Language/Romanian/Grammar/Gender

Romanian Grammar - Gender

Hi Romanian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will talk about an important aspect of Romanian grammar: gender. In addition, we will explore cultural and historical aspects related to this topic, to make this lesson more interesting and engaging.

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Imperative Form & Present Tense of Verbs.

Introduction

In Romanian, all nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine. Knowing the gender of a noun is crucial, as it affects the form of adjectives, pronouns, and verbs that agree with these nouns.

While the gender of nouns might seem daunting to learn, there are a few patterns that can make the process easier. In this lesson, we will learn about these patterns, as well as some cultural and historical facts related to gender in Romanian.

But before we start, let's remember that the best way to improve your Romanian grammar is by practicing with native speakers. The Polyglot Club is a great resource to find language partners and ask them any questions.

Gender Patterns in Romanian

In Romanian, the gender of most nouns is determined by their ending. Here are some general rules to identify the gender of a noun:

Masculine Nouns

Most masculine nouns end in a consonant or a vowel other than "a" or "e." Here are some examples:

Romanian	Pronunciation	English
băiat	bayat	boy
cal	kal	horse
scaun	skawn	chair
om	ohm	man
ceai	chy-ee	tea

Note that some feminine nouns also end in a consonant, so we need to look at the next pattern to avoid confusion.

Feminine Nouns

Most feminine nouns end in "a" or "e." Here are some examples:

Romanian	Pronunciation	English
fată	fata	girl
carte	kar-te	book
cafea	ka-feya	coffee
casă	kasuh	house
idee	ee-day-eh	idea

Note that there are some exceptions to these patterns, especially for nouns borrowed from other languages or for irregular nouns. However, learning these patterns is a good starting point to identify the gender of most nouns in Romanian.

Plural Forms

In Romanian, the plural forms of nouns also depend on their gender. Here are some examples:

Gender	Example Singular	Example Plural
Masculine	băiat	băieți (boys)
Feminine	fată	fete (girls)

Note that some nouns have irregular plurals, so it's important to learn these forms along with the gender of the noun.

Cultural and Historical Aspects of Gender in Romanian

Like in many languages, the gender of nouns in Romanian is not only a linguistic feature but also a cultural and historical one. For example:

Gendered Professions

In Romanian, professions are often gendered, with a masculine and feminine form for each profession. Here are a few examples:

Masculine	Feminine
medic	medică (doctor)
actor	actriță (actor)
artist	artistă (artist)
profesor	profesoară (teacher)

Note that some professions have the same form for both genders, especially for newer and more modern professions.

Neutral Gender

While most nouns in Romanian are either masculine or feminine, there are also a few nouns that are neutral, meaning that they don't have a gender. Here are some examples:

Romanian	Pronunciation	English
măr	mur	apple
zid	zid	wall
ceas	chyas	clock

Note that in Romanian, the neutral gender only applies to some nouns, unlike in languages like English, where there is no grammatical gender.

Historical Context

Like many linguistic features in Romanian, the gender of nouns reflects the country's complex history of cultural and linguistic influences. For example, the feminine form of some professions, like "medică" (doctor), reflects the influence of French, which tends to gender professions according to the sex of the person performing the job.

In addition, the gender of nouns in Romanian can also reflect the country's cultural and social norms. For example, the feminine noun "casă" (house) reflects the traditional role of women in Romanian society as caretakers of the home, while the masculine noun "om" (man) reflects the traditional role of men as providers and protectors.

Dialogue

To see the gender of nouns and related words in context, let's create a dialogue:

• Person 1: Buna dimineața! Ce faci? (Good morning! How are you?)
• Person 2: Salut! Sunt profesor. (Hi! I am a teacher.)
• Person 1: Ce materie predai? (What subject do you teach?)
• Person 2: Predau istoria României și cultura populară. Dar tu, ce lucrezi? (I teach Romanian history and popular culture. But what about you, what do you do?)
• Person 1: Lucrez într-o librărie. Îmi plac mult cărțile. (I work in a bookstore. I really like books.)

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned about the gender of nouns in Romanian, and how it affects the forms of related words. We explored some patterns to identify the gender of most nouns, and also some cultural and historical aspects related to gender in Romanian.

Remember that the best way to improve your Romanian grammar is by practicing with native speakers. The Polyglot Club is a great resource to find language partners and ask them any questions.

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Romanian grammar - Wikipedia
• Romanian Nouns: Gender and Declension Reference Grammar
• Romanian nouns - Wikipedia

Great work on completing this lesson! Take a moment to investigate these connected pages: Prepositions and Postpositions & Forming Questions.

Other Lessons

• Definite Articles in Romanian
• Verb to be with names and places
• Genitive Case in Romanian
• How to use the verb there to be in Romanian
• Interrogative Words in Romanian
• Conditional Mood
• Instrumental Case in Romanian
• Cardinal Numbers in Romanian
• The Nominative Case in Romanian
• Comaratives and Superlatives