If you are reading this, you are either really passionate about the Romanian language or going to visit Romania in the near future and want to be prepared. You are right, being able to have a basic conversation will have a positive impact on your travel experience and can enhance your stay with more local experiences!

Let’s start off with the good news: Romanian is a very phonetic language, which means that the pronunciation is just like the written word. This way when you’re not 100% sure about how to pronounce a word, just try out because you have great chances of saying it correctly – or at least just enough for the other person to understand what you want to say. Another good thing to keep in mind is that letters are only rarely pronounced differently, so you don’t have to worry about that too much!

Next, you might just find that Romanian has a lot in common with your native language! For example, if you know some Italian, Spanish, French, Catalan or Portuguese you’ll be one step ahead, because there are many similar or even identical words (that is because all the languages mentioned above have Latin origins). At the same time, Romanian has Slavic roots too, so you will also be able to guess some words or expressions if you speak another Slavic language!

Now, we have selected the most common and useful phrases for travelling in Romania with business matters or just for a holiday. You can find them down below:

• Good day– Bună ziua! – it’s just like “hello”, but “bună ziua” can be used both in formal and informal conversations; it is also good because you can use this for either saying hello or good-bye;
• Yes/ No– Da/ Nu – simplest way of showing agreement or disagreement;
• Thank you – Mersi(just as in French) or Mulțumesc (this is the formal way of saying “thank you”);
• You’re welcome – Cu plăcere (which means “with pleasure”) – Romanians appreciate very much a good education and politeness, so keep in mind to say “thank you” and “you’re welcome” with every occasion;
• Excuse me/ Sorry – Scuze– if you want to make your way through a crowd, this is the word for you: you will ask politely for people to make you room to pass;
• Cheers – Noroc!– if you go out to drink something, a very easy way of making friends, or just making locals like you instantly, is by saying “noroc” instead of “cheers”;
• I don’t understand – Nu înțeleg – you can use this one in two ways: first for you, when you don’t understand something and second, for others that do not understand you :);
• Ticket – Bilet– it is the same word for all public transportations;
• Bus – Autobuz– use this word plus your destination to ask which bus you need to take to get somewhere;
• Subway – Metrou– use this word plus your destination to ask which subway you need to take to get somewhere;
• Station – Stație– useful for asking if there is any station nearby;
• Restaurant – Restaurant– asking for a place to eat is easy in any language :);
• Toilet – Toaletă– there are not many public toilets, so you may find yourself in the situation of going to a shop or restaurant for asking for a toilet;
• Menu – Meniu– maybe you can ask for something traditional, if you already speak Romanian :);
• Delicious – Delicios– always compliment the chef!

Romanians are kind and helpful and the vast majority will be more than happy to hear you try speaking their language, even if it’s not perfect. And if you will encounter any difficulties, remember that more than half of Romanians speak English, as it is thought in schools and is becoming more and more mandatory by employers.

In the end, you can also make it just by speaking English and nobody will get mad because you do not know any phrases in the local language, but they definitely increase your chances of getting help faster with a question or just get a positive reaction by surprising a local with his own language. If you need any help, remember that New Era Hotel reception is open 24/24 and the personnel will be happy to give you directions!