Learn some common Romanian slang
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Intro |
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| Antoni: What is Romanian slang like? |
| Anna: And is it commonly used? |
| Antoni: At RomanianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following scenario: Ben Lee is speaking with his friend, Mara Moloveanu, who recently received her driver's license. She says, |
| "I got my driver's license today!" |
| Mara Moldoveanu: Am luat permisul astăzi! |
| Dialogue |
| Mara Moldoveanu: Am luat permisul astăzi! |
| Ben Lee: Ce mișto! |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Mara Moldoveanu: Am luat permisul astăzi! |
| Antoni: "I got my driver's license today!" |
| Ben Lee: Ce mișto! |
| Antoni: "How cool!" |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: The use of slang is very common in most languages, including Romanian. So, in this lesson, we're going to look at some popular Romanian slang words and phrases to use every day. |
| But, first, what exactly is slang? |
| Slang is used mostly in casual and very informal settings, and almost never in writing. It is often irreverent, facetious, or can even be rude in character. For this reason, slang is mostly, but not always, used among friends or family, and best omitted from formal or official conversations, if you don't wish to offend anyone. |
| Its use can also be highly localized. In fact, most slang is unique to specific industries, groups, or contexts, and typically it is not universally understood. For instance, in the car repairs industry, "Bondo" is slang for putty or filler products that are used to repair damage to a car's body, while in the computer industry, a malicious hacker is called a "black hat." |
| You probably know the term "hacker," which is also computer slang, by the way! This illustrates the next point, which is that some localized slang language has found its way into common speech. Think, for example, of English police officers or medical staff calling human corpses "stiffs"—a slang word which is now widely known by English speakers. Topics such as sex, relationships, money, and alcoholic drinks tend to spawn the most slang in colloquial speech. For instance, the English slang words "tot" and "shot" are also commonly used in pubs nearly everywhere in the world, and they refer to certain strong alcoholic drinks which are served in small "tot" glasses. |
| It should be clear that, if you wish to be fluent in, and understand colloquial Romanian, it's important to also learn its slang, or |
| Anna: argou. |
| [Recall] |
| Antoni: Now let's take a look at our second sentence in the dialogue, which contains an example of common Romanian slang. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says, "How cool!?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Anna as Ben Lee: Ce mișto! |
| Antoni: In this phrase, the Romanian for "cool!" is: |
| . |
| Anna: mișto! |
| Antoni: It is an adjective that literally means "fun," "enjoyable," or "nice." Because the adverb is Romanian slang, the noun doesn't modify for gender, and is also not offensive. However, as pointed out previously, you should preferably use it only when you're among peers, at home, or in casual conversations. |
| [Summary] |
| Antoni: So far in the lesson, we have defined slang language, and discussed a Romanian slang word that was used in our dialogue. |
| Expansion/Contrast (Optional) |
| Antoni: Now, let's look at more examples of slang commonly used by Romanian speakers. The first is an example of another way to use the slang word we just discussed: |
| Anna: a face mișto de cineva. |
| Antoni: This phrase literally translates as "to make cool of someone," but it means "to make fun of someone," and it's commonly used among younger people when they tease one another. You could use it, for instance, in a sentence that means: "Don't make fun of me anymore!" |
| Anna: Nu mai face mișto de mine! |
| Antoni: Our next slang word means the opposite of "Cool!" and it has two versions: |
| Anna: nașpa |
| Antoni: and |
| Anna: nasol. |
| Antoni: As you can guess, this means "not cool" or "bad." You would also use this expression only among friends, or in casual situations such as this one: |
| Anna: Am pierdut avionul. Nasol. |
| Antoni: It translates to: "I've missed my plane. Not cool." And you could also use it to describe a person if you want to say they're unattractive. Our next slang word means: "Good luck!" |
| Anna: Baftă! |
| Antoni: Romanian native speakers use it commonly in all situations, no matter who you address. You could say, for instance: |
| Anna: Baftă la examene! |
| Antoni: which means: "Good luck with your exams!" Our next one also has an English equivalent and it's a form of address. Do you know the slang "Bro?" This is what it sounds like in Romanian: |
| Anna: frate. |
| Antoni: It literally means "brother," but it's used as slang to address male friends in a cool way such as: |
| Anna: Nasol, frate. |
| Antoni: This one means "(That's) bad, bro." You probably recognized the first word because it is an example of slang we've already mentioned. |
| Our next slang word is derived from the Romanian word |
| Anna: frumos. |
| Antoni: This means "beautiful," and the slang derivative is: |
| Anna: fain. |
| Antoni: It is a simple way to express that you like something, or even that you're delighted with it. For instance, if you tell your friend good news, and she replies with: |
| Anna: Ce fain! |
| Antoni: it means that she's really happy for you. However, if you're talking nonsense, she might use this phrase, which contains our next slang word: |
| Anna: Astea sunt doar abureli! |
| Antoni: This is a strong way of saying "That's just nonsense!." The slang word in this phrase is |
| Anna: abureli |
| Antoni: and it is derived from the Romanian word |
| Anna: abur, |
| Antoni: which means "steam." Best use this one only among friends! Another way to indicate that something is not making sense, or is not based in fact, is to call it |
| Anna: apă de ploaie. |
| Antoni: This literally translates to "rainwater," but it is used when someone is talking nonsense or making up stories. If, for instance, you suspect your friend is fabricating stories to prove a point, then you could say, "That's just nonsense if you can't prove it to me with facts!" |
| Anna: Asta e doar apă de ploaie dacă nu îmi dovedești cu fapte! |
| Antoni: Obviously, this is also for use only in casual situations and among friends, if you don't want to offend anybody! A slightly offensive way to describe someone as vain and having little personality would be to refer to them as: |
| Anna: bambilici. |
| Antoni: Say you've been waiting in a line outside a club and it's your turn to enter, but someone else is let in ahead of you. Then, you could use this slang to ask: |
| Anna: De ce a intrat bambiliciul ăsta și eu nu pot? |
| Antoni: This means more or less the same as: "Why did that vain idiot get in and not me?" Again, save this for use among your peers who know you well. |
| The final example we're going to look at is a fun, casual way to say goodbye to your friends. It's mostly used among youngsters, and means "Bye and kisses!" |
| Anna: Pa și pusi! |
| Antoni: If, for instance, you are late for an appointment, you could use the slang in a sentence like this: |
| Anna: Mă grăbesc. Pa și pusi! |
| Antoni: It means: "I'm in a hurry. Bye and kisses!" We are not in a hurry to say goodbye, though, so let's discuss an important distinction between slang and certain other forms of speech. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Antoni: You are not alone if you are wondering how slang is different from metaphoric speech forms such as idioms, proverbs, and sayings, or: |
| Anna: Idiomuri, [pause] proverbe, [pause] și zicători. |
| Antoni: These are often confused and labeled incorrectly, as it's not always an easy distinction to make. The following pointers could help. |
| Idioms, proverbs, and sayings tend to be widely known and understood by all speakers of a language. On the other hand, slang words and phrases are mostly understood only within a specific context, or by those within a unique group or industry. While many idioms and proverbs can be specific to a country's culture, most are more universally understood than slang. |
| For instance, you are probably familiar with the English expression "to lie through one's teeth." This is a figurative way of indicating that someone is being dishonest, presumably referring to teeth showing when someone lies with a wide, deceitful smile. You may know it because it is a well-known idiomatic saying, and one would, for instance, tell someone: "Stop lying through your teeth!" Most English speakers will understand exactly what you mean. In Romanian, the equivalent saying is: |
| Anna: a vinde gogoși |
| Antoni: which means "to sell donuts." Figuratively, it probably refers to the trope of dishonest salespersons. So, if you want to tell someone to stop lying to you in Romanian, you would say: |
| Anna: Nu-mi vinde mie gogoși! |
| Antoni: which literally means: "Stop selling me donuts!" In addition, idioms, proverbs, and such tend to be inoffensive and can be used in almost any conversation. As previously mentioned, they're also commonly used in writing, which is not the case with slang. |
| The only similarities between these forms of speech are that slang is also found in probably every language, and some samples have cross-pollinated among different languages and cultures. |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Anna: La revedere. |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Anna (Romanian, Romania), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
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