays the same regardless of where it is in the sentence.
Conclusion: How RomanianPod101 Can Help You Stay Cool
The fear is real. Suppose you end up like your uncle at family gatherings who still does the three-finger “whatever” sign like it’s 2005.
The best way to master this sort of language nuance is to first get a ton of exposure. You’ll find tons of it in Internet comments—make sure you watch the same kinds of videos in Romanian that you do in your native language. Surprise, surprise: people tend to say the same kinds of things.
If you’re cringing at the thought of intentionally reading online comments as a study tool, relax.
I’ve always found that bad jokes take on whole new dimensions of hilarity through a language barrier, and bad opinions or trolls never seem as effective when you’re using them as sources of vocabulary.
Then just slowly ease yourself into the community. The thing about online communication is this: nobody’s really going to care if you don’t use slang.
So use your textbook language first, and as you become more and more comfortable with the variants that you see, start sliding in some of the slang words: an English word here or a pwp there. Before you know it, you’ll be fluent.
And on the way, you’ll notice that your understanding of all Romanian is better and better. You won’t be looking up words as often, since you’ll just understand what they mean.
The journey to language fluency doesn’t happen overnight. As we’ve seen in this article, there are many untold layers of style and nuance that simply take a long time to pick up.
And one last piece of advice: don’t bring online slang into the “real world” without having seen plenty of other people do so first. That can fall flat real fast, and in rare cases could paint you as someone who, though speaking good Romanian, is the type of person who can’t seem to stay offline.
But don’t let any of that get in your way. Learning Romanian is about learning everything that comes with it, with all the ups and downs that that implies. I hope that I was able to teach you more than the average internet slang in Romanian dictionary, and that you took away something valuable from this article.
Which slang words are you excited to try out? What do you think of reading online comments as a study tool? Let us know in the comments!
A country’s national anthem is more than lyrics and spirited music. From an anthem’s conception, it becomes a part of history and culture, set to the beat of its people’s hearts in unity. An anthem accompanies a country through its changes, its wars, its times of peace, its victories, and its defeats. It reflects the philosophy and mindset of its writers and composers, and rings true in the ears of the entire country.
Romania’s National Anthem is no different, and each year the Romanian people commemorate this anthem and the events surrounding it on its National Anthem Day.
Learn more about the creation of the Romanian National Anthem and its holiday with RomanianPod101.com! We hope to make this learning journey both fun and informative!
1. What is National Anthem Day in Romania?
National Anthem Day, though not a public holiday, is a holiday for Romanians to sing, listen to, and fully appreciate the Romanian National Anthem. This anthem, titled Deșteaptă-te, române! (or “Awaken Thee, Romanian!” in English), is near Romanians’ hearts as it has been from its first performance in 1848—the year of the trying 1848 Revolution.
The Romania National Anthem has helped Romanians remain strong and united through many a trial since, including the Russo-Turkish War, World War I, World War II (as Romania decided to turn against Germany and its Nazism), and the Romanian Revolution (1989).
Once you hear the Romanian National Anthem lyrics, it won’t be hard to understand why Romanians cling to it in times of trouble or change. Unity, confidence, and patriotism resound in its words, and that’s what any country needs to remain strong. Hence the presence of National Anthem Day in Romania.
2. When is National Anthem Day?
Each year, Romanians observe their National Anthem Day on July 29.
3. How is the National Anthem Celebrated?
On National Anthem Day, people still have to work and go to school, seeing as it’s not a public holiday. However, a public ceremony is still held in a popular, historical place in Romania each year—typically the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
During this ceremony, the Romanian President is present, along with many other political and government leaders, as well as those who serve or have served in the Romanian military. There’s a twenty-one-gun salute, followed by speeches from the leaders in attendance. These speeches cover topics such as the country’s history, people worthy of mention, and what to expect for Romania’s future.
Romanians raise their flag high, and as expected, they sing the national anthem in its entirety.
4. The Author
So, who wrote the Romanian National Anthem?
Andrei Mureșanu wrote the lyrics of Romania’s National Anthem in 1848, based on an old religious tune.
Mureșanu grew up under the influence of his small business-owning family, and after studying philosophy and religion, he became a professor Brașov to publish his first sample of poetry not long after.
To give context to his work writing the Romanian National Anthem, Mureșanu also worked as an activist around the time of the 1848 Revolution.
5. Vocabulary You Need to Know for National Anthem Day
Here’s some vocabulary you should know for National Anthem Day in Romania!
We hope you enjoyed learning about National Anthem Day in Romania with us. Does your country have a holiday celebrating its national anthem? Let us know about it in the comments! We look forward to hearing from you!
To continue in your Romanian studies, explore RomanianPod101.com and take advantage of our fun and practical learning tools. Read more insightful blog posts like this one and study our free Romanian vocabulary lists, to start! By upgrading to Premium Plus, you can also begin learning Romanian with your own teacher and personalized plan with our MyTeacher program!
Learning Romanian can be a tough journey, but know that your determination and hard work will pay off. You’ll be speaking, writing, and reading Romanian like a native before you know it, and RomanianPod101 will be here to help every step of the way.
But first, a tip – wait to be asked before offering personal details such as your age. Good conversation is about unspoken reciprocity, and giving too many personal details too soon can be embarrassing for your Romanian friend. Rather use phrases that encourage your friend to talk about him or herself – most people like doing that! Also, it shows you take real interest in other people.
1- Hello, it’s nice to meet you.
Bună ziua, mă bucur să te cunosc.
This phrase is an excellent way to start an introduction. It is a greeting that immediately expresses interest in the other person.
2- My name is Elena.
Mă numesc Elena.
Self-explanatory – just replace ‘Elena’ with your own name! Also, pay close attention to what your new Romanian acquaintance’s name is. Remembering it will make them feel that you are really interested in him/her as a person!
3- I’m from Romania.
Sunt din România.
Sharing something about yourself is a nice conversation starter. It shows that you’re willing to engage meaningfully with the other person. In an informal setting, you can expect the other person to respond in kind. At work, this is probably information you need to volunteer only if asked. Again, remember to replace ‘Romania’ with your own country of birth!
4- I live in Bucharest.
Locuiesc în București.
Same as above – replace ‘Bucharest’ with your town or city of abode!
5- I’ve been learning Romanian for a year.
Învăț limba română de un an.
Say this only if it’s true, obviously. And prepare to dazzle your audience! If you have indeed worked faithfully at your Romanian for a year, you should be pretty good at it! Use this phrase after your introduction – it is likely to indicate that you wish to engage in Romanian conversation.
6- I’m learning Romanian at RomanianPod101.com.
Învăț limba română pe RomanianPod101.com.
This will be the best reply if anyone asks (Very impressed, of course!) where you study Romanian! Simply volunteering this information, especially in a casual conversation, could make you sound like a salesperson, and you want to avoid that. Often, an employer will want this information though, so best to memorize and have this phrase handy!
7- I’m 27 years old.
Am 27 de ani.
This is a line that may just get you a ‘TMI!’ look from a stranger if you volunteer it without being asked. He/she may not be willing to divulge such an intimate detail about him/herself right at the start of your acquaintance, so don’t force reciprocity. However, it’s a good phrase to know in a job interview; again, probably best only if your prospective Romanian employer asks. Also, remember to give your true age!
8- I’m a teacher.
Sunt profesor.
You’re still offering information about yourself, which lends good momentum to keep the conversation going! Replace ‘teacher’ with your own occupation – and learn the related vocabulary with RomanianPod101!
9- One of my hobbies is reading.
Unul dintre hobby-urile mele este să citesc.
Your hobby is another topic with lots of potential for starting a good conversation! People are often eager to talk about their hobbies, and why they like them!
10- I enjoy listening to music.
Îmi place să ascult muzică.
If you’re still talking about your hobbies, this would be a good line to go with the previous one. Otherwise, wait for your conversation partner to start talking about what they enjoy doing!
2. Important Tips for Introducing Yourself
A correct Romanian introduction will make a good impression upon meeting a person for the first time. Why is this first impression important? Simple – it gives an indication of who you are as a person. So, while you want to be truthful when representing yourself, you also need to be prepared to put your best foot forward!
First impressions are often lingering and difficult to change. In addition, it’s easier to make a negative impression than a good one, often without intending to. So, how can you make sure that your self-introduction will impress Romanian natives?
1- Research: First, research the culture! Different cultures have different social rules, and you will be halfway towards making a great first impression if you know the proper Romanian customs for self-introductions. It will also help you avoid social mistakes – sometimes, what is acceptable in one culture is insulting in another, such as making eye contact, or giving a handshake. In your culture, what is appropriate when a person introduces him or herself?
Also, be sure to distinguish between introductions in different situations, such as a formal and a social situation. There are bound to be differences in how you address people! The internet can be an important tool for this endeavor. Alternatively, you could visit your local library to search for books on this topic, or you could ask Romanian friends to explain and demonstrate their cultural habits for introductions. Honoring someone’s culture shows that you respect it, and as we know – a little respect can go a very long way in any relationship!
2- Study the Correct Phrases and Vocabulary: Be sure to learn Romanian phrases and vocabulary that tell people who you are, and that encourage them to engage in conversation with you. Each situation will determine how to address the person you want to introduce yourself to. Also, make sure your pronunciation is correct! It would be most valuable to have Romanian-speaking friends who can help you with this. Or read on for a quick phrase and video lesson on Romanian introductions right here at RomanianPod101!
3- Appearance: This is pretty obvious – if you want to make a good impression introducing yourself to anyone for the first time, you need to be neatly dressed and well groomed! A shabby, dirty or careless appearance and bad body odor are to be avoided at all costs; in most cultures, these will not impress!
Also, make sure to dress appropriately, not only for the occasion, but also for the culture. For instance, bare shoulders or an open-necked shirt is an acceptable gear in many Western countries. Yet, in some cultures, dressing like this could deeply offend your host. No amount of good manners and properly expressed introductions is likely to wipe out a cultural no-no! So, be sure to know how to dress, and take care with your appearance when you are about to introduce yourself to someone for the first time!
Following are some neat phrases with which you can introduce yourself in Romanian, and get a conversation started too!
3. Video – How to Introduce Yourself in Romanian
Good, you read and perhaps even memorized the preceding phrases to successfully introduce yourself in Romanian! Watch this short video now to get a quick lesson on Romanian grammar for these introductions, as well as how to pronounce them correctly. You will sound like a native when you can copy the presenter perfectly!
4. Why RomanianPod101 is Perfect for Learning all about Romanian Introductions
Accurate and Correct Pronunciation & Inflection: Our hosts and voice actors are native Romanian speakers of the best quality! It is important for us that you speak Romanian correctly to avoid embarrassing misunderstandings and miscommunications. If you practice and can copy these presenters well, you will sound just like Romanian natives and your introduction will be easily understood!
State-of-the-Art Lesson Formats and Methods: Efficacy in learning is our highest priority. You will have access to learning tools that were carefully developed by learning specialists over more than a decade! We use only well-researched, proven lesson formats and teaching methods to ensure fast, accurate, fun and easy learning! Millions of happy subscribers can’t be wrong! Create a lifetime account with RomanianPod101 for free access to many learning tools that are updated every week.
Learn to Read and Write in Romanian: We don’t only teach you to speak, you can also learn to read and write in Romanian! This way you can express your Romanian introduction in more than one way and be thoroughly prepared.
A Learning Plan that Suits your Pocket: RomanianPod101 takes pride in making learning not only easy and fun, but also affordable. Opening a lifetime account for free will offer you a free seven-day trial, after which you can join with an option that suits your needs and means. Learning Romanian has never been easier or more affordable! Even choosing only the ‘Basic’ option will give you access to everything you need to learn Romanian effectively, like thousands of audio and video lessons! However, if you need to learn Romanian fast, the Premium and Premium Plus options will be good to consider, as both offer a vast number of extra tools to ensure efficient learning. This way you can be sure that you will reach your learning goal easily!
Whatever your needs are for learning Romanian, make sure to do it through RomanianPod101, and you will never have to google: “How do I introduce myself in Romanian” again!
Can you even name one? That’s a shame. Especially if you’re studying Romanian!
It’s true that American and British culture have kind of overshadowed Romanian culture, even inside Romania. Most Romanians would have a much easier time naming American films, at the very least.
However, Romanian movies are not only a great window into the Romanian cultural consciousness, they’re also a great way to learn Romanian! In this list, we’ve got ten great Romanian movies that represent totally different aspects of Romanian society. And none of them are strange art-house pieces that you won’t be able to find information on.
Instead, these are the best Romanian movies to watch for language-learners, and they’re beloved by fans throughout the world. Join those fans and boost your Romanian with some of the best Romanian movies ever!
Right now, we’re still experiencing the Romanian New Wave, a cinema movement that began in the mid-2000s and continues strong. Many films, as you’ll see, have to do with the revolution of 1989 or its aftermath in some way. They’re characterized by a very realist style and a heavy use of black humor to get their points across.
California Dreamin’ (Endless)
Here’s a true, down-to-earth Romanian drama story. It focuses on a train full of American soldiers, which gets held up in a tiny Romanian town in the middle of nowhere during NATO operations in Yugoslavia. Their only problem is a missing customs form, but that’s enough of an excuse for Doiaru, the corrupt stationmaster, to keep them waiting as long as he can. During their wait, the film explores how the Americans make the best of their time in the small town, including entertainment, romance, and even a minor riot.
Key Vocabulary
Since the whole movie’s plot is made possible by birocrație, or “bureaucracy,” and a missing formular vamal, or “customs form,” it would be good to start with those words. The film is also known as Endless in English, a translation of the Romanian title Nesfârșit. The director actually passed away before the release of the film, and so it runs long because the editor didn’t want to throw away any material.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile)
In the final years of the communist era in Romania, abortion was banned by the government in an effort to increase the birth rate. This film tells the story of two friends who go through a terrible ordeal in order to terminate a pregnancy. It’s loosely based on a true story, but the law and its consequences were lifted straight from history. The cinematography is intensely minimalistic, with no music and very long takes that may put the viewer in mind of a stage play.
Key Vocabulary
One of the most interesting words related to this historical period, and therefore certain Romanian history movies like this one, is decrețel, which describes a person born during the time of Decree 770, the law banning abortion.
Police, Adjective (Polițist, Adjectiv)
What should you do when your personal ethics go against the job you signed up for? In this film, Cristi, a policeman from a small town, is assigned to the case of a high school student facing a long prison term for drug trafficking. Cristi is married to a teacher and doesn’t want to ruin the life of a young man. But his superior puts more and more pressure on him to follow the letter of the law.
Key Vocabulary
The word închisoare means “prison,” and the root comes from închis, meaning “closed” or “shut.” You should also know, culturally speaking, that the secret police in Romania pre-revolution were strongly feared, and nobody was ever sure who was an informer and who was not. Therefore, the story of a policeman has different cultural baggage in Romania than it would in some other countries.
The Way I Spent the End of the World (Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii)
Another film set in the final years of the Ceausescu regime, this film depicts the lives of two young people as they plan to escape Romania. One girl, Eva, is sent to reform school for accidentally breaking a statue of the dictator, but the boy with her is saved thanks to his government connections. She makes plans to swim across the Danube, and in revenge for her punishment, a seven-year-old boy begins to hatch a plan for full-throttle assassination.
Key Vocabulary
Most of the vocabulary in this film is pretty pedestrian. Do keep an eye out for the word supraveghetor, meaning “overseer” or watcher,” and used to refer to an informant or someone keeping tabs on the population for the government. It’s actually from the same roots as “surveillance,” essentially describing one who watches from above.
2. Nationalist Epics
Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu had a vision for Romania that many people are thankful didn’t come to pass. As part of his control over the populace, the government severely restricted creative freedom in the cinema and had virtually total control over how movies could be made. Despite these limitations, as well as the limitations of the technology at the time, the two movies about Romanian history in this section have stood for decades as pillars of Romanian cinema.
Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul)
Prince Michael of Wallachia, in the seventeenth century, made a grand effort to unite Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania into one country. This is an epic film, and one of the greatest Romanian war movies, with the kind of filmmaking and battle scenes that are no longer seen any more in cinema today—we’re talking about ten-thousand actors in some sequences. Originally, the film was meant to have American actors, but the government at the time nixed that idea, focusing only on Romanian stars. Today, decades later, it’s still considered a masterpiece of Romanian cinema.
Key Vocabulary
As this is a war film, you should be aware of words like sabia meaning “sword” or “sabre,” cal meaning “horse,” and suliță meaning “spear.” It might also help to know some of the film’s background, historically speaking. Mihai Bravu (another name for Prince Michael) is considered one of Romania’s national heroes. The element of unity found in the film fits perfectly with the aims of the totalitarian Romanian government at the time to promote nationalist ideals.
The Dacians (Dacii)
Now let’s turn the clock way back and take a look at an ancient war fought between the Romans and the Dacians in the first century AD. Dacia was the name of the land roughly the shape of Romania today, and it was conquered by the Romans in AD 106. Like Mihai Viteazul, this was also a nationalist film meant to make Romanians feel that they were the creation of the Dacian and Roman peoples. The film was a massive sword-and-sandal success, and even today is one of the most popular Romanian movies.
Key Vocabulary
Naturally, a viewer will want to know the words for these ancient kingdoms. Rome is known as Roma, and Romans are called romani. The word for “Dacia” is the same in English and in Romanian, and as you’ll see, has taken on a second, unrelated meaning since this film was released in the 1960s.
3. Best Romanian Comedy Movies and Lighter Fare
Up to this point, we’ve dealt with some pretty heavy-duty themes. You could be forgiven for thinking that Romanians are dreary people. However, that is absolutely not the case. These funny Romanian movies explore periods of change in Romanian society, but they’re not afraid to keep things light.
12:08 East of Bucharest
The date in the title of the movie refers to the time when the president fled following the start of the Romanian revolution.
If you have ever learned anything about the modern history of Romania, it probably has something to do with the overthrow of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. In this 2007 movie, a talk show host goes into the details of how the town of Vaslui was involved in the revolution, with a comedic cast of characters. That’s only to find out that many Romanians doubt that Vaslui contributed to the revolution at all, as there were no registered protests before moment the Romanian president fled.
Key Vocabulary
Since the whole movie is centered around the overthrow of the Ceausescu, you will hear the word revoluţie “revolution” being used continuously throughout the movie. That’s in addition to revolution related vocabulary such as proteste “protests” or politică “politics”.
My Beautiful Dacia
Here, Dacia refers not to an ancient kingdom, but to a car—specifically the most common car owned by Romanians during the twentieth century. The film shows the development of Romanian society through the eyes of different generations of Romanians, and the link between them is always one thing. Rich or poor, old or young, it’s always the Dacia. First it was a symbol of communist ambition, and now it’s a memento of the country’s past that many people are nostalgic for.
Key Vocabulary
Obviously, the main word to learn here is mașină, or “automobile.” But another concept you’ll hear a lot about in this movie is the piața neagră, or “black market,” where most people had to go to get auto parts or gasoline from time to time.
Asphalt Tango (Asfalt Tango)
How can you make a road-trip movie in a country where the roads are bad and almost nobody owns a car? Use a bus! This is a madcap comedy of eleven girls on a bus to Paris, and the romance stories that befall them on the way. Former lovers and future flings are played against each other, as well as the other long-suffering characters on the bus who are forced to become part of these eleven love stories at once. The director, Nae Caranfil, also directed The Rest is Silence.
Key Vocabulary
In the 1990s, Romania was developing fast, and one thing you’ll see a lot of in the movie is construcție, or “construction.” This movie is also unmistakably about the experience of a long-distance bus trip, which in Romanian is known as a călătorie cu autobuzul.
The Rest is Silence (Restul e tăcere)
In 1911, cinema the world over was seen as experimental and a strange new art form. Many people were quite critical of it, but none perhaps more so than theater owners. What happens, then, when the son of a theater owner gets bitten by the cinema bug? He never finds himself comfortable on stage, and instead finds himself drawn to lenses and film. This is the story of Romania’s first feature film, told with beautiful visuals befitting the subject matter.
Key Vocabulary
A “theater” is called a teatru in Romanian. The main character, though, is more interested in cinema, which at the time was called cinematograf. The word “camera” in English actually comes from the Latin word for “room,” since the first cameras were black boxes like small dark rooms. A “room” in Romanian is still camera today. Therefore the name for the picture-taking device in Romanian is cameră, with the accented ă to distinguish it.
4. How to Watch and Learn at the Same Time
Movies aren’t actually particularly efficient for language-learning, when it comes to actual words spoken per minute. When you watch the action epics, for instance, there’s a whole lot of fighting and shouting that isn’t teaching you very much Romanian at all.
But movies are great. There’s so much more that can be said artistically with a film compared to a TV show.
And just like with any other study method, you’re going to get out of it what you put into it. One of the best low-effort things you can do while watching a Romanian movie is to open the sound recorder or voice notes app on your phone and record short snippets of audio that you find challenging to understand.
Do your best to write down the words that you hear, and then check with a tutor or a transcript of the movie to see if you were correct.
The more you listen and re-listen to those little clips of dialogue, the easier all Romanian dialogue will become. You put the effort in, and you get the return.
5. Conclusion
How can you actually watch these movies? For some of them, DVD-by-mail services may be your best bet, as Romanian cinema unfortunately hasn’t broken into the streaming market in the way that many other genres have.
This article in the New York Times has links for some of these films, as well as recommendations for more that didn’t make this list. You may also come across some good finds by searching for Romanian movies online. RomanianPod101 also has an article dedicated to Romanian TV shows you may enjoy watching! Check it out for more great entertainment options.
Although none of these movies are particularly recent, Romania and its cinema industry are only growing in popularity. Your decision to learn Romanian now is going to continue to pay dividends as time goes on.
Which of these Romanian movies do you want to watch first? Are there any good ones we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Then imagine you were suddenly in Romania, surrounded by Romanian friends on a night out. Do you think you’d be able to keep up, linguistically speaking?
Probably yes. But culturally is another matter. Romanian people talk about Romanian things—and when you learn Romanian from half a world away, you’ll do well to learn about some of those Romanian things yourself (like Romanian TV series).
Now, let’s not pretend that Romanians don’t enjoy American and British entertainment as well. They totally do. However, any conversation that doesn’t brush against something popular that’s unique to one’s own culture is a pretty boring conversation to have.
There is, of course, a way to master the Romanian language and become deeply familiar with its culture at the same time. It’s called “watching a ton of TV.” Or more specifically, watching a ton of the most popular Romanian TV shows.
1. How TV Can Be a Better Teacher than Anything Else
People who are used to learning languages from books and teachers might be a little taken aback by this. After all, don’t you need someone to show you the ins and outs of the language to make sure you’re doing it correctly?
Well, you’d be surprised.
Romanian isn’t totally foreign to English. Tons of words come from recognizable shared roots. And that means even a complete beginner has a very rough foundation to build on.
This happens even faster when you can watch the action happening on-screen, like when you watch TV shows in Romanian. If you watch just ten episodes of some soap opera only in Romanian, I guarantee that you’ll start understanding whole words and phrases before long.
Now, although you might know someone who claimed to learn such-and-such a language to fluency just from watching cartoons, that takes a really long time. But in general, watching Romanian TV shows with English subtitles (or even without) can be an effective study tool.
TV is a fantastic supplement to a structured language-learning program, just like the one you can find here on RomanianPod101. Integrate high-quality native content into your studies, and you’ll experience massive gains. Plus, Romanian movies and TV really pack a lot of entertainment!
2. The Most Popular Romanian Shows as of 2019
1- Las Fierbinti
It might not be immediately clear to non-Romanians, but the “Las” in the title is a riff on “Las Vegas.” Fierbinti is a tiny fictional village in rural Romania, and this show is a sitcom that covers pretty much anything and everything that can happen in a small town. It’s a parody of the actual Romanian society.
The main characters are the mayor and the bartender, but of course, it includes a full cast of complex characters as well as supporting extras.
Basically, this is the show you want to watch if you’re at all interested in life outside the cities in Romania.
There are a whopping 237 fifty-minute episodes to get through, meaning that if one particular storyline doesn’t grab you, just skip around and you won’t have missed much. It’s consistently had a good following and solid reviews over its fifteen seasons, and is one of the most popular Romanian TV shows. If you want to watch it, here is a link to their official YouTube channel.
2- Secretul Mariei
Here’s another gem of Romanian television. Translating to “The Secret of Maria,” this show is about two identical twins who live very different lives. Lorena has a blissful marriage to a man from an old-money family, with the only hitch being her disapproving mother-in-law.
Maria is an exotic dancer who tries to put on a brave face and ignore the fact that she would do anything to be with her sister’s husband.
This is another long-running serial, and over the course of its 100+ episodes, you’ll see that Lorena’s life is nowhere near what it appears to be to outsiders.
3- Umbre
What else can you expect from Romania television?
Recommended to an adult audience only, this HBO Europe series aims to raise the bar for Romanian crime dramas. Taken at a glance, it’s a relatively familiar story about a working-class cab driver who secretly leads a double life as a mob enforcer. When a job goes wrong, he’s got to work double-time to keep his lives separate and make things right.
However, Umbre ( meaning “shadows” ) has some uniquely Romanian touches. More time is given on-screen to the day-to-day workings of the life of the main character, Relu.
You don’t get that as much in some other fast-paced crime dramas. And the show was actually criticized by Romanians for including a huge amount of slang and rude words in the dialogue. That makes it an extra challenge and an extra reward for the dedicated Romanian learners out there. Definitely one of the best Romanian TV shows for really learning the language.
4- Atletico Textila
A corrupt owner of a failing football team and a run-down textile factory gets locked up, and his wife has to take control, even though she doesn’t know the first thing about football management or textile factory management. Hilarity ensues as the players start getting used to the idea of playing on…that kind of team.
This is an interesting window into Romanian culture. For one thing, the idea of a woman running a football team is seen as a crucial part of the reason why the series is funny. But on the other hand, the manager is portrayed as energetic and motivating, and so the show as a whole respects her drive.
All in all, we definitely consider this one of the top Romanian TV shows. Give it a try! You can find the first episode here.
5- The Silent Valley (Valea Mută)
Here’s another HBO series for you. In addition to the high production value that HBO series are known for, this one definitely breaks new ground when it comes to famous Romanian TV shows.
It’s about two young men discovering their true romantic feelings for each other—while at the same time grappling with the brutal killings they witnessed in the Romanian wilderness. How will their relationship survive the investigation that they become central parts of?
The Silent Valley was actually based off a Norwegian series called Eyewitness. Producers knew that they were taking a risk by realistically portraying love between two young men in a show meant for a more conservative audience, but they did it anyway and were critically acclaimed for their work.
6- Jocuri de Celebritate
Of course, there’s gotta be a game show on here! The title translates to “Celebrity Games,” and the plot is simple. Two teams of contestants, with three people to a team, answer quiz questions and play games to take home 10,000-lei prize money (roughly 2,300 USD).
The twist: On one team, you’ve got two well-known celebrities plus one ordinary Romanian. That ordinary person has the chance to hang out with the biggest names in Romanian entertainment plus win the equivalent of about four months’ salary.
Game shows are actually a really good way to practice listening to Romanian. They’re not scripted, so you know that what you hear is a totally natural usage of the language.
Plus, you’ll likely hear the same set lines and explanations of the rules over and over! And of course, watching a couple of episodes of this gives you a real fast rundown of who’s who in Romania—those pop culture references aren’t gonna learn themselves!
One thing to know about Eastern and Southern Europe: They love watching Turkish soap operas. Like, seriously—the numbers show that Turkish soaps on Romanian TV channels regularly attract just as many viewers as Romanian shows. Fructul Oprit ( translating loosely to “Forbidden Fruit” ) is based on a couple of key plotlines in well-known Turkish dramas, and it was even partially filmed in Istanbul.
Its theme is, overall, love.
In upper-class old-money circles in Bucharest, the question of who will end up with whom is a serious matter for families to consider. You can’t control love, and you can’t control fate. So when tragedy strikes a single couple, the dominoes really begin to fall in all directions.
3. Finding Ways to Watch Romanian Shows Online
So, can you find these Romanian TV shows on Netflix?
Netflix, you may be surprised to hear, is available in Romania but doesn’t have any of these Romanian shows available. Give it time, though—it’s only been two years since Netflix even entered the Romanian market.
So apart from Netflix, where can you watch Romanian TV shows online?
First off, YouTube and DailyMotion are excellent sources for finding Romanian TV series online. Search for any of these shows above, and you’re practically guaranteed to find a wide selection of complete episodes available on either of these streaming sites.
Naturally, just because they’re available now, at the time of this writing, doesn’t mean they’ll stay up forever. But on the other hand, YouTube is famously lax about enforcing copyright claims for smaller countries—and some of these TV shows are popular enough that they’re just uploaded directly by the production companies! For example, Atletico Textila has the first fourteen episodes up on the network’s channel.
Outside of that, AntenaPlay is the streaming hub for the Romanian entertainment channels Antena 1, 2, and 3. You can sign up for an account if you live in Romania, or you can get a Romanian friend to give you their login information. Once you have access, you can watch quite a few of these shows on demand.
If that’s not an option or these shows haven’t done it for you so far, don’t go away yet…
4. Reconnect with the Romanian Childhood You Never Had
Sometimes it’s good to ignore all the crime drama/love triangle stories and just enjoy something more simple and laid-back. That’s where cartoons come in.
The language in cartoons is often at a similar level grammatically to what you might hear in shows for adults, but you know it’s rarely going to veer into the technical or obscure. And the audio quality is usually much better because the voices are all dubbed in a studio instead of recorded during filming.
Here are three YouTube channels popular in Romania that, between them, have about a zillion hours of Romanian cartoons for you to enjoy.
1- Robotzi
Out of the three, Robotzi is the most out-there. It’s a cartoon about robots, produced independently and definitely aimed at an audience of teenagers or older. The episodes are very short and bite-sized, and they rely on fast-paced dialogue and wordplay to get their humor across.
2- TraLaLa
As a polar opposite, this is a YouTube channel with not one, but four, different short cartoon series (six, really, but two are wordless).
As you can tell by looking at the thumbnails, these are made for younger children—but the characters speak fast with hardly any breaks. Follow along with the adventures of Vikings, forest creatures, zoo animals, and insect buddies, and watch your Romanian abilities rise to meet the challenge!
Time for the big leagues. These American kids’ entertainment juggernauts have found big popularity with Romanian dubs of their shows, and they’ve put thousands of clips online of current and classic kids’ shows dubbed into Romanian.
Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls, and, rather appropriately, Hotel Transylvania, all have dozens of clips uploaded with high-quality Romanian voice tracks.
And here’s one last hint: If you can’t find a particular cartoon that you loved in your childhood on these or other official channels, use the general search terms dublat meaning “dubbed” or dublat în limba română meaning “dubbed into Romanian.” You might find what you’re looking for after all!
5. Conclusion
To get the best bang from your TV-watching buck, you should make a habit of balancing active study with passive watching.
Twenty minutes, or 1/3 of your actual time, should be spent watching slowly and carefully. Maybe you repeat something you watched before, maybe you write down all the new words and sentences you can hear.
The remaining 2/3 should be spent on just listening with your ears open, not pausing to look anything up, but not entirely zoning out either.
This is because when you study something new, seeing it “in the wild” is the best way to really lock it into your memory. You’ll experience a kind of rush when a previously indecipherable sentence suddenly reveals itself to be full of yesterday’s vocabulary words—and that feeling will make the memory ten times stronger.
So really, there’s no time to waste. Head on over to some of the websites linked in this article, and don’t forget to also check out the Romanian material available right here on RomanianPod101.com!
Oh, and before you go, let us know in the comments which of these Romanian TV series you want to watch first! We look forward to hearing from you!
Author: Yassir Sahnoun is a HubSpot certified content strategist, copywriter and polyglot who works with language learning companies. He helps companies attract sales using content strategy, copywriting, blogging, email marketing & more.
Do you often feel lonely and sad? Do you long for romance and are willing to do whatever it takes to meet that special person? Speaking another language could revolutionize your love life! So, why wait? Learning how to say ‘love’ in Romanian could be just what you need to find it.
Or perhaps you were lucky, and have found your Romanian partner already. Fantastic! Yet, a cross-cultural relationship comes with unique challenges. Learning how to speak your lover’s language will greatly improve your communication and enhance the relationship. At RomanianPod101, our team will teach you all the words, quotes and phrases you need to woo your Romanian lover with excellence! Our tutors provide personal assistance, with plenty of extra material available to make Romanian dating easy for you.
Start with a bonus, and download the ‘How To be a Good Lover Cheat Sheet’ for FREE! (Logged-In Member Only)
1. Common Phrases You’ll Need for a Date
So, you have met your Romanian love interest. Congratulations! Who knows where this could take you…?! However, the two of you have just met and you’re not ready to say the Romanian word for love just yet. Great, it is better to get to know him/her first. Wow your prospective love by using these Romanian date phrases to set up a spectacular first date.
Would you like to go out to dinner with me?
Vrei să mergi la cină cu mine?
The important question! In most cultures, this phrase indicates: ‘I’m romantically interested in you’. Flirting in Romanian is no different, so don’t take your date to Mcdonald’s!
Are you free this weekend?
Ești liber în acest weekend?
This is a preamble to asking your love interest on a date. If you get an immediate ‘Yes’, that’s good news!
Would you like to hang out with me?
Ai vrea să iți petreci timpul cu mine?
You like her/him, but you’re not sure if there’s chemistry. Ask them to hang out first to see if a dinner date is next.
What time shall we meet tomorrow?
La ce oră să ne întâlnim mâine?
Set a time, and be sure to arrive early! Nothing spoils a potential relationship more than a tardy date.
Where shall we meet?
Unde ar trebui să ne întâlnim?
You can ask this, but also suggest a place.
You look great.
Arăți minunat.
A wonderful ice breaker! This phrase will help them relax a bit – they probably took great care to look their best just for you.
You are so cute.
Eşti atât de drăguță.
If the two of you are getting on really well, this is a fun, flirtatious phrase to use.
What do you think of this place?
Cum ți se pare acest loc?
This another good conversation starter. Show off your Romanian language skills!
Can I see you again?
Pot să te văd din nou?
So the date went really well – don’t waste time! Make sure you will see each other again.
Shall we go somewhere else?
Să mergem în altă parte?
If the place you meet at is not great, you can suggest going elsewhere. It is also a good question to follow the previous one. Variety is the spice of life!
I know a good place.
Știu un loc bun.
Use this with the previous question. However, don’t say if you don’t know a good place!
I will drive you home.
Te voi conduce acasă.
If your date doesn’t have transport, this is a polite, considerate offer. However, don’t be offended if she/he turns you down on the first date. Especially a woman might not feel comfortable letting you drive her home when the two of you are still basically strangers.
That was a great evening.
A fost o seară minunată.
This is a good phrase to end the evening with.
When can I see you again?
Când te mai pot revedea?
If he/she replied ‘Yes’ to ‘Can I see you again?’, this is the next important question.
I’ll call you.
O să te sun.
Say this only if you really mean to do it. In many cultures, this could imply that you’re keeping the proverbial backdoor open.
You learned all the Romanian phrases to make a date – congratulations! Now you have to decide where to meet, which can be tricky. Discuss these options with your lover to gauge whether you like the same things. Check out romantic date ideas in Romanian below!
museum
muzeu
If you’re looking for unique date ideas that are fun but won’t break the bank, museums are the perfect spot! You won’t be running out of things to say in the conversations.
candlelit dinner
cină la lumina lumânărilor
A candlelit dinner is perhaps best to reserve for when the relationship is getting serious. It’s very intimate, and says: “Romance!” It’s a fantastic choice if you’re sure you and your date are in love with each other!
go to the zoo
mergi la grădina zoologică
This is a good choice for shy lovers who want to get the conversation going. Just make sure your date likes zoos, as some people dislike them. Maybe not for the first date, but this is also a great choice if your lover has children – you’ll win his/her adoration for inviting them along!
go for a long walk
fă o plimbare lungă
Need to talk about serious stuff, or just want to relax with your date? Walking together is soothing, and a habit you can keep up together always! Just make sure it’s a beautiful walk that’s not too strenuous.
go to the opera
du-te la operă
This type of date should only be attempted if both of you love the opera. It can be a special treat, followed by a candlelit dinner!
go to the aquarium
du-te la acvariu
Going to the aquarium is another good idea if you need topics for conversation, or if you need to impress your lover’s kids! Make sure your date doesn’t have a problem with aquariums.
walk on the beach
fă o plimbare pe plajă
This can be a very romantic stroll, especially at night! The sea is often associated with romance and beauty.
have a picnic
mergi la un picnic
If you and your date need to get more comfortable together, this can be a fantastic date. Spending time in nature is soothing and calms the nerves.
cook a meal together
gătește o masă împreună
If you want to get an idea of your date’s true character in one go, this is an excellent date! You will quickly see if the two of you can work together in a confined space. If it works, it will be fantastic for the relationship and create a sense of intimacy. If not, you will probably part ways!
have dinner and see a movie
mergi la cină și vezi un film
This is traditional date choice works perfectly well. Just make sure you and your date like the same kind of movies!
3. Must-know Valentine’s Day Vocabulary
Expressing your feelings honestly is very important in any relationship all year round. Yet, on Valentine’s Day you really want to shine. Impress your lover this Valentine’s with your excellent vocabulary, and make his/her day! We teach you, in fun, effective ways, the meanings of the words and how to pronounce them. You can also copy the characters and learn how to write ‘I love you’ in Romanian – think how impressed your date will be!
4. Romanian Love Phrases for Valentine’s Day
So, you now have the basic Valentine’s Day vocabulary under your belt. Well done! But, do you know how to say ‘I love you’ in Romanian yet? Or perhaps you are still only friends. So, do you know how to say ‘I like you’ or ‘I have a crush on you’ in Romanian? No? Don’t worry, here are all the love phrases you need to bowl over your Romanian love on this special day!
I love you.
Te iubesc.
Saying ‘I love you’ in Romanian carries the same weight as in all languages. Use this only if you’re sure and sincere about your feelings for your partner/friend.
You mean so much to me.
Însemni atat de mult pentru mine.
This is a beautiful expression of gratitude that will enhance any relationship! It makes the receiver feel appreciated and their efforts recognized.
Will you be my Valentine?
Vrei să fii Valentinul meu?
With these words, you are taking your relationship to the next level! Or, if you have been a couple for a while, it shows that you still feel the romance. So, go for it!
You’re so beautiful.
Ești atât de frumoasă.
If you don’t know how to say ‘You’re pretty’ in Romanian, this is a good substitute, gentlemen!
I think of you as more than a friend.
Te consider mai mult decât un prieten.
Say this if you are not yet sure that your romantic feelings are reciprocated. It is also a safe go-to if you’re unsure about the Romanian dating culture.
A hundred hearts would be too few to carry all my love for you.
O sută de inimi ar fi prea puține pentru a purta toată dragostea mea pentru tine.
You romantic you…! When your heart overflows with love, this would be the best phrase to use.
Love is just love. It can never be explained.
Iubirea este doar iubire. Ea nu poate fi explicată.
If you fell in love unexpectedly or inexplicably, this one’s for you.
You’re so handsome.
Ești atât de chipeș.
Ladies, this phrase lets your Romanian love know how much you appreciate his looks! Don’t be shy to use it; men like compliments too.
I’ve got a crush on you.
Am făcut o pasiune pentru tine.
If you like someone, but you’re unsure about starting a relationship, it would be prudent to say this. It simply means that you like someone very, very much and think they’re amazing.
You make me want to be a better man.
Mă faci să doresc să fiu un om mai bun.
Gentlemen, don’t claim this phrase as your own! It hails from the movie ‘As Good as it Gets’, but it is sure to make your Romanian girlfriend feel very special. Let her know that she inspires you!
Let all that you do be done in love.
Tot ceea ce faci să fie făcut cu dragoste.
We hope.
You are my sunshine, my love.
Ești raza mea de soare, dragostea mea.
A compliment that lets your lover know they bring a special quality to your life. Really nice!
Words can’t describe my love for you.
Cuvintele nu pot descrie dragostea mea pentru tine.
Better say this when you’re feeling serious about the relationship! It means that your feelings are very intense.
We were meant to be together.
Am fost sortiți să fim împreună.
This is a loving affirmation that shows you see a future together, and that you feel a special bond with your partner.
If you were thinking about someone while reading this, you’re definitely in love.
Dacă te-ai gândit la cineva în timp ai citit acest lucru, cu siguranță esti îndrăgostit.
Here’s something fun to tease your lover with. And hope he/she was thinking of you!
5. Romanian Quotes about Love
You’re a love champ! You and your Romanian lover are getting along fantastically, your dates are awesome, your Valentine’s Day together was spectacular, and you’re very much in love. Good for you! Here are some beautiful phrases of endearment in Romanian that will remind him/her who is in your thoughts all the time.
6. Marriage Proposal Lines
Wow. Your Romanian lover is indeed the love of your life – congratulations! And may only happiness follow the two of you! In most traditions, the man asks the woman to marry; this is also the Romanian custom. Here are a few sincere and romantic lines that will help you to ask your lady-love for her hand in marriage.
7. 15 Most Common Break-Up Lines
Instead of moving towards marriage or a long-term relationship, you find that the spark is not there for you. That is a pity! But even though breaking up is never easy, continuing a bad or unfulfilling relationship would be even harder. Remember to be kind to the person you are going to say goodbye to; respect and sensitivity cost nothing. Here are some phrases to help you break up gently.
I need my space.
Am nevoie de spațiul meu.
When a person is too clingy or demanding, this would be an suitable break-up phrase. It is another good go-to for that lover who doesn’t get the message!
We need to talk.
Trebuie să vorbim.
This is not really a break-up line, but it is a good conversation opener with a serious tone.
It’s not you. It’s me.
Nu e vina ta. E a mea.
As long as you mean it, this can be a kind thing to say. It means that there’s nothing wrong with your Romanian lover as a person, but that you need something different from a relationship.
I’m just not ready for this kind of relationship.
Încă nu sunt pregătit pentru acest tip de relație.
Things moved a bit fast and got too intense, too soon? Painful as it is, honesty is often the best way to break up with somebody.
Let’s just be friends.
Hai să fim doar prieteni.
If the relationship was very intense, and you have sent many ‘i love u’ texts in Romanian, this would not be a good breakup line. Feelings need to calm down before you can be friends, if ever. If the relationship has not really developed yet, a friendship would be possible.
I think we need a break.
Cred că avem nevoie de o pauză.
This is again honest, and to the point. No need to play with someone’s emotions by not letting them know how you feel. However, this could imply that you may fall in love with him/her again after a period of time, so use with discretion.
You deserve better.
Meriți ceva mai bun.
Yes, he/she probably deserves a better relationship if your own feelings have cooled down.
We should start seeing other people.
Ar trebui să începem să ne întâlnim cu alte persoane.
This is probably the least gentle break-up phrase, so reserve it for a lover that doesn’t get the message!
I think we’re moving too fast.
Cred că ne mișcăm prea repede.
Say this if you want to keep the relationship, but need to slow down its progress a bit. It is also good if you feel things are getting too intense for your liking. However, it is not really a break-up line, so be careful not to mislead.
I need to focus on my career.
Trebuie să mă concentrez pe cariera mea.
If you feel that you will not be able to give 100% in a relationship due to career demands, this is the phrase to use. It’s also good if you are unwilling to give up your career for a relationship.
I’m not good enough for you.
Eu nu sunt destul de bun pentru tine.
Say this only if you really believe it, or you’ll end up sounding false. Break-ups are usually hard for the receiving party, so don’t insult him/her with an insincere comment.
I just don’t love you anymore.
Doar că nu te mai iubesc.
This harsh line is sometimes the best one to use if you are struggling to get through to a stubborn, clingy lover who won’t accept your break up. Use it as a last resort. Then switch your phone off and block their emails!
We’re just not right for each other.
Noi nu ne potrivim.
If this is how you truly feel, you need to say it. Be kind, gentle and polite.
It’s for the best.
E cel mai bine așa.
This phrase is called for if circumstances are difficult and the relationship is not progressing well. Love should enhance one’s life, not burden it!
We’ve grown apart.
Am crescut separat.
Cross-cultural relationships are often long-distance ones, and it is easy to grow apart over time.
8. Will Falling in Love help you Learn Romanian faster?
Most people will agree that the above statement is a no-brainer – of course it will! Your body will be flooded with feel-good hormones, which are superb motivators for anything. RomanianPod101 is one of the best portals to help help make this a reality, so don’t hesitate to enroll now! Let’s quickly look at the reasons why falling in love will speed up your learning of the Romanian language.
Three Reasons Why Having a Lover will Help you Learn Romanian Faster!
1- Being in a love relationship with your Romanian speaking partner will immerse you in the culture
RomanianPod101 uses immersive methods and tools to teach you Romanian, but having a relationship with a native speaker will be a very valuable addition to your learning experience! You will gain exposure to their world, realtime and vividly, which will make the language come alive even more for you. The experience is likely to expand your world-view, which should motivate you to learn Romanian even faster.
2- Having your Romanian romantic partner will mean more opportunity to practice speaking
Nothing beats continuous practice when learning a new language. Your partner will probably be very willing to assist you in this, as your enhanced Romanian language skills will enhance the relationship. Communication is, after all, one of the most important pillars of a good partnership. Also, you will get to impress your lover with the knowledge gained through your studies – a win/win situation!
3- A supportive Romanian lover is likely to make a gentle, patient teacher and study aid!
With his/her heart filled with love and goodwill for you, your Romanian partner is likely to patiently and gently correct your mistakes when you speak. This goes not only for grammar, but also for accent and meaning. With his/her help, you could sound like a native in no time!
Three Reasons Why RomanianPod101 helps you learn Romanian Even Faster when you’re In Love
Start with a bonus, and download the ‘How To be a Good Lover Cheat Sheet’ for FREE! (Logged-In Member Only)
1- All the Resources and Materials Will Help Both of You
Falling in love with a man or woman speaking Romanian is an opportunity for both of you to learn a new language! For this reason, every lesson, transcript, vocabulary list, and resource at RomanianPod101 is translated into both English and Romanian. So, while your partner can help you learn Romanian faster, you can potentially also help him/her learn and master English!
2- Lessons Are Designed to Help You Understand and Engage with Romanian Culture
At RomanianPod101, our focus is to help our students learn practical vocabulary and phrases used by everyday people in Romania. This means that, from your very first lesson, you can apply what you learn immediately! So, when your Romanian partner wants to go out to a restaurant, play Pokemon Go, or attend just about any social function, you have the vocabulary and phrases necessary to have a great time!
3- Access to Special Resources Dedicated to Romantic Romanian Phrases
You now have access to RomanianPod101’s specially-developed sections and tools to teach you love words, phrases, and cultural insights to help you find and attract your Romanian soul mate. A personal tutor will assist you to master these brilliantly – remember to invite him/her to your wedding!
My first shot at language learning didn’t go so well. It was a high school foreign language course which I passed, but just barely. After high school I decided to take up language learning on my own, and at first the results were mixed.
Those early days were filled with discouragement, procrastination, and an inability to crack some of the toughest aspects of foreign grammar. But after a lot of trial and error I found my footing and became a successful language learner for the first time in my life.
In this article I share some of my hard learned lessons and give you 4 practical ways to be a successful Romanian learner. This tips will help you whether you’re learning Romanian, or another foreign language.
Enjoy!
1) Milk your time for all it’s worth
Perhaps the most vital asset you have at your disposal while learning Romanian is time. While it’s absolutely true that spending money isn’t required when learning a language, spending time definitely is. The learner who makes the most of their available hours and minutes throughout the week will yield the best return for their efforts.
If you’re like the rest of us, it’s probably difficult regularly to dedicate large amounts of time solely to learning Romanian. Studying for an hour a day or even thirty minutes can seem like wishful thinking. However even studying for an hour on a daily basis might be more possible than you think.
Start thinking of your daily hour of learning as something that can be spread throughout your day. Most likely there are small gaps of time sprinkled through your busy schedule that you can use to learn Romanian. It might be the ten minutes you spend waiting for the metro, the thirty minutes you have on your lunch break, or even the five minutes you spend in line at a store or restaurant.
A simple Romanian podcast, flashcard app, or even an online tutor, will make a huge impact on your language ability if you use them consistently (even if it’s just five or ten minutes at a time).
2) Focus on one learning method
Romanian definitely isn’t the most popular foreign language for native English speakers. Even so, there are still a considerable amount of options when it comes to courses and learning materials. Having an array of options is great, but as a new learner be careful not to fall into the shiny course trap.
Every course and site out there will tell you it’s the best or fastest way to learn Romanian. While each course has its merits, remember that one of the most important factors in language learning isn’t the specific course or method you choose. Rather it’s the discipline and consistency with which you use your chosen course or method.
You’re going to hit hurdles while studying Romanian. But don’t think that just because you’re struggling with verb inflection or grammatical cases, that another Romanian course will solve all of your problems. Stick with your chosen course or method for at least a few months before switching to another. Otherwise you run the risk of hopping from course to course, which can be very detrimental to your progress.
3) Use your knowledge of other languages
If you’re a native English speaker then you have a slight edge when learning Romanian. Romanian comes from the Romance language family (which also includes French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian). While this language is a different one from the West Germanic family that English belongs to, English still shares some commonalities with the romance languages.
A big reason for this because both English and the romance languages were influenced by Latin. As a result you’ll find words in both English and Romanian that sound and or look similar. Also, because English has become such an international language you will find that a lot of modern Romanian words (like “internet” for example) are taken directly from English.
Remember too that If you have any sort of background in the other romance languages, you will have even more of an edge while learning Romanian.
4) Study Romanian step by step
When you first start learning a foreign language, odds are that you’re very excited. You’ve chosen which learning materials you’ll use, and you see no reason why you can’t practice the language two or three hours a day! At first it really does seem you can learn the language in no time at all. The world of language learning looks like nothing but a big bright opportunity.
That enthusiasm will last you a few days until it wears off. Then you’ll hit your first roadblock in Romanian grammar, pronunciation, or some other aspect of the language, and you’ll be tempted with discouragement. If you’re like me that discouragement could lead you to procrastinate. You’ll put off your hour of study until tomorrow, then the next day, and so on. Before you know it you haven’t practiced Romanian for several weeks!
Discouragement is one of the toughest obstacles when learning a foreign language, and few people even talk about it. Thankfully though, getting past discouragement while learning Romanian isn’t as hard as you might think. Most people new to a foreign language make the mistake of trying to devour an entire language right away. They’re excited, which is great, but they tend to underestimate how much work it will take to gain any level of proficiency in their target language.
Learning Romanian is a marathon, not a sprint. Rather than trying to learn all of the grammar, vocabulary, etc at one time, break things down into more digestible chunks. When you come across a new or difficult aspect of the language, focus only on that aspect for awhile. It could a day or even a week, but don’t move on until you’re comfortable with it.
This process of learning step by step, might feel slow, but in the long run it is much more efficient. You want to look at each new grammar rule or vocabulary words as a brick in your language learning foundation. If you patiently work your way through Romanian brick by brick, you’ll be able to excel much faster once you reach a higher proficiency level.
Conclusion
Anyone who tells you that learning Romanian is easy is lying. Learning any foreign language is difficult, and it will take some time. However becoming fluent in Romanian is a far cry away from being impossible. With some practice and a good dose of determination you will be successful. The language that once seemed so strange and difficult will start to feel natural and enjoyable. Keep your head up. A little perseverance will go a long way!
