If you’ve got no nouns, you’ve got problems.
Circumlocution is an important skill, but when it comes down to it, it’s really hard to do with certain things. Try describing your head or your manager without knowing those words, and you’ll see just what a challenge you’ve jumped into.
This article is here to help. No fluff, just vocab—one hundred of the Romanian nouns you need most. Read through this article just one time and see how much you can pick up!
Table of Contents
- Time
- The Body
- The Family
- Working Life
- School Days
- At the Restaurant
- Food and Drink
- Mealtimes
- Transportation
- Technology
- Around the Home
- Conclusion
1. Time
If you haven’t learned the right words for time, then you may think you’ve gotten away with it. Turns out, it’s really difficult to be specific about any particular event if you don’t even know how to say what day it happened on!
The first three “nouns” (astăzi, mâine, and ieri) are considered adverbs in Romanian, but since they’re nouns in English, I thought it would be best to include them in our Romanian nouns list.
astăzi — today
Începând de astăzi, am nevoie de soluții.Starting today, I need solutions.
mâine — tomorrow
De mâine să nu mai vii aici.Don’t come in tomorrow.
ieri — yesterday
A fost ziua de naștere al lui Adrian ieri.It was Adrian’s birthday yesterday.
zi — day
Prietenia noastră s-a încheiat în acea zi.Our friendship ended that day.
săptămână — week
O dată pe săptămână mergem să înotăm împreună.Once a week, we go swimming together.
luna — month
Luna aceasta e pe sfârșite.This month is almost over.
an — year
Mihaela a locuit împreună cu noi aproape un an.Mihaela lived with us for almost a year.
- → For more information on telling time in Romanian, check out RomanianPod101’s article on this very topic!
2. The Body
Is your back flaring up again? How about your complaining neighbor? Whether describing your symptoms or offering sympathy, you need these Romanian nouns.
laba piciorului — foot
El și-a tăiat laba piciorului de o piatră.He cut his foot on a rock.
picior — leg
Cred că mi-am rupt piciorul.I think I may have broken my leg.
cap — head
A început sa mă doară capul din senin.My head suddenly started to hurt.
braț — arm
Bebelușul dorme doar în brațele mele.The baby only sleeps in my arms.
mână — hand
Mâinile tale sunt mai reci decât ale mele.Your hands are colder than mine.
stomac — stomach
Florin s-a plâns de dureri de stomac.Florin complained of stomach pain.
spate — back
Am simțit o durere ascuțită în partea de jos a spatelui.I felt a sharp pain in my lower back.
piept — chest
El a avut dureri în piept.He had pains in his chest.
talie — waist
Uite cât de mică este talia ei!Look how small her waist is!
3. The Family
Talking about your family is a great topic for small talk. Romanians have big and connected families, so don’t be surprised if they ask about your cousin that you haven’t seen since fifth grade. Here are the most important nouns in Romanian for family talk!
familie — family
Această cheltuială nu va afecta bugetul familiei noastre.This expense will not affect our family budget.
mamă — mother
Faptul că sunt mamă, mă face fericită.Being a mother makes me happy.
tată — father
Tatăl său a fost marinar.His father was a sailor.
părinte — parent
Fiecare părinte are impresia că odrasla lui este specială.Every parent thinks their child is special.
copil — child
Fiecare copil ar trebui să se simtă în siguranță.Every child should feel safe.
fiică — daughter
El a plecat să o caute pe fiica sa.He went to find his daughter.
fiul — son
Eu sunt fiul ei.I’m her son.
mătușă — aunt
Mătușa ta a sunat de opt ori.Your aunt called eight times.
unchi — uncle
Nu l-am întâlnit niciodată pe unchiul tău.I’ve never met your uncle.
soț — husband
Va fi un soț bun.He’ll be a good husband.
văr — cousin
Acest copil este vărul tău.That child is your cousin.
soție — wife
El locuiește la o fermă împreună cu soția și copiii lui.He lives on a farm with his wife and kids.
- → Do you want more Romanian family words or more information on the structure of a Romanian family? RomanianPod101 has just the article for you!
4. Working Life
We’ve got lots of names for people so far, but none for their jobs. How about some Romanian nouns related to jobs and the office?
vânzător — salesman
Ești un bun vânzător.You are a good salesman.
profesor — teacher
Ea a fost profesoara mea de matematică.She was my math teacher.
medic — doctor
Ar trebui să respecți sfatul doctorului.You should follow the doctor’s advice.
bucătar — cook; chef
Am profesat ca și bucătar.I used to be a chef.
angajat — employee
Sunt doar trei angajați cu jumătate de normă.There are only three part-time employees.
scriitor — writer
Fiecare scriitor are nevoie de un editor bun.Every writer needs a good editor.
șofer — driver
Am înțeles că aveți nevoie de un șofer.I’ve heard you need a driver.
menajeră — housekeeper
Nu cred că avem nevoie de o menajeră.I don’t think we need a housekeeper.
pictor — painter
Pictorul era înconjurat de studenții săi.The painter was surrounded by his students.
salariu — salary
Nu vă puteți permite toate acestea din salariu.You can’t afford this with your salary.
5. School Days
Romania isn’t the hottest destination for students, but it still boasts several famous European universities. With a relatively low cost of living and tuition, why not study among the Carpathians?
carte — book
Această carte e foarte importantă pentru mine.This book is very important to me.
pix — pen
Dă-mi un pix și o hârtie.Give me a pen and paper.
creion — pencil
Așteaptă o secundă ca să iau un creion.Wait a minute, I’ll get a pencil.
facultate — university
Când aveam 20 ani, am renunțat la facultate.When I was twenty, I dropped out of university.
caiet — notebook
Scrie-ți numărul ăsta în caiet.Write this number in your notebook.
școală — school
Mergi pe jos până la școală?Do you walk to school?
student — student
Amândoi suntem studenți.Both of us are students.
temă — homework
Doar ce mi-am terminat tema la engleză.I just finished my English homework.
examen — exam
Ultimul examen a fost perfect.The final exam was perfect.
foarfecă — scissors
Am nevoie de o foarfecă și niște hârtie.I need a pair of scissors and some paper.
6. At the Restaurant
Any tourist is going to want to know how to talk about things in a restaurant. Let’s look at what’s on the table first, then what’s on the plates.
platou — plate
Asta e un platou cu fructe și niște iaurt.That’s a plate of fruit and some yogurt.
castron — bowl
Am un castron uriaș cu bomboane.I have a giant bowl of candy.
cuțit — knife
Pune cuțitul ala pe podea.Put that knife on the floor.
furculiță — fork
Am nevoie de furculița aia.I need that fork.
lingură — spoon
Poți să speli lingura asta, te rog?Can you wash this spoon, please?
ceașcă — cup
Aceasta nu este ceașca ta.This is not your cup.
ceainic — teapot
Îmi place cum șuieră ceainicul asta.I like how this teapot is whistling.
chelner — waiter
Chelnerul a adus aperitivele.The waiter brought the starters.
chelneriță — waitress
Am fost cea mai bună chelneriță.I was the best waitress.
nota de plată — bill
Ai plecat fără să achiți nota de plată.You left without paying the bill.
7. Food and Drink
Now it’s time to discuss what’s actually on those plates. Romanian cuisine is hearty and makes use of a lot of cheese and thick sauces.
apă — water
Am nevoie de un pahar cu apă.I need a glass of water.
cafea — coffee
Vreau o alta cană de cafea.I want another cup of coffee.
ceai — tea
Ți-am adus niște ceai.I brought you some tea.
carne de vită — beef
Specialitatea de astăzi este vită stroganoff.The special today is beef stroganoff.
porcul — pork
Îmi place puiul mai mult decât porcul.I like chicken better than pork.
pui — chicken
Am pregătit ce îți place, tocăniță de pui.I made your favorite, chicken stew.
miel — lamb
La prânz am comandat cotlet de miel.I ordered lamb chops for lunch.
pâine — bread
Pâinea cu mălai este preferata mea.Cornbread is my favorite.
pește — fish
Îmi place să cumpăr pește din acest magazin.I like to buy fish from this shop.
bere — beer
Pot să ne aduci niște bere?Could you bring us some beer?
vin — wine
Ce fel de vin îți place?What kind of wine do you like?
suc — fruit juice
Dă-mi un suc, te rog.Give me a juice, please.
lapte — milk
El bea lapte în fiecare zi.He drinks milk everyday.
8. Mealtimes
And there are of course names for the different meals throughout the day in Romania.
mic dejun — breakfast
El a ratat un mic dejun foarte bun.He missed a very nice breakfast.
prânz — lunch
Am crezut că mergem să mâncăm masa de prânz.I thought we were going to get lunch.
cină — dinner
Am acceptat să luăm cina împreună.We agreed to have dinner together.
gustare — snack
Mama ne-a pregătit o gustare.My mother made a snack for us.
ospăț — feast
Ce ospăț pe cinste!What an amazing feast!
9. Transportation
Most Romanians take buses or cars to get around. It’s also quite common to see people lining up looking to hitch a ride with anybody going out of town! Here are the most important nouns in Romanian for transportation.
stradă — street
Ai grijă când treci strada!Be careful crossing the street!
mașină — car
Am nevoie de mașina ta.I need your car.
autobuz — bus
Cât costă un bilet de autobuz?How much does a bus ticket cost?
stație de autobuz — bus station
L-am așteptat în stația de autobuz.I picked him up at the bus station.
avion — plane
Învață-mă cum să fac avioane de hârtie.Teach me how to make paper airplanes.
bicicletă — bicycle
Pot să merg pe un monociclu.I can ride a bicycle with one wheel.
motocicletă — motorcycle
El a cumpărat cel mai nou model de motocicletă.He bought the latest model motorcycle.
microbuz — mini-bus
Toate microbuzele sunt pline.All the mini-buses are full.
tren — train
Trenul pleacă la fiecare jumătate de oră.The train runs every half hour.
stația de tren / gară — train station
Nu vreau să locuiesc aproape de stația de tren.I don’t want to live near the train station.
10. Technology
Romanians tend to interact with technology in English, since a lot of websites and apps don’t have Romanian versions. Therefore, some brand names are simply in English, and other words like “wi-fi” are just pronounced according to Romanian rules.
televizor — TV
Îmi place să mă uit la televizor înainte să adorm.I like to watch television before I go to sleep.
parolă — password
Care este parola?What’s the password?
telefon — phone
Pot să folosesc acest telefon?May I use this phone?
cameră — camera
Am văzut imaginile surprinse de camera de supraveghere.I saw the security camera images.
tabletă — tablet
Aceste tablete au devenit foarte populare.Those tablets have become very popular.
11. Around the Home
Are you staying in a bed-and-breakfast, visiting Romanian friends, or renting an apartment? You’ll see these appliances all over Romania no matter what.
frigider / congelator — refrigerator
L-am ajutat pe fratele meu să mute un frigider.I helped my brother move a refrigerator.
mașina de spălat — washing machine
Mi-am găsit portofelul în mașina de spălat.I found my wallet in the washing machine.
microunde — microwave
Vreau să folosesc cuptorul cu microunde.I want to use the microwave.
ventilator — fan
Ventilatorul este pe masă.The fan is on the table.
radiator — heater
Cred că s-a stricat radiatorul.I think the heater is broken.
aer condiționat — air conditioner
Nu avem nevoie de un aparat de aer condiționat.We don’t need an air conditioner.
aragaz — stove
Mâncarea se încălzeșete pe aragaz.The food is warming up on the stove.
masă — table
Masa dumneavoastră va fi gata îndată, domnule.Your table will be ready shortly, sir.
scaun — chair
Poți să stai pe scaunul meu.You can sit on my chair.
canapea — sofa
Ar trebui să cumpărăm o canapea nouă.We should buy a new sofa.
ușa — door
Deschide ușa și uită-te afară.Open the door and look outside.
fereastră — window
El doarme cu fereastra deschisă.He sleeps with his window open.
12. Conclusion
Congratulations, you’ve just read 100 sentences (or about five book pages) of Romanian! But I bet you couldn’t tell me what the first one was. To really lock these words into your memory, you’ve got to come at them again and again, preferably over several days.
If you combine regular and intensive vocabulary review with the normal material and blog posts from RomanianPod101, you’ll be on the number-one path to Romanian excellence.
Eventually, you’ll be ready to start learning about things like Romanian nouns declension and gender, or Romanian verb conjugation!
Are there any important Romanian nouns we missed? Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to help.
Happy Romanian learning!
