Basic Romanian Communication
Romanian Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Romanian Alphabet
Romanian uses a Latin-based alphabet, which will look mostly familiar to English speakers. It has 31 letters in total. The good news is that Romanian is a phonetic language, meaning words are pronounced just as they are spelled. Once you learn the sound for each letter, you can read almost any word.
Start with the alphabet and pronunciation: Romanian uses the Latin alphabet with some additional letters (ă, ș, ț). Mastering pronunciation early avoids bad habits.
Most letters sound just like they do in English, but five special characters give Romanian its unique sound. Let's focus on those.
Unique Sounds
Mastering these five letters is the key to unlocking Romanian pronunciation. We'll break them down one by one.
The letter ă makes a sound like the 'a' in "sofa" or the 'u' in "duh." It's a relaxed, neutral vowel sound. You'll see it in common words like apă (water) or casă (house).
Next are â and î. These two letters make the exact same sound, a vowel that doesn't exist in English. It's similar to the Russian letter 'ы'. To make this sound, try saying "eee" but pull your tongue back in your mouth. It's a deep, central vowel. The only difference is usage: â is used inside words (like România), while î is used at the beginning or end of words (like în meaning "in").
Romania
The last two special letters are consonants. They're easier to grasp.
The letter ș sounds just like 'sh' in "shoe." You'll find it in words like șapte (seven).
The letter ț makes a 'ts' sound, like the end of the word "cats." An example is braț (arm).
Vowel Combinations
Romanian often combines vowels to create gliding sounds called diphthongs. Instead of pronouncing each vowel separately, you blend them together smoothly in one syllable. Don't worry about memorizing them all at once. Just get used to seeing them.
| Diphthong | Sounds Like | Example (Word) | Example (Meaning) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ea | 'ya' in "yarn" | cafea | coffee |
| oa | 'wa' in "watch" | soare | sun |
| ia | 'ya' in "yacht" | piatră | stone |
| ie | 'ye' in "yes" | piele | skin |
| au | 'ow' in "cow" | cadou | gift |
When you see these combinations, just remember to let the sounds flow into each other naturally.
Word Stress
Like in English, one syllable in a Romanian word gets more emphasis than the others. This is called stress. While there are some exceptions, the general rule is simple: stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.
For example, in the word fereastră (window), the stress is on the 'eas' syllable: fe-REAS-tră.
In prieten (friend), the stress is on 'prie': PRIE-ten.
Listening to native speakers is the best way to get a feel for this. For now, just know that where you put the emphasis can change a word's meaning, so it's good to be aware of it.
Ready to test your knowledge? Let's see how well you've grasped these new sounds.
What does it mean that Romanian is a "phonetic language"?
How many letters does the Romanian alphabet have?
With these fundamentals, you're well on your way to speaking and reading Romanian with confidence.