Key Romanian sounds, diphthongs, and stress patterns for pronunciation practice. Front: the Romanian word or sound pattern. Back: meaning plus a plain-English pronunciation note.
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- măr
- apple. The letter 'ă' is a mid-central vowel, like the 'a' in English 'sofa' or 'about'.
- râu
- river. The letters 'â' and 'î' represent the same sound, a vowel with no exact English equivalent; try saying 'i' while pulling your tongue back.
- șase
- six. The letter 'ș' (s with a comma below) is pronounced 'sh' as in 'shoe'.
- țară
- country. The letter 'ț' (t with a comma below) is pronounced 'ts' as in 'cats'.
- seară
- evening. The combination 'ea' glides from 'e' to 'a' within one syllable.
- poartă
- gate, door. The combination 'oa' glides from 'o' to 'a' within one syllable.
- lei
- the plural of 'leu', the Romanian currency (also 'lions'). The combination 'ei' glides from 'e' to 'i', like the 'ay' in 'day'.
- mai
- more, also the month of May. The combination 'ai' glides from 'a' to 'i', like the word 'eye'.
- stau
- I stay, I sit. The combination 'au' glides from 'a' to 'u', like 'ow' in 'how' but shorter.
- word stress in Romanian
- Romanian stress is not fixed to one syllable; it can fall almost anywhere in a word and often has to be learned along with the word itself.
- cer
- sky. Before 'e' and 'i', the letter 'c' is pronounced 'ch' as in 'cheese'.
- chiar
- even, actually. Adding an 'h' after 'c' before 'e' or 'i' keeps the hard 'k' sound, as in 'kick'.
- geam
- window. Before 'e' and 'i', the letter 'g' is pronounced like the 'j' in 'jam'.
- ghid
- guide. Adding an 'h' after 'g' before 'e' or 'i' keeps the hard 'g' sound, as in 'go'.
- rar
- rare, seldom. The Romanian 'r' is lightly rolled or tapped with the tongue tip, similar to a Spanish or Italian 'r'.
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