Romanian packs a lot of its everyday grammar, cases, a Latin-rooted vocabulary, and a definite article that attaches to the end of the word, into a small set of frequently used words. Learning these hundred first means you'll recognize the connective tissue of nearly every sentence you come across. It's not flashy work, but it pays off fast.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Romanian | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | de | of / from | Am cumpărat o sticlă de apă.I bought a bottle of water. |
| 2 | și | and | Ana și Maria sunt prietene.Ana and Maria are friends. |
| 3 | în | in | Cartea este în geantă.The book is in the bag. |
| 4 | a | to (infinitive marker) | A învăța o limbă nouă cere timp.Learning a new language takes time. |
| 5 | nu | not / no | Nu vreau cafea acum.I don't want coffee now. |
| 6 | că | that | Cred că plouă afară.I think that it's raining outside. |
| 7 | pe | on | Cartea este pe masă.The book is on the table. |
| 8 | cu | with | Merg la școală cu bicicleta.I go to school by bicycle. |
| 9 | este | is | Ea este profesoară.She is a teacher. |
| 10 | pentru | for | Acest cadou este pentru tine.This gift is for you. |
| 11 | la | at / to | Ne vedem la ora trei.We'll see each other at three o'clock. |
| 12 | se | himself / herself / oneself | El se spală pe mâini.He washes his hands. |
| 13 | un | a / an (masc.) | Am un câine mic.I have a small dog. |
| 14 | o | a / an (fem.) | Ea are o soră.She has a sister. |
| 15 | mai | more | Vreau mai multă cafea.I want more coffee. |
| 16 | din | from / out of | Ea vine din România.She comes from Romania. |
| 17 | sau | or | Vrei ceai sau cafea?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 18 | dar | but | Vreau să merg, dar sunt obosit.I want to go, but I'm tired. |
| 19 | ce | what | Ce faci în seara asta?What are you doing tonight? |
| 20 | ca | as / like | Ea cântă ca o profesionistă.She sings like a professional. |
| 21 | până | until | Lucrez până la ora șase.I work until six o'clock. |
| 22 | după | after | Mergem la plimbare după cină.We go for a walk after dinner. |
| 23 | fără | without | Nu pot trăi fără muzică.I can't live without music. |
| 24 | între | between | Cheia este între cărți.The key is between the books. |
| 25 | prin | through | Am mers prin parc.We walked through the park. |
| 26 | sub | under | Pisica doarme sub masă.The cat is sleeping under the table. |
| 27 | peste | over | Podul trece peste râu.The bridge crosses over the river. |
| 28 | spre | toward | Mergem spre casă.We are heading toward home. |
| 29 | dacă | if | Dacă plouă, rămânem acasă.If it rains, we'll stay home. |
| 30 | când | when | Sună-mă când ajungi.Call me when you arrive. |
| 31 | unde | where | Unde locuiești?Where do you live? |
| 32 | cum | how | Cum te numești?What is your name? |
| 33 | cine | who | Cine este acolo?Who is there? |
| 34 | care | which / who | Cartea care îmi place este pe raft.The book that I like is on the shelf. |
| 35 | deci | so / therefore | Sunt obosit, deci mă duc să dorm.I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep. |
| 36 | însă | however | Am încercat, însă nu am reușit.I tried, however I didn't succeed. |
| 37 | deja | already | Am mâncat deja.I already ate. |
| 38 | încă | still / yet | Ea încă doarme.She is still sleeping. |
| 39 | foarte | very | Filmul a fost foarte interesant.The movie was very interesting. |
| 40 | tot | all / everything | Tot ce am spus este adevărat.Everything I said is true. |
| 41 | toate | all (fem. pl.) | Toate cărțile sunt pe masă.All the books are on the table. |
| 42 | aici | here | Vino aici, te rog.Come here, please. |
| 43 | acolo | there | Cartea este acolo, pe raft.The book is there, on the shelf. |
| 44 | azi | today | Azi este o zi frumoasă.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 45 | acum | now | Trebuie să plec acum.I have to leave now. |
| 46 | atunci | then | Atunci am înțeles totul.Then I understood everything. |
| 47 | eu | I | Eu locuiesc în București.I live in Bucharest. |
| 48 | tu | you (sg.) | Tu ești prietenul meu cel mai bun.You are my best friend. |
| 49 | el | he | El lucrează ca inginer.He works as an engineer. |
| 50 | ea | she | Ea studiază medicina.She studies medicine. |
| 51 | noi | we | Noi mergem la mare în vacanță.We're going to the seaside on vacation. |
| 52 | voi | you (pl.) | Voi veniți la petrecere?Are you all coming to the party? |
| 53 | ei | they (masc.) | Ei locuiesc lângă parc.They live near the park. |
| 54 | ele | they (fem.) | Ele sunt colege de clasă.They are classmates. |
| 55 | dumneavoastră | you (formal) | Cum vă numiți, dumneavoastră?What is your name, sir/madam? |
| 56 | mă | me (clitic) | Mă trezesc devreme în fiecare zi.I wake up early every day. |
| 57 | te | you (clitic) | Te aștept afară.I'm waiting for you outside. |
| 58 | ne | us (clitic) | Ne întâlnim mâine.We're meeting tomorrow. |
| 59 | vă | you pl. (clitic) | Vă mulțumesc pentru ajutor.Thank you for your help. |
| 60 | îl | him (clitic) | Îl văd pe stradă.I see him on the street. |
| 61 | le | them, fem. (clitic) | Le cunosc bine pe fetele acelea.I know those girls well. |
| 62 | îi | to him / her (clitic) | Îi spun adevărul.I tell him the truth. |
| 63 | meu | my (masc.) | Acesta este câinele meu.This is my dog. |
| 64 | mea | my (fem.) | Aceasta este casa mea.This is my house. |
| 65 | tău | your (sg.) | Unde este fratele tău?Where is your brother? |
| 66 | său | his / her / its own | El își iubește orașul său natal.He loves his native city. |
| 67 | nostru | our (masc.) | Acesta este orașul nostru.This is our city. |
| 68 | lui | his / of him | Casa lui este mare.His house is big. |
| 69 | a fi | to be | A fi fericit este important.Being happy is important. |
| 70 | sunt | I am / they are | Sunt foarte fericit azi.I am very happy today. |
| 71 | era | was | Vremea era frumoasă ieri.The weather was nice yesterday. |
| 72 | fost | been (past participle) | Am fost la mare anul trecut.I went to the seaside last year. |
| 73 | a avea | to have | A avea răbdare este greu.Having patience is hard. |
| 74 | am | I have (aux.) | Am doi copii.I have two children. |
| 75 | are | has | El are o mașină nouă.He has a new car. |
| 76 | avut | had (past participle) | Am avut o zi grea.I had a hard day. |
| 77 | a face | to do / make | A face exerciții zilnic ajută.Exercising daily helps. |
| 78 | face | does / makes | Ea face curat în casă.She cleans the house. |
| 79 | făcut | done / made | Am făcut o greșeală.I made a mistake. |
| 80 | a merge | to go | A merge pe jos este sănătos.Walking is healthy. |
| 81 | merge | goes | Trenul merge repede.The train goes fast. |
| 82 | a veni | to come | A veni la timp este important.Coming on time is important. |
| 83 | vine | comes | Prietena mea vine mâine.My friend is coming tomorrow. |
| 84 | a spune | to say / tell | A spune adevărul nu e ușor.Telling the truth isn't easy. |
| 85 | spune | says | Ea spune povești copiilor.She tells stories to the children. |
| 86 | a vrea | to want | A vrea nu înseamnă a putea.Wanting doesn't mean being able to. |
| 87 | vrea | wants | Copilul vrea o înghețată.The child wants an ice cream. |
| 88 | vreau | I want | Vreau să învăț română.I want to learn Romanian. |
| 89 | a putea | to be able to / can | A putea să înoți este util.Being able to swim is useful. |
| 90 | poate | can / maybe | Poate vine și el la petrecere.Maybe he'll come to the party too. |
| 91 | a ști | to know | A ști o limbă străină ajută mult.Knowing a foreign language helps a lot. |
| 92 | știu | I know | Nu știu răspunsul.I don't know the answer. |
| 93 | a vedea | to see | A vedea marea pentru prima dată a fost emoționant.Seeing the sea for the first time was exciting. |
| 94 | văd | I see | Nu văd bine fără ochelari.I don't see well without glasses. |
| 95 | a da | to give | A da un sfat bun este de ajutor.Giving good advice is helpful. |
| 96 | dă | gives | Ea îi dă flori mamei.She gives flowers to her mother. |
| 97 | om | person / man | Este un om bun.He is a good person. |
| 98 | timp | time | Nu am timp de pierdut.I don't have time to waste. |
| 99 | zi | day | Astăzi este o zi minunată.Today is a wonderful day. |
| 100 | viață | life | Viața este scurtă.Life is short. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
The definite article is a suffix
Romanian doesn't put "the" in front of a noun, it attaches it to the end. Câine (dog) becomes câinele (the dog), and casă (house) becomes casa (the house). It's one of the first things that surprises learners coming from Spanish or English.
Cases change endings, not just word order
Romanian nouns decline for case, so the same word looks different depending on its role in the sentence. Cartea (the book) in the nominative or accusative becomes cărții (of/to the book) in the genitive or dative. It takes practice to hear these as the same underlying word.
tu vs. dumneavoastră
Tu is the informal "you," used with friends, family, and children. Dumneavoastră is the formal register, used with strangers, elders, and in professional settings, and it takes a plural-feeling verb form even when addressing one person.
Neuter nouns act like two genders
Romanian has masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, but neuter is really a hybrid: it behaves like masculine in the singular and like feminine in the plural. Un scaun (a chair, masculine-looking) becomes două scaune (two chairs, feminine-looking) in the plural.
a vrea vs. a putea
A vrea means "to want" and a putea means "to be able to" or "can." Beginners often reach for the wrong one, but Romanian even has a saying that plays on the difference: "a vrea nu înseamnă a putea," wanting doesn't mean being able to.
este vs. e vs. sunt
Este and its shortened spoken form e both mean "is." Sunt is trickier because it covers two different meanings, "I am" and "they are," and only the subject in context tells you which one is meant.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Romanian and following it.