abracadabra

Borrowed from French abracadabra or Italian abracadabra.


of

used for expressing pain, bitterness, regret; despair; abhorrence, disgust; admiration, enthusiasm; wonder, surprise


servus

term-label

(informal, Transylvania, Maramureș, Bukovina)

Borrowed from German servus. Greeting found throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.


ia

Perhaps from one of several similar words in neighboring languages, or perhaps from iacă. Alternatively, perhaps a spontaneous creation of expression.

used to attract attention to the speaker; well, now, now then


pula

Definite form of pulă, probably from Latin pulla, feminine of pullus (“offspring, child, cub, chick, etc.”)

E ușor, pula!

(vulgar, slang) bullshit! (expression of disbelief)


e

(when prolonged…eee) expression of surprise, satisfaction, admiration


ni

Ni la el!


Cognate to Bulgarian на (na), from Proto-Slavic *na.


ho

Ho! Ușor!

Used to calm or stop a domestic animal, especially horses; whoa.

Ho! Nu mai țipa !


halal

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حلال (halal).


da

From a Slavic language (e.g. Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Russian; or rather a loan from a Common Slavic before the emergence of distinct modern languages), from Proto-Slavic *da.
Another less likely (and controversial) theory argues that it perhaps derived originally from the Latin ita, one of several ways to say "thus", "so" or "yes"; it further may have been influenced by the da, also meaning "yes", in the surrounding Slavic languages before reaching its present state (see Sprachbund). See also dacă, which according to this theory derives from ita quod. In some regions, ta is used repeatedly to indicate impatience with someone talking too much or aimlessly, although this is more likely onomatopoetic in origin. Nonetheless, Romanian etymological dictionaries derive da from a Slavic language, which is almost certainly the primary source.


hai

hai să mergem


zum

zoom; a humming sound made by an insect's flight


bravo

Borrowed from French bravo or Italian bravo.


aba

expresses wonder or draws attention to something


pardon

pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!


cioc

Expressive creation, imitating a rhythmic or repeated knock.

knock, bang, used to imitate a repeated knock on a hard object or material


alio

În primul rând, e vorba de o greșeală tipică pentru majoritatea vorbitorilor mai puțin instruiți, și anume: alio! Corect e să pronunțăm alo (cu accentul pe ó).

[2005, Ion Melniciuc, “Mă numesc Maria Pascaru”, in Limba Română, numbers 1–3, w: Chișinău, →ISSN, page 109:

Firstly, this is about a mistake typical for most less educated speakers, more precisely alio! It is correct to pronounce alo (with the stress on the ó).

synonym of alo (word used to answer the telephone)


lipa

the sound of an animal (like a cat or a dog) slurping water


ms

(Internet slang, text messaging) abbreviation of mersi (“thanks”)


trg

(text messaging) abbreviation of te rog (“please”)


aman

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish امان (amân), from Arabic أَمَان (ʔamān, “tranquillity, peacefulness”).


bre

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بره (bre), from Byzantine Greek βρέ (bré), probably shortened from μωρέ (mōré, “man!”, literally “fool!”) (modern Greek μωρέ (moré)), a frozen vocative of Ancient Greek μωρός (mōrós, “stupid”).


zzz

buzz (sound made by some insects' flight)


vai

Probably an expressive creation. Similar words are found in many other languages, especially Indo-European. Compare Latin vae, Albanian vaj, Italian guai, Sicilian vai, Spanish ay, Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí), English woe.


tic-tac

Borrowed from French tic-tac or German Ticktack.


salut

Borrowed from French salut, derived from Latin salūs. Doublet of săruta.
First attested in c. 1832.


sigur

Borrowed from Greek σίγουρος (sígouros), from Venetan seguro, siguro, from Latin secūrus. First attested in the late 18th century.

(informal) Affirmative, often enthusiastic, answer to a question: of course, sure.


păcat

Inherited from Latin peccātum (“sin”). Compare Aromanian picat.


mamă

Inherited from Latin mamma. Compare Aromanian mamã, Romansch mamma, mumma, Sardinian mama, mamma.

Mamă, n-ar fi trebuit să faci asta.

(colloquial) dang, damn, wow (expressing surprise).


cu plăcere

LL-Q7913 (ron)-Andreea Teodoraa-cu plăcere.wav


mă

Perhaps a clipping of mamă. Compare bă, fă.

(familiar, colloquial, used in the vocative) A term of address towards a recipient irrespective of gender, showing equal or, rarely, a more superior standing


osana

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic осанна (osanna).


vă rog

please (informal and formal plural; formal singular)


bună

Short for bună ziua, bună dimineața, or bună seara.


bună ziua

Literally, “good day”. Compare Spanish buenos días, Portuguese bom dia, French bonjour, Italian buondì.


fă

fa (alternative)
făi (alternative)
fe (alternative)
fou (alternative)

(vulgar, offensive, familiar, colloquial, used in the vocative) A term of address towards a female recipient


îmi pare rău

Îmi pare rău că câinele meu mare te-a speriat.


zău

Inherited from Latin deus (“god”), or simply a variant of Romanian zeu ("god"), a simple doublet which kept the original meaning. The semantic evolution may be due to the act of "swearing to God" to affirm something is really true.

(in the context of the expression "zău așa") expresses that one affirms or swears something


la mulți ani

Literally, “to/for many years”. Calque of Byzantine Greek εἰς ἔτη πολλά (eis étē pollá). Compare Bulgarian за много години (za mnogo godini), Albanian për shumë vjet, Serbo-Croatian за много годинa, Aromanian ti multsã anj.

calque

εἰς ἔτη πολλά

noncog

за много години

за много годинa

A common expression used on a variety of holidays and other occasions, corresponding, depending on the case, to happy New Year, happy birthday, congratulations, etc.


mă rog

whatever (leaves a decision up to someone else)


ajunge

Inherited from Latin adiungō (“add, join to”), from ad + iungō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg-.


la revedere

From la + revedere, from the verb revedea, from vedea (“to see”), from Latin vidēre. Compare French au revoir, Italian arrivederla and Catalan a reveure.


du-te dracului

duce in the imperative du (“go”) + tu in the reflexive te (“yourself”) + drac in the dative dracului (“to the devil”)


trăiască

trăiască berea!

Trăiască Patria!


bau

boo, a loud exclamation intended to scare someone


vivat

Borrowed from Latin vivat or French vivat.


adio

Borrowed from Italian addio or French adieu.


amin

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic аминъ (aminŭ).


aferim

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish آفرم (âferim), from Persian آفرین (âfarin).


sănătate

Inherited from Latin sānitās, sānitātem. Compare Aromanian sãnãtati.


uite

look!, see!, behold! (interjection to attract attention)


noroc

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic нарокъ (narokŭ, “sentence”), from на- (na-) + рокъ (rokŭ), from Proto-Slavic *rokъ.


aiurea

Probably from Latin aliubi (a variant of alibi) + rē + a. Compare Aromanian aljurea, French ailleurs, Occitan alhors and Portuguese alhures.


bună seara

LL-Q7913 (ron)-Andreea Teodoraa-bună seara.wav

From bună + seara. Compare Italian buona sera, French bonsoir.


sictir

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish سیكدیر (sikdir).

(vulgar) begone! scram! fuck off! get lost!


noapte bună

LL-Q7913 (ron)-Andreea Teodoraa-noapte bună.wav


zo te cuște

(regional, Transylvania) May God be with you; God bless you


drum bun

LL-Q7913 (ron)-Andreea Teodoraa-drum bun.wav


păi

Inherited from Latin post. Cognate with Spanish pues and Portuguese pois.

Ce vei face mâine? - Păi, nu știu încă.

What will you do tomorrow? - Well, I don't know yet.

Chiar îmi place de Maria. - Păi spune-i.


măi

oh, oh my, hey (used to express admiration, wonder or surprise)


pe bune

Ieri am văzut-o pe Marta la Ion.
Pe bune?
Pe bune.

Yesterday I saw Marta at Ion's.
Really?
Really.


iacă

Probably from ia. Another theory suggests Latin ecce or eccam. Compare Italian ecco.


iată

suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning.


bă

(familiar, colloquial, used in the vocative) A term of address towards a male recipient


haide

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish هایده (hayde), هایدی (haydi). First attested in 1675.

haida (alternative)
aida (alternative)
aide (alternative)

Cum le‑au spus capetele sfatul, cum au început a striga toți în toate părțile: „Haida, haida, la ei, la ei”.

1675, Miron Costin, Letopisețul Țărîi Moldovei de la Aaron Vodă încoace, chapter 20, section 22:

As soon as the leaders gave them news, they all began to shout all over: "Let’s go, let’s go, to them, to them".

Haide să-l căutăm pe Mihail.


aleluia

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic алелоуиꙗ (aleluija), from Ancient Greek ἀλληλούια (allēloúia), from Hebrew הַלְּלוּיָהּ (“Praise Jah!”).

der

הַלְּלוּיָהּ


nani

Probably an expressive or onomatopoetic creation, imitative of infantile sounds. Compare Greek νανι (nani), Bulgarian нани (nani), Italian ninnananna, Spanish nana, etc.

sound used to lull babies to sleep, in a lullaby


poftim

(polite) please!, please?, pardon!, I beg your pardon, pardon me, excuse me, come again (phrase used to request something, or ask for clarification)

here you are, here you go, here it is (phrase used when giving or presenting someone something)

polite phrase inviting someone to come, enter, sit somewhere, etc., roughly translated to "please do!", or "oh, do!"


cp

(Internet slang, text messaging) abbreviation of cu plăcere (“you're welcome”)


groh

imitates the sound of a grunt (like a pig)


șontâc

Borrowed from Hungarian sántika, or from șont (from Hungarian sánta).


haț

Expressive creation of onomatopoetic origin.

used to express or imitate the sound of a quick motion, such as when taking something by surprise; snap!


cpl

(text messaging) abbreviation of cu plăcere (“you're welcome”)


Doamne

Inherited from Latin Domine, vocative of Dominus (“The Lord”).


atenție

Borrowed from French attention, from Latin attentio.


mucles

Borrowed from Romani mukh les (“leave him!”).


tț

tsk tsk, tut tut; expressing disapproval or wonder


cucurigu

cock-a-doodle-doo (sound made by a rooster)


bâz

buzz (sound made by some insects’ flight)


zâz

buzz (sound made by some insects' flight)


schelălău

sound made by multiple dogs barking at once


ronț

crunch; the sound made when eating noisly (especially a mouse)


zbâr

the sound made by a bird's or an insect's flight


bogdaproste

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic богъ да опроститъ (bogŭ da oprostitŭ, “may God forgive you”).

богъ да опроститъ


mă-ta

Mă-ta e așa grasă încât îl face pe Nikocado Avocado s-arate slab.

Your mom is so fat she makes Nikocado Avocado look skinny.

(slang) your mom, your mother, your mum, yo mamma


mașala

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish ماشاءالله (maşaallah), from Arabic ما شاء الله (mā šāʔa llāhu, “what God wills”).


pe curând

LL-Q7913 (ron)-Andreea Teodoraa-pe curând.wav


slavă Domnului

From slavă + Domnului. Literally, “glory to God”.


aoleu

aleu (alternative)
aoleo (alternative)
auleu (alternative)
oleo (alternative)
oleoleo (alternative)
oleu (alternative)

an expression of anger, frustration, excitement, shock, awe, dismay, etc.


nu aveți pentru ce

you're welcome (polite singular, familiar plural, or polite plural)


zât

sound used to scare away animals (especially cats)

(slang, vulgar) shh (requesting somebody to be quiet)


sst

alternative form of st (“hush; silence”)


coviț

(Moldavia (region)) squeak (sound made by a young pig)


evrica

Borrowed from Ancient Greek εὕρηκα (heúrēka).


neața

(colloquial) morning (a greeting said in the morning; shortening of good morning)


du-te-n pula mea

du-te în pula mea
du-te în pula mea#Romanian


futu-i

From futu + îi, uniting futu with îi by removing the "î" replacing it with a "-" and uniting them together.


pula mea

Pula mea, nu mai pot.

Au dispărut iar, pula meaǃ

(vulgar) fuck, fuck it, fuck this shit (used to express dismay, disappointment or anger)

Pula mea frate, A explodat mașinaǃ

Ai văzut aia? Pula meaǃ

(vulgar) holy fuck, fucking hell (used to express shock)


căca-m-aș

Contraction of căca mă aș, from Latin cacāre


ghiorț

grumble (sound made by a hungry stomach)


du-te-n pizda mă-tii

du-te în pizda mă-tii
du-te în pizda mă-tii#Romanian


du-te-n sloboz

(vulgar, slang) fuck off!, go fuck yourself!, fuck you!


dă-o-n pulă

Știi ceva, dă-o-n pulă.

Dă-o-n pulă de cameră!

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck it, fuck this, fuck that, fuck this shit


dă-o-n căcat

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck it, fuck this, fuck that, screw it, screw that, screw this


dă-o-n sloboz

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck it, fuck that, fuck this


dă-o-n pizda mă-sii

Literally, “fling it in(to) her/its mom's cunt”.

lit

Dă-o-n pizda mă-sii, nu știi deloc să respecți oameni.

Fuck it, you don't know how to respect people at all.

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck it, fuck that, fuck this, fuck this shit


dă-o-n pula mea

Dă-o-n pula mea, omule.

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck it, fuck this shit, fuck this, fuck that


pizda mă-sii

From pizda + mă-sii, literally “mother's cunt”.

compound

Pizda mă-sii, e destul.

Stai ce? Pizda mă-siiǃ

(vulgar) fuck, motherfuck, fuck it (used to express dismay, disappointment or anger)

Vezi asta? Pizda mă-siiǃ Mă sperie foarte tare.

Do you see this? Fucking hellǃ It scares me so bad.


du-te-n pula calului

M-ai copiat la test? Du-te-n pula calului.

You copied me at the test? Go fuck yourself.

(vulgar, slang) fuck off!, fuck you!, go fuck yourself!, get fucked!


du-te-n futere

Literally, “go in fucking”. Compare French va te faire foutre, Italian vai a farti fottere and Portuguese vai-te foder

(vulgar, slang) go fuck yourself!, get fucked!, fuck you!, fuck off!


helbet

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish البته (elbette), from Arabic اَلْبَتَّة (al-batta).


sâc

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish سیك (sik, “penis”), from Proto-Turkic *sik- (“penis; to copulate”).

der

used for express schadenfreude (malicious satisfaction of someone else's misfortune)


popâc

an expression of surprise when someone arrives


ișala

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish انشاءاللّه (inşallah), from Arabic إن شاء الله (ʔin šāʔ allāh).

der

Arabic إن شاء الله (ʔin šāʔ allāh)


cuțu

Unknown. Compare Bulgarian куче (kuče) or Serbo-Croatian kuce or Hungarian kuszi.


amandea

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish آماده (amade).


bag pula

îmi bag pula (alternative)
să-mi bag pula (alternative)
băga-mi-aș pula (alternative)

Bag pula, am căzut.

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck, for fuck's sake, fucking hell


îmi bag pula

să-mi bag pula (alternative)
bag pula (alternative)
băga-mi-aș pula (alternative)

Să fiu sincer, Îmi bag pula.


să-mi bag pula

bag pula (alternative)
îmi bag pula (alternative)
băga-mi-aș pula (alternative)

Da' să-mi bag pula, bă.


băga-mi-aș pula

bag pula (alternative)
îmi bag pula (alternative)
să-mi bag pula (alternative)

Lasă-mă-n pace, băga-mi-aș pula!

Când erai mic, ai zis vreodată, uitându-te sub brad: „Băga-mi-aș pula, nu e nimic!”?

2008, Nimeni Altu’, “Pun pariu”, in Nopți Prea Lungi:

When you were little, did you ever say, looking under the tree: "Fuck, there's nothing here!"?


șiț

Compare Hungarian sicc, Serbo-Croatian ши̏ц, šȉc.


du-te și ia-o-n cur

Acum du-te și ia-o-n cur.

blow it out your ass
blow it out your ass

(vulgar, slang) fuck off!, blow it out your ass!, go fuck yourself!


slobozi-m-aș

From the verb slobozi (“to cum”). Literally, “may I cum”.


leapșa

Leapșa, tu ești!

tag (exclamation that signals the start of a game of tag)


pizda mă-tii

Literally, “your mother's cunt”. Compare Serbo-Croatian pizdu materinu

(vulgar) alternative form of pizda mă-sii


pișa-m-aș

Banii mei, pișa-m-aș!


futu-ți morții mă-tii

Literally, “fuck your mother's dead relatives”.

lit

Futu-ți morții mă-tii, cine te crezi?

(extremely vulgar, offensive) motherfucker!, son of a bitch!

Unde ai fost, bă futu-ți morții mă-tii.

(vulgar, idiomatic) used as an intensifier mainly addressed to the person they're talking to.


futu-ți dumnezeii mă-tii

Nu te înțeleg, futu-ți dumnezeii mă-tii.

I don't understand you, goddamn son of a bitch.

(blasphemous, extremely vulgar, offensive) motherfucker!, son of a bitch!

blasphemous; extremely vulgar; blasphemous; extremely vulgar

Vreau să știu ce căutai în cutia aia, futu-ți dumnezeii mă-tii!

I wanna know what the fuck were you looking for in that box!

(blasphemous, vulgar, idiomatic) used as an intensifier mainly addressed to the person they're talking to.


futu-i dumnezeii mă-sii

(blasphemous, strongly vulgar) God fucking damn it, Jesus fucking Christ, for fucking God's sake, oh my fucking God

blasphemous; strongly vulgar; blasphemous; strongly vulgar


futu-i hristoșii mă-sii

(blasphemous, strongly vulgar) Jesus fucking Christ, God fucking damn it, for fucking God's sake, oh my fucking God


în pula mea

În pula mea, am pierdut cheile de la mașină.


în pizda mă-sii

În pizda mă-sii, am rămas blocat când mergeam la întâlnire importantă.

For fuck's sake, I got stuck when I was heading to an important meeting.


în sloboz

În sloboz, au pierdut.


în morții mă-sii

în morții mă-tii (alternative)
în morții tăi (alternative)
în morții mei (alternative)

Am fost atât de supărat că am strigat cu furie: «În morții mă-sii, nu mai pot accepta acest comportament!»

I was so upset that I shouted angrily, "For fuck's sake, I can't tolerate this behavior anymore!


în dumnezeii mă-sii

Am planificat să ajung la întâlnire la timp, dar, în dumnezeii mă-sii, mi-am pierdut cheile de mașină.

I wanted to take a road trip, but, for God's sake, my car broke down on the side of the road.

(vulgar, blasphemous) for fuck's sake, for God's sake


în futere

În futere, m-am pierdut în mijlocul acestui oraș aglomerat.

For fuck's sake, I got lost In the middle of this busy city.


morții mă-sii

morții mă-tii (alternative)
morții tăi (alternative)
morții mei (alternative)

Morții mă-sii, am uitat să închid geamul!

Nu pot să cred că ai spus asta, morții mă-sii!

I can't believe you said that, holy shit!

(vulgar) holy shit, fucking hell (used to express shock)


dumnezeii mă-sii

Dumnezeii mă-sii, ce frig este afară!

(vulgar, blasphemous) fuck, goddamn, fuck it (used to express dismay, disappointment or anger)

Dumnezeii mă-sii, ce surpriză neașteptată.

Fucking hell, what an unexpected surprise.

(vulgar, blasphemous) holy shit, fucking hell (used to express shock)


doi, zece, doi, zece

Literally, “two ten two ten”.
Allegedly chosen for featuring low-frequency sounds through the word doi and high-frequency sounds through the word zece.

Unul dintre ei ținea în mână un microfon în care bătea cu degetul și repeta, de parcă ar fi vorbit pe nas:
― Doi, zece! Doi, zece! Probă de microfon! Probă de microfon! Se aude? Se aude?

2013, chapter 12, in Sanda-Felicia Misirianțu, transl., Habarnam pe Lună [Dunno on the Moon], Bucharest: Humanitas Junior, translation of Незнайка на Луне [Neznajka na Lune] by Nikolay Nosov, →ISBN, page 155:

One of them was holding a microphone on which he was tapping his finger and repeating, as if speaking through his nose: “Testing, testing! Mic check! Mic check! All clear? All clear?"

La jumătatea serii, Christian s-a ridicat, s-a dus la claviatură și și-a dres vocea. A încercat microfonul:
― Doi, zece, doi, zece, probă de microfon.

2022, Maria Voicu, transl., O prietenie [A friendship], Bucharest: Nemira, translation of Un’amicizia by Silvia Avallone, →ISBN:

Halfway through the evening, Christian got up, went to the keyboard and cleared his throat. He tested the microphone: “Testing, testing, mic check.”

testing, testing (phrase used to check sound systems)


dă-te-n pula mea

Asta e BAZOOKA, dă-te-n pula mea

2016, BAZOOKA, “Asta e Bazooka”, in Asta e Bazooka:

du-te-n pula mea
du-te-n pula mea#Romanian

(vulgar) alternative form of du-te-n pula mea


morții mă-tii

(vulgar) alternative form of morții mă-sii


du-te-n morții mă-tii

du-te-n morții mă-tii ! (canonical)
dă-te-n morții mă-tii (alternative)
du-te-n morții tai (alternative)
dă-te-n morții tai (alternative)

Literally, “go into your mom's dead relatives”.

(vulgar, slang) go screw yourself!, go fuck yourself!, fuck you!, fuck off!, screw off!, get fucked!


cplm

(text messaging, vulgar) abbreviation of ce pula mea (“what the fuck?”)


să-mi bag pizda

Da' să-mi bag pizda, mă.

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck, for fuck's sake, fucking hell

(vulgar, idiomatic) fuck it, fuck this, fuck that, fuck this shit


du-te în pula mea

Am încercat să vorbim ca oamenii, dar dacă nu mă lași în pace, atunci du-te în pula mea și nu te mai întoarce!

I tried to talk like a normal person, but if you won’t leave me alone, then go fuck yourself and never come back!

(vulgar, slang) go fuck yourself!, fuck off!, fuck you!, get fucked!


du-te în pizda mă-tii

Literally, “go into your mother's cunt”.

du-te-n pizda mă-tii (alternative syncope)
du-te la mă-ta în pizdă (alternative)

Ai stricat tot weekend-ul cu atitudinea ta de căcat, așa că du-te în pizda mă-tii și lasă-ne în pace!

You ruined the whole weekend with your shitty attitude, so go fuck your mother and leave us alone!

(vulgar, slang) go fuck your mother!, go fuck yourself!, fuck you!, fuck off!, get fucked!