A1 · U01

Access Code: Romania

Phonetics and Alphabet

The Vibe

Your first contact with Romanian

You have just landed at Otopeni Airport. The arrivals board flashes București, Iași, and Cluj, and a big Bine ați venit! sign hangs above the exit. Someone at the coffee stand says Mersi, and Romanian suddenly feels both familiar and strange.

By the end of this unit you can

  • recognize the letters of the Romanian alphabet
  • read basic words with diacritics
  • notice the difference between ă, â/î, ș, ț
  • hear the soft final i in words like bucurești

The full Romanian alphabet

Romanian uses 31 letters. On your first pass, the goal is not perfect memorization, but pattern recognition and confidence.

Letter Name Quick note
A a a basic a
Ă ă ă short neutral vowel
 â â deep central vowel
B b be beh
C c ce changes by context
D d de deh
E e e eh
F f ef ef
G g ghe changes by context
H h haș hash-like
I i i ee
Î î î same sound as â
J j je soft zh/j
K k ka kah
L l el el
M m em em
N n en en
O o o oh
P p pe peh
Q q chiu mostly borrowings
R r er rolled/tapped r
S s se s
Ș ș șe sheh
T t te teh
Ț ț țe tseh
U u u oo
V v ve veh
W w dublu ve mostly borrowings
X x ix eeks
Y y igrec mostly borrowings
Z z zet zet

The special five

Ă / ă

A short relaxed vowel: mă, Bună, măr.

 / â and Î / î

The same sound in different spelling positions: în, român.

Ș / ș

Simple sh: Brașov, și.

Ț / ț

Simple ts: țară, piață.

Final i

In bucurești the final i softens rather than adds a full syllable.

The first reading rules that matter

c and g change before front vowels

ce, ci are soft; ge, gi are soft too.

  • ceai
  • cinci
  • ger
  • gir

h protects the hard sound

che, chi keep a hard k; ghe, ghi keep a hard g.

  • cheie
  • gheață
  • ghid

Unit vocabulary

  • bună
  • salut
  • mulțumesc
  • mersi
  • București
  • Brașov
  • piață
  • ceai
  • cheie

Ready-made phrases

  • Bună!
  • Sunt în bucurești.
  • Mă numesc Maya.
  • Bine ați venit!
  • Ceai, vă rog.

When to say what: greetings and farewells

Romanian greetings are tied to the time of day and the level of formality. In the morning — «Bună dimineața!», during the day — «Bună ziua!», in the evening — «Bună seara!». When in doubt, «Bună ziua!» always works — it is the universal polite greeting. With friends or in casual settings, keep it simple: «Bună!» or «Salut!» work any time. Farewells also vary: «La revedere!» is formal, «Pe curând!» is warmer, and «Pa!» is very casual.

Phrase When Formality
Bună dimineața! morning (until ~12:00) polite / formal
Bună ziua! daytime / universal polite / formal
Bună seara! evening (after ~18:00) polite / formal
Noapte bună! bedtime any
Bună! any time casual
Salut! any time casual / friends
La revedere! leaving polite / formal
Pe curând! leaving warm / neutral
Pa! leaving very casual

Mini dialogue: at the airport

Alex
Bună ziua! Mă numesc Alex.
Rodica
Bună ziua! Eu sunt Rodica. Sunteți din România?
Alex
Nu, sunt din Anglia. Dar vorbesc puțin limba română.
Rodica
Foarte bine! Bine ați venit în bucureștit!
Alex
Mulțumesc! La revedere!
Rodica
Pe curând!

You don't need to understand every word. Just notice the rhythm: greeting → name → origin → reply → farewell. This is the skeleton of any conversation.

Nice to Know: the power of Ă

When Romanian speakers hesitate, you may hear Ăăă... It is a natural hesitation sound, not a mistake. And «Mulțumesc» (thank you) is often shortened to «Mersi» — a French borrowing.

Practice in this unit

  • ● Spot the Sound — identify the phonetic feature
  • ● Cities on the Map — match pronunciation
  • ● WhatsApp Without Diacritics — restore marks
  • ● Reading Rules — sort into groups
  • ● Fill the Letter — 10 words with gaps
  • ● Listen and Choose — audio discrimination
  • ● When to Say What? — greetings by context
  • ● Write About Yourself — first 4 sentences
  • ● Introduce Yourself Aloud — speaking

9 exercises: recognition → reading → listening → writing → speaking.

Shadowing & Audio

Listen to the slow version first, then the normal version. Focus on ă and the soft final i.

Bună! Sunt în Freguesias. E cald și frumos. Mă numesc Maya.

Flashcards and audio

This unit includes a separate flashcard deck with translation and normal / slow audio.

Checkpoint

  • ✓ I recognize most Romanian letters
  • ✓ I can read words with ă, â/î, ș, ț
  • ✓ I can distinguish ce/ci from che/chi
  • ✓ I can restore diacritics in a short text
  • ✓ I can say Freguesias with a soft final i
  • ✓ I know the main greetings and farewells
  • ✓ I can introduce myself in Romanian (4–5 sentences)
  • ✓ I can hear the difference between words with and without diacritics

Flashcards

1 / 20
Bună!
Hi!
Bună ziua!
Good day!
măr
apple
în
in
București
Bucharest (capital of Romania)
Brașov
Brașov (city in Transylvania)
piață
square; market
țară
country
ceai
tea (note: ce = [che])
cheie
key (ch = [k] before e)
gheață
ice (gh = [g] before e)
Mă numesc ...
My name is ... (lit. 'I call myself')
Mulțumesc!
Thank you!
Vă rog
Please (when asking)
La revedere!
Goodbye!
da
yes
nu
no / not
câine
dog (â and î are the same sound)
Bună dimineața!
Good morning!
Bună seara!
Good evening!

Exercises

Spot the Sound

Identify the main phonetic feature in each word. Which letter or combination makes this word distinctly Romanian?

măr
Brașov
țară
în
București
câine
gheață
ceai

Cities on the Map

Match each Romanian city name with how it sounds. Pay attention to ș, ț, and soft final i.

București
Iași
Brașov
Cluj
Timișoara
Constanța

WhatsApp Without Diacritics

A friend sent a message without diacritics — common in Romanian texting. Restore all the missing ă, â, î, ș, ț where they belong.

Buna! Ma numesc Maya. Sunt in Bucuresti. Locuiesc pe strada Brasov, langa piata centrala. Tara mea e frumoasa!

Reading Rules

Sort the words into three groups by how c and g are pronounced. Remember: ce/ci = soft, che/chi and ghe/ghi = hard via h, ca/co/cu/ga/go/gu = normal.

ceai
cinci
ger
gheață
ghid
cheie
casă
gară
cinema
chitară

Fill the Letter

Each word is missing one letter — fill in the correct one. Remember: Romanian has five special letters: ă, â, î, ș, ț.

Bun_
piaț_
_n
Bra_ov
Bu_urești
c_ine
_ară
l_ngă
m_r
frumo_să

Listen and Choose

Listen to the word and pick the correct spelling. Pay attention to diacritics — one letter changes the meaning!

Tap ▶ to listen
Tap ▶ to listen
Tap ▶ to listen
Tap ▶ to listen
Tap ▶ to listen
Tap ▶ to listen

When to Say What?

Sort Romanian greetings and farewells by time of day. «Bună!» and «Salut!» work any time — put them under «daytime / universal».

Bună dimineața!
Bună ziua!
Bună seara!
Noapte bună!
Bună!
Salut!
La revedere!
Pe curând!

Write About Yourself

Fill in the blanks with your own details and write 4 sentences about yourself in Romanian. Use the templates and vocabulary from this unit.

Bună! Mă numesc ___.

Sunt din ___.

Sunt în ___.

Vorbesc limba ___.

Write your answer and compare it with the sample.

Introduce Yourself Aloud

Say all 5 lines, building a mini self-introduction. Speak slowly, watch your pronunciation of ă, î, ș, ț. Then try saying everything in one flow.

1.Bună ziua!

2.Mă numesc ...

3.Sunt din ...

4.Sunt în București.

5.Mulțumesc, la revedere!

Practice saying this out loud.