Language/Romanian/Vocabulary/Numbers-and-Counting

Romanian → Vocabulary → Numbers and Counting

As a Romanian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I can assure you that learning numbers and counting is a crucial part of speaking and understanding Romanian. In this lesson, you will learn the basics of counting from 0 to 100, along with some useful vocabulary related to numbers and counting in Romanian.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Verbs in Romanian & Count to 10.

Numbers 0-20

Let's start with the basics! Here are the numbers from 0 to 20 in Romanian:

Romanian	Pronunciation	English
zero	'ʒero	zero
unu	'unu	one
doi	doj	two
trei	trej	three
patru	patru	four
cinci	tʃintʃi	five
şase	ʃaʃe	six
şapte	ʃapte	seven
opt	opt	eight
nouă	no'wə	nine
zece	'zedze	ten
unsprezece	un'sprezece	eleven
doisprezece	doj'sprezece	twelve
treisprezece	trej'sprezece	thirteen
paisprezece	pa'isprezece	fourteen
cincisprezece	tʃintʃi'sprezece	fifteen
şaisprezece	ʃaʃi'sprezece	sixteen
şaptesprezece	ʃapte'sprezece	seventeen
optsprezece	opt'sprezece	eighteen
nouăsprezece	no'wə'sprezece	nineteen
douăzeci	do'wəzetʃi	twenty

Some notes on pronunciation:

- The letters â and ă are pronounced differently. The sound of â is similar to the sound of the French "a" in "chat", while the sound of ă is shorter and closer to the English "uh". - The letter ș is pronounced like "sh" in "shoe". - The letter ț is pronounced like "ts" in "bits".

Numbers 21-100

Once you have memorized the numbers from 0 to 20, the rest is easy! In Romanian, numbers from 21 to 99 are formed by combining the words for the tens and the units with the word "și" (and). Here are some examples:

• 21 - douăzeci și unu (do'wəzetʃʲ ʃi 'unu)
• 36 - treizeci și şase (trej'zetʃʲ ʃi ʃaʃe)
• 49 - patruzeci și nouă (patru'zetʃʲ ʃi no'wə)
• 74 - şaptezeci și patru (ʃapte'zetʃʲ ʃi 'patru)
• 99 - nouăzeci și nouă (no'wə'zetʃʲ ʃi no'wə)

To form numbers from 100 to 999, you need to add the word "de" (of) between the hundreds and the rest of the number. Here are some examples:

• 100 - o sută (o 'sutə)
• 123 - o sută douăzeci și trei (o 'sutə do'wəzetʃʲ ʃi trej)
• 456 - patru sute cincizeci și şase (patru 'sutə tʃintʃi'zetʃʲ ʃi ʃaʃe)
• 789 - şapte sute optzeci și nouă (ʃapte 'sutə opt'zetʃʲ ʃi no'wə)

To form numbers above 1000, you can follow the same pattern of adding the word "de" between the thousands and the rest of the number. Here are some examples:

• 1000 - o mie (o 'mje)
• 2000 - două mii (do'wə mij)
• 10,000 - zece mii (ze'tʃe mij)
• 100,000 - o sută de mii (o 'sutə de mij)
• 1,000,000 - un milion (un mi'ljon)
• 1,000,000,000 - un miliard (un mi'liard)

Useful Vocabulary

Here are some useful words and phrases related to numbers and counting in Romanian:

• număr (number)
• contor (counter)
• calculatoare (computer) - from the word "calcul" (calculation)
• maşină de numărat bani (money counter)
• factură (bill)
• cod numeric personal (personal identification number, like the Social Security number in the US)
• telefon mobil (mobile phone) - Romanians usually say the number of the phone instead of the name of the person they are calling (e.g. "I'll call you on 0745...")

Conclusion

Congratulations on making it through this lesson on Romanian numbers and counting! With these basics, you will be able to understand and use numbers in a variety of situations. Practice saying the numbers out loud to improve your pronunciation, and try counting different objects in Romanian. By mastering this essential vocabulary, you will be well on your way to becoming fluent in Romanian!

Sources

• Romanian Numbers: How to Count in Romanian
• Romanian games and flashcards: learn Romanian online for free

Congratulations on finishing this lesson! Explore these related pages to keep learning: Science and Technology & Greetings and Introductions.

Other Lessons

• Fruits
• Beverages
• Work and Business
• Greetings and Introductions
• Feelings and Emotions
• Colors
• Legal Terminology and Justice System
• Adjectives in Romanian
• Count to 10
• Food