Learn Romanian 🐺
Salut ce mai faci? 👋 ! Here’s our curated content for training your passive understanding of the language.
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⏰ Time spent here also counts towards your streak.
Language competency consists of active vocabulary, but also passive vocabulary and natural pattern recognition. Train essential listening skills, understand grammar and morphing patterns.
Knowing Basic Phrases allows you to stay in the language instead of switching to English. Listening-Reading videos is a comfortable yet intense training of your listening skills. It also allows you to explore the country through videos.
If you want to really be comfortable, have lessons. What makes Lingophant unique is that you can create your 100% personalised vocabulary from conversations. 45 minutes per week with a friend or a teacher is already enough input for a constant stream of engaging sentences to practice between lessons.
📔 Basic Phrases
These phrases are the perfect point of departure for serious learners. They help you stay in the language, without needing to switch to English. And you internalize patterns.
Unlock them one-by-one in the app, and memorize them from the “Practice” tab.
This is just to get you started. For personalized phrases, we recommend sessions of 45 minutes with a native speaker.
- Know 300 phrases and you can make jokes and impress people
- Know 600 phrases and you can hold basic conversations
- Know 1000 phrases and you start communicating effortlessly
And because of working with audio, you’ll get compliments on your pronunciation a lot. We promise!
🎧 Train your listening skills with proper documentaries
We have selected enjoyable documentaries and reportage channels. Watch them, listen to the language, and build a natural intuition. Some polyglots swear by this method — 30 minutes a day builds working proficiency.
Recorder (971k subs)
Recorder (view channel) – Recorder este o publicație online construită în jurul acestor principii: jurnalism onest, făcut cu pasiune și pus în serviciul public.
- DOCUMENTAR RECORDER. 30 de ani de democrație (> 15.03m views)
- CLANUL MARELUI ALB (> 4.21m views)
- INVESTIGAȚIE RECORDER. Pe urmele hoților de lemn (> 2.34m views)
- Vânătorul de bătrâni (> 1.96m views)
- DOCUMENTAR RECORDER. Sistemul medical (> 2.17m views)
- Misiune sub acoperire pentru statul mafiot (> 4.69m views)
- Pe aici nu se trece fără șpagă. Investigație Recorder în vămile din România (> 3.05m views)
- Adio, arme! Armata României în fața celui mai mare val de demisii (> 1.89m views)
- PREȚUL TĂCERII. O investigație în contabilitatea presei de partid (> 1.53m views)
- INVESTIGAȚIE RECORDER. Reciclarea în România: haos, corupție și incompetență (> 1.38m views)
TRINITAS TV (511k subs)
TRINITAS TV (view channel) – TELEVIZIUNEA TRINITAS A PATRIARHIEI ROMÂNE
Minti criminale (456k subs)
Minti criminale (view channel) – ⚠️ Videoclipuri noi în fiecare Miercuri și Sâmbătă⚠️
- P. Diddy | Monstrul Din Industria Muzicală și Teoriile Șocante Care Îl Înconjoară (> 745k views)
- Adevăratul Caz din Spatele Serialului SQUID GAME | Forțați să se Joace | Cazul Brothers Home (> 635k views)
- EXPERIMENTUL INTERZIS | Copilul ”Primitiv” | Cazul Tragic al lui Genie Wiley, Fata Legatǎ în Cuşcǎ (> 403k views)
- Am furat un autobuz cu 26 de copii în el, și i-am îngropat de vii | Cazul rǎpirii din Chowchilla (> 402k views)
- Zodiac Killer | Cine a Fost și Cum și-a Bătut Joc de Detectivi Timp de 5 Ani | *NEREZOLVAT* (> 369k views)
- Proiectul Montauk | Experimentul Care a Inspirat Serialul Stranger Things (> 365k views)
- Băiatul din Cutie | Identitatea dezvǎluitǎ dupǎ 65 de ani de investigații | Minți Criminale (> 375k views)
- ”Mâncǎtorul de creieri” închis într-o cușcǎ de sticlǎ DE 40 DE ANI încoace ?? | Robert Maudsley (> 372k views)
- „Chirurgul” și Cultul Ant Hill Kids | Cel Mai Violent Cult din Istorie (> 437k views)
- Familia Turpin şi 29 Ani de Torturǎ | Casa Groazei şi Cei 13 Copii Ținuți în Condiții Inumane (> 426k views)
CINEPUB (427k subs)
CINEPUB (view channel) – Filme românești, rarități și ciudățenii.
Bobb 11 (234k subs)
Bobb 11 (view channel) – Canalul este dedicat pentru a dezvalui cultura extrem de bogată şi sofisticată a traiului la stană si cresterea oilor si a cainilor ciobaneşti.
ARTE.tv Documentare (182k subs)
ARTE.tv Documentare (view channel) – ARTE.tv Documentare este canalul de YouTube în limba română al platformei europene de streaming gratuit ARTE. Aici vei găsi documentare captivante, reportaje de investigație și povești din toată lumea în limba română. Vino să descoperi lumea cu noi, de la politică, istorie, societate, cultură, știință și mediu. Toate materialele sunt disponibile gratuit.
- O specie aparte | ARTE.tv Documentare (> 294k views)
Stellarium (182k subs)
- De ce susțin ungurii că Transilvania le aparține? (> 558k views)
- 999 de Lucruri Fascinante despre Univers (> 364k views)
- Ultimele ordine șocante din Testamentul lui Hitler și ciudata relație cu România și Antonescu (> 84k views)
- Cum și De ce a ajuns București capitala Țării Românești? (> 67k views)
Oleg Brega (73k subs)
Oleg Brega (view channel) – Am şi un canal alternativ pe youtube: BREGA2, dar acesta e de bază.
RISE Project (51k subs)
RISE Project (view channel) – RISE Project este o comunitate de jurnaliști, programatori și activiști. Investigăm crima organizată și corupția care afectează România și țările din regiune.
- AUTONOMIE SI PETARDE – documentar RISE Project (> 90k views)
AGERPRES (40k subs)
AGERPRES (view channel) – Agentia Nationala de Presa AGERPRES, Bucuresti, ROMANIA
Historical Vignettes (31k subs)
Historical Vignettes (view channel) – Reconstituiri şi biografii ale personalităților istorice. Documentare care dezvăluie trecutul României, evenimentele şi oamenii care au format-o, într-o manieră inovativă, mult mai uşor de digerat, care vine în completarea metodelor clasice de relatare a istoriei.
WWF-Romania (20k subs)
WWF-Romania (view channel) – Canalul oficial de YouTube
🎧 Train listening with weird popular YouTube videos
It’s like zapping TV through another linguistic and cultural universe. Watch what native speakers watch. We hope you find something interesting.
- FOTBAL Alunecos in Baloane Gigantice! 😂 (> 372k views) – channel: Bogdan IBMFamily (> 2.33m subs)
- FAȚĂ ÎN FAȚĂ CU ANDREEA BOSTĂNICĂ! (> 1.07m views) – channel: SNIK (> 2.29m subs)
- INVESTIGAȚIE RECORDER. Poliție aservită (> 1.27m views) – channel: Recorder (> 971k subs)
- AM PRINS CEL MAI MARE PESTE DIN VIATA NOASTRA! (> 132k views) – channel: Orange Blue (> 2.26m subs)
- Cea Mai Mare Petrecere Din Romania (> 201k views) – channel: mai mult Bisoi (> 380k subs)
- AM PIERDUT 20.000 EURO DIN CAUZA LUI BETO (> 373k views) – channel: Selly (> 3.92m subs)
- Andreea Bostanica si Iuliana Beregoi S-au Batut (> 415k views) – channel: TheRealRed (> 658k subs)
- Ce au facut cu banii? (Romanii au Talent) (> 232k views) – channel: ROVISION (> 837k subs)
- Am Buget €30.000 pentru Noua Masina (> 181k views) – channel: Zbir (> 1.59m subs)
- Strabatem Desertul Spaniei Fara Oprire ! El Camino: Ep.9 (> 181k views) – channel: Theo Zeciu (> 2.09m subs)
- Nuntă pe Interes #3chestii (> 388k views) – channel: 3 Chestii (> 2.30m subs)
- Anunțurile APPLE de aseară: SUCCES sau FAIL? Și noutăți de la FRAȚII noștri japonezi! (> 61k views) – channel: Zona IT (> 369k subs)
- REZUMAT: România – Ţara Galilor 2-1. Hagi a adus fotbalul-spectacol la naţională (> 212k views) – channel: Prima Sport (> 257k subs)
- Best Of Las Fierbinți | Sezonul 28 (> 414k views) – channel: Las Fierbinți (> 1.20m subs)
- Nvidia DĂ ATACUL pe Windows: păzea Intel și AMD! (> 45k views) – channel: PlayGround (> 96k subs)
- 9 IUNIE 2026. Păcăleala tehnocrată: oamenii PSD, poziții-cheie în Guvern (> 78k views) – channel: Știrile zilei. Pe scurt, de la Recorder (> 244k subs)
- Am plantat flori, am facut socata si am organizat o masa in curte cu tort cozonac | Andreea Balaban (> 44k views) – channel: Andreea Balaban (> 440k subs)
- Mărioara și Petre, copii din nou! 😂🎈 (> 275k views) – channel: Symon Petru (> 736k subs)
- Marius Tucă Show – Dungaciu și Palada: ”Dacă Tomac ajunge premier, AUR câștigă alegerile din 2028” (> 44k views) – channel: Gândul (> 320k subs)
- chelutu a ajuns acasa pentru ultima oara.. (> 362k views) – channel: Dorian Popa (> 2.43m subs)
🧑🏫 Grammar overview in 9 chapters
Below is an overview of the most important grammar topics. Each chapter has a short explanation and recommended videos.
While memorizing phrases, you’ll likely recognize patterns from grammar. You can add a note or question to a card and get it answered next time you’re with a teacher.
The Definite Article (Attached to Nouns) A1
In Romanian, the definite article is not a separate word placed before the noun — it is a suffix glued onto the end of the noun itself. For masculine singular nouns, you typically add -ul or -le (e.g., băiat → băiatul, ‘the boy’; frate → fratele, ‘the brother’). For feminine singular nouns, the ending -a or -ua is added (e.g., fată → fata, ‘the girl’; stea → steaua, ‘the star’). Neuter nouns behave like masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. The plural definite article ends in -i for masculine (băieții) and -le for feminine and neuter (fetele, lucrurile).
A great learning strategy is to always memorise nouns together with their definite form from the start — treat ‘fată / fata’ as a pair rather than learning ‘fată’ alone. When listening to Romanian in the app or in media, train your ear to catch those final syllables, because they carry crucial information about definiteness. Once you internalise this pattern, you will be able to identify when a speaker is referring to a specific, known thing versus something general, which is essential for following any real conversation or story.
- The Romanian Article (Articolul) | Learn Romanian Grammar Lessons – Romanian Hub: Directly covers Romanian articles including the enclitic definite article with structured grammar explanations and examples, at an appropriate length and difficulty for A1 learners.
Noun Gender and Number (Masculine, Feminine, Neuter) A1
Romanian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Neuter nouns are unique — they behave like masculine in the singular but switch to feminine patterns in the plural (e.g., un scaun / două scaune, ‘a chair / two chairs’). Masculine nouns typically end in a consonant in the singular (băiat, om), feminine nouns usually end in -ă or -e (fată, carte), and neuter nouns also often end in a consonant but pluralise differently from masculines. The plural itself is formed with a variety of endings (-i, -e, -uri), which are largely predictable once you know the gender.
Rather than memorising gender rules as an abstract list, focus on learning the indefinite article alongside every new noun: un signals masculine or neuter, o signals feminine (un om, un scaun, o fată). This one habit will train your instincts for gender automatically. Getting gender and number right unlocks the ability to make adjectives, articles, and pronouns agree correctly, which is the backbone of sounding natural in Romanian rather than robotic.
- Identify Romanian Nouns’ Genders in 5 Minutes | Romanian Academy – The Romanian Academy: Structured, beginner-focused lesson that provides practical tools for identifying all three Romanian noun genders within a well-paced 9-minute format.
- Understand the grammatical GENDER in Romanian in 6 minutes – I learn Romanian (for foreigners) – I LEARN ROMANIAN: Concise 6-minute explanation of Romanian grammatical gender specifically designed for foreign learners, making it highly relevant and accessible for A1 students.
- ROMANIAN LAGUAGE: THE GENDERS – Romanian with Tamy: Covers all three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter) in a beginner-friendly 6-minute lesson with clear examples suitable for A1 learners.
Present Tense Verb Conjugation A1
Romanian verbs conjugate according to person and number, and they fall into several conjugation classes based on their infinitive ending (-a, -ea, -e, -i, -î). The present tense is the workhorse of everyday speech. For example, the verb a vorbi (‘to speak’) conjugates as: eu vorbesc, tu vorbești, el/ea vorbește, noi vorbim, voi vorbiți, ei/ele vorbesc. Notice that the first person singular and third person plural often share the same stem form. The -ez and -esc infix patterns (used with many -a and -i verbs respectively) are extremely common and worth recognising as recurring chunks.
A practical approach is to learn verbs in the eu (I) and el/ea (he/she) forms first, since these two cover the majority of conversational sentences. Pay attention to the -ești / -ește pattern in the tu and el/ea forms — once you spot it, you will recognise it everywhere. Mastering the present tense lets you talk about daily routines, describe what is happening right now, and understand the bulk of spoken Romanian you will encounter in the app and in real interactions.
- ROMANIAN: VERBS CONJUGATION – Romanian with Tamy: Covers all 4 Romanian verb conjugation categories with clear explanations, making it ideal for A1 beginners needing a structured overview of present tense conjugation patterns.
- Learn Romanian with Nico – Present Tense (1st Conj. with infix -ez/-eaz) – Learn Romanian with Nico: Focused, well-structured lesson on a specific and tricky conjugation pattern (-ez/-eaz infix) from a highly regarded Romanian teaching channel with strong viewer engagement.
- Romanian Present Tense in 3 Steps | For Beginners | Romanian Academy – The Romanian Academy: Addresses the present tense specifically for beginners using a clear 3-step framework and explicitly targets common mistakes, making it a solid complement to the other selections.
Genitive-Dative Case (Possession and Indirect Objects) A2
Romanian retains a case system, and the genitive-dative is the most important case beyond the basic nominative-accusative. The genitive expresses possession (‘the book of the teacher’) and the dative marks the indirect object (‘I give the book to Maria’). Crucially, Romanian uses the same form for both genitive and dative. For definite feminine nouns, the article changes: fata becomes fetei (e.g., cartea fetei, ‘the girl’s book’; îi dau fetei, ‘I give [it] to the girl’). Definite masculine and neuter nouns add -lui (băiatul → băiatului). The preposition a or al/a/ai/ale is used to link nouns in possession when the possessed noun is definite (e.g., casa lui Ion, ‘Ion’s house’).
The most efficient trick is to memorise the key feminine shift -a → -ei and the masculine/neuter shift -ul → -ului as two core patterns, then practise them with high-frequency words (mamei, tatălui, prietenului). Also learn the short pronoun forms îi (dative ‘to him/her’) and le (dative ‘to them’) as frozen chunks. Once you control this case, you can talk about whose things are whose and express giving, telling, and explaining to someone — all of which come up constantly in conversation.
- Genitive and Dative Definite Articles | Romanian Academy – The Romanian Academy: Directly addresses Romanian genitive and dative definite articles with structured explanation, making it highly relevant for A2 learners studying this exact case system.
Adjective Agreement and Placement A2
In Romanian, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. Most adjectives have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine/neuter plural (e.g., mare / mare / mari / mari for ‘big’, or bun / bună / buni / bune for ‘good’). Adjectives typically follow the noun they describe (un om bun, ‘a good man’; o fată bună, ‘a good girl’), although a small set of common adjectives like mare (‘big’), mic (‘small’), and bun (‘good’) can precede the noun in certain fixed or stylistic expressions.
A helpful trick is to group adjectives by their pattern: ‘two-form’ adjectives like mare that look the same for masculine and feminine, versus ‘four-form’ adjectives like bun that change for gender. When you encounter a new adjective in the app, always note its feminine form as well — it is usually listed or can be inferred. Mastering adjective agreement means you can describe people, places, and things accurately, which immediately makes your Romanian sound more precise and natural rather than telegraphic.
Personal Pronouns and Clitic Doubling A2
Romanian uses both full pronouns (eu, tu, el, ea, noi, voi, ei, ele) and short clitic pronouns that attach to or cluster around the verb. Subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending already indicates the person (vorbesc = ‘I speak’, no ‘eu’ needed), but they are used for emphasis or contrast. More striking is clitic doubling: Romanian frequently uses both a full noun and a short clitic pronoun in the same sentence, e.g., Îi dau Mariei cartea — literally ‘I-her-give to-Maria the-book’. The dative clitics are îmi, îți, îi, ne, vă, le; the accusative clitics are mă, te, îl/o, ne, vă, îi/le.
The best way to absorb clitics is through whole-sentence chunks rather than isolated forms — listen and repeat phrases like Mă cheamă (‘My name is’, lit. ‘Me-calls’), Te rog (‘Please’, lit. ‘You-I-ask’), and Îmi place (‘I like’, lit. ‘Me-it-pleases’) as fixed expressions first. Over time the underlying pattern clicks into place. Once you handle clitics, you can navigate the most common sentence structures in Romanian conversation, including expressing what you like, asking for things, and talking about what happens to people.
Past Tense: Perfective Compound (Perfect Compus) A2
The most common way to talk about completed past events in spoken Romanian is the perfect compus, which is equivalent to both the simple past and the present perfect in English. It is formed with the present tense of a avea (‘to have’) plus the past participle of the main verb: am vorbit (‘I spoke / I have spoken’), ai mâncat (‘you ate’), a mers (‘he/she went’). Participles are mostly regular: -a verbs → -at (lucrat), -i/-î verbs → -it (venit), -e verbs → -ut (văzut), with some important irregulars (mers, făcut, zis). The auxiliary agrees with the subject, not with the object.
Focus on memorising the six forms of a avea in the present (am, ai, a, am, ați, au) as a single chunk, since they are the unchanging ‘engine’ of this tense. Then build outward by adding the participle of the 20–30 most frequent verbs. A useful trick: -at endings cover a huge proportion of verbs (all first-conjugation verbs), so defaulting to -at when unsure will be right more often than not. With this tense in hand, you can narrate past experiences, tell stories, and understand most of what people say about things that have already happened.
The Subjunctive Mood (Conjunctiv) B1
Romanian uses the subjunctive (conjunctiv) extremely frequently in everyday speech — far more than French or Spanish — to express desires, intentions, possibilities, and after many common verbs and impersonal expressions. It is formed with the particle să followed by a conjugated verb form that is slightly different from the indicative: să merg (‘that I go/for me to go’), să mergi, să meargă, să mergem, să mergeți, să meargă. The third-person singular and plural often share the same form (meargă / meargă). Common triggers include vreau să (‘I want to’), trebuie să (‘must’), pot să (‘I can’), and e important să (‘it is important to’).
Think of să as a signal word that introduces a new clause expressing intention or necessity, and practise it as part of fixed chunks: vreau să… / pot să… / trebuie să… These three phrases alone will cover an enormous number of real situations. Notice that where English uses the infinitive (‘I want to go’), Romanian uses să + subjunctive (‘vreau să merg’). Internalising the subjunctive unlocks the ability to express what you want, what you can or cannot do, what you need to do, and what someone else should do — all of which are essential for any real-world conversation.
- Romanian Conjunctive Masterclass | Romanian Academy – The Romanian Academy: A dedicated, structured explanation of the Romanian conjunctive/subjunctive mood with comparisons to English, making it highly relevant and accessible for B1 learners.
- Romanian 19: Adjective – Pronouns – Verb: Present – Subjunctive (Conjunctiv) – Languages for English Speakers: Covers the subjunctive (conjunctiv) as part of a structured Romanian grammar lesson aimed at English-speaking learners, with a concise 8-minute format suitable for beginners and intermediate students.
Key Prepositions and the Cases They Govern B1
Romanian prepositions govern specific cases, which changes the form of the following noun. The most important rule is that certain prepositions require the genitive-dative case: asupra (‘over/about’), înaintea (‘in front of’), în spatele (‘behind’), and compound prepositions ending in a definite noun all trigger genitive (e.g., în fața casei, ‘in front of the house’). Meanwhile, most simple prepositions like la, în, pe, cu, de, pentru, fără, spre, între take the accusative (the base noun form). The preposition a is used to mark the genitive relationship (cartea a doi studenți, ‘the book of two students’), and cu marks accompaniment or instrument.
Rather than learning all prepositions at once, start with the six highest-frequency ones in speech — la, în, pe, cu, de, pentru — and notice that they all take the accusative, meaning you can just use the plain noun form after them. Then gradually add compound locative expressions (în fața, în spatele, lângă + genitive) as you need them for directions and descriptions. Controlling prepositions unlocks the ability to say where things are, express time and purpose, describe relationships between objects, and give and follow directions — transforming you from someone who speaks in isolated sentences to someone who can paint a full picture.
