Language/Romanian/Grammar/Gender-of-Nouns

Gender of Nouns in Romanian - Masculine, Feminine & Neuter

Determining the gender of a noun is important because it affects the form of adjectives, articles, and pronouns used with the noun.

In the Romanian language, nouns have three genders; masculine, feminine and neuter.

• Nouns ending in a consonant or -u are usually masculine or neuter and the plural ending is usually -i.
• Nouns ending in an -a or an ă are usually feminine and the plural ending is usually -e for feminine or neuter.

However, there are exceptions!

Here are some guidelines to get you started:

Genders

Masculine Nouns Gender

1. Nouns ending in -e, -or, -ist, -ar, -ier, -eur, -ur, -on: Examples: frate (brother), doctor (doctor), artist (artist), calendar (calendar), fier (iron), avion (airplane), vultur (eagle), timbru (stamp).
2. Nouns ending in a consonant other than -t, -d, -m, -n, -s, -l, -r: Examples: băiat (boy), nor (cloud), soare (sun), lac (lake), vânt (wind), pat (bed), caiet (notebook).
3. Nouns ending in -t or -d: Examples: tată (father), prieten (friend), cântec (song), pădure (forest), gard (fence).
4. Nouns borrowed from other languages, especially from French or English, are often masculine in Romanian: Examples: telefon (telephone), hotel (hotel), film (film), jazz (jazz).

Feminine Nouns Gender

1. Nouns ending in -ă, -e, -i, -ie: Examples: carte (book), cafea (coffee), inimă (heart), țară (country), floare (flower), piesă (play), femeie (woman).
2. Nouns ending in -tate, -ciune, -sime, -itudine, -ie: Examples: libertate (freedom), națiune (nation), tristețe (sadness), maturitate (maturity), copilărie (childhood).
3. Nouns ending in -ție: Examples: prietenie (friendship), sănătate (health), bunătate (kindness), frumusețe (beauty).

Neuter Nouns Gender

More specifically, in Romanian, neuter nouns behave in the singular as masculine nouns and in the plural as feminine nouns. As such, all noun determiners and all pronouns only have two possible gender-specific forms instead of three. From this perspective, it's possible to say that in Romanian there are really just two genders, masculine and feminine, and the category labeled as neuter contains nouns whose gender switches with the number. This class of neuter nouns are also known as eterogene or 'heterogenous', as ambigene meaning 'ambigenous' or 'of both kinds ,' or mixed nouns.

Exceptions

There are many exceptions to these general rules, so it's important to learn the gender of a noun by heart rather than assuming based on its ending. Some nouns have both masculine and feminine forms, and some have different meanings depending on their gender. For example, un vis (masculine) means "a dream" while o viză (feminine) means "a visa."

In conclusion, learning the gender of a noun in Romanian is an essential part of mastering the language. While there are some general rules to help you determine the gender, it's important to keep in mind that there are many exceptions to these rules. With practice and exposure to the language, you will become more comfortable with identifying the gender of nouns in Romanian.

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