Learning Romanian language

Hi

Can someone translate these phrases for me please?

"sunt mai bun decat tine"

"tot sunt mai bun"

"bine noapte buna recunosc sunt pe locu doi"

Thank

Ps I have an understanding which does not make sense in the context that they were written so I figure my translation is wrong.

Originally Posted by CJ1978

Hi

Can someone translate these phrases for me please?

"sunt mai bun decat tine"

"tot sunt mai bun"

"bine noapte buna recunosc sunt pe locu doi"

Hi CJ,

I'll give a try, but again, wait for a native please


"sunt mai bun decat tine" = i am better than you

"tot sunt mai bun" = i'm still better

"bine noapte buna recunosc sunt pe locu doi". = well, good night. I admit, i am on two lives

(i don't know about the last one. Hopefully I've helped with the frist two! )

Originally Posted by mike123

Hi CJ,

I'll give a try, but again, wait for a native please


"sunt mai bun decat tine" = i am better than you

"tot sunt mai bun" = i'm still better

"bine noapte buna recunosc sunt pe locu doi". = well, good night. I admit, i am on two lives

(i don't know about the last one. Hopefully I've helped with the frist two! )

the third one should mean: well, good night, I admit, I´m on the second place. (contestwise - 1st place, 2nd place, ...)

It pretty much goes with the previous "conversation" that had been translated

If I remember well there actually is a song that has lyrics like that, it´s romanian manele and a refrain goes something like
"Locul unu, nu mai unu, nu mai esti pe locul unu, ca stim bine amandoi, ai cazut pe locul 2"

I consider that song sooo amusing.. and ridiculous, too

Thanks Mike and Exit, my msn conversations with my boyfriend are a little frustrating because I have difficulty translating accurately.

Here is another phrase I could not translate if someone does not mind helping me, I don't know what I would do without this website. You are all so kind.

"ma antrebam doar"

mă întrebam doar= I was just wandering (about something).

Originally Posted by Euridike

I have a question

While talking about possesions, is there any difference in usage of sau and lui/ei?
For example, if I want to say "George is looking at his watch", I can say "George se uită la ceasul său" either "George se uită la ceasul lui"? Is this optional?

One more question: is there any significant difference between "mă duc" and "merg"? I have impression that verb "a merge" has wider meaning, for example "nu merge" means "it's not working". Is there anything else?

Thanks in advance

you can say both ceasul sau / ceasul lui. same meaning.

you're also right about the second question . ma duc is straightforward "I'm going" while merg can have the same meaing or a different one, the one you mentioned, a merge can mean to function/work (generally when refering to devices, electronics)

ântrebam is not spelled right. In romanian we have two letters â and î, spelled exactly the same, the difference being that,when writing, the latter is used only as the first or last letter in a word (eg: început, a coborî) or in the middle of the word only if it's a contraction ( reînceput) otherwise you use â.

catalin meant I was just wondering not wandering, probably a typo.

Bună

Firstly - thanks, krityx!

Then, I have a question about Romanian saying "sărut mână". I know that it means "I kiss (Your) hand" and is used to express respect for women, but I wonder - may a girl also say this to an older woman, or only men use this while adressing women? If it also might be said by a girl, on what occasions?

Ah, and how do You say "don't worry" in Romanian?

Originally Posted by Euridike

Bună

Firstly - thanks, krityx!

Then, I have a question about Romanian saying "sărut mână". I know that it means "I kiss (Your) hand" and is used to express respect for women, but I wonder - may a girl also say this to an older woman, or only men use this while adressing women? If it also might be said by a girl, on what occasions?

Ah, and how do You say "don't worry" in Romanian?

sărut mână can be used by a girl and it's usualy said instead of hello or good day or when you want to say thanks to someone older than you.

don't worry - Nu-ţi face griji! (sg) or Nu vă faceţi griji! (pl)

Thanks Catalin and Krityx

Thank You!

Originally Posted by CJ1978

Thanks Mike and Exit, my msn conversations with my boyfriend are a little frustrating because I have difficulty translating accurately.

Here is another phrase I could not translate if someone does not mind helping me, I don't know what I would do without this website. You are all so kind.

"ma antrebam doar"

You're welcome. I know the feeling well. The problem for me is that there are so many little phrases that do not make sense when translated literally into english.

For example "se vede" really means something like "It shows" or "you can tell". Literally it would mean "he/her/it sees".

Another in which I had to dig so deep to learn recently was "merge pe jos". This means "walking (on feet)" or "go by/on foot". Literally "go on down" or sth like this.

You have to learn them when they come up.

Oh, and also, krityx meant to say that î and â SOUND the same. (not spelled). Hope you don't mind me correcting you, krityx

Originally Posted by Euridike

Bună

Firstly - thanks, krityx!

Then, I have a question about Romanian saying "sărut mână". I know that it means "I kiss (Your) hand" and is used to express respect for women, but I wonder - may a girl also say this to an older woman, or only men use this while adressing women? If it also might be said by a girl, on what occasions?

Ah, and how do You say "don't worry" in Romanian?

Ussually ,,sărut-mâna" is pronnounced as a single word ,,sărumâna!" and is a sign of great respect for the person you meet. I use it when I meet my mother, my grandmother and also for people older than me. I use it when I meet my father (at his personal request as he was born in the countryside and there is the custom that all elderlypeople should be treated with the same repect as your parents).You can use it when you meet your godfather and so on..
In italian they have something like ,,sărumâna": Baccio tua mano!
PS. don't worry= nu îţi face griji!

Originally Posted by mike123

You're welcome. I know the feeling well. The problem for me is that there are so many little phrases that do not make sense when translated literally into english.

For example "se vede" really means something like "It shows" or "you can tell". Literally it would mean "he/her/it sees".

Another in which I had to dig so deep to learn recently was "merge pe jos". This means "walking (on feet)" or "go by/on foot". Literally "go on down" or sth like this.

You have to learn them when they come up.

Oh, and also, krityx meant to say that î and â SOUND the same. (not spelled). Hope you don't mind me correcting you, krityx

Yep, that's what I meant. sorry for the confusion.

also se vede is an impersonal verb and it is literally translated by "it can be seen" so if you think about it, it does make some kind of sense.

hy CJ1978.

You are right. vecină = female neighbour and vecin = male neighbour.

Originally Posted by CJ1978

Hi Mike123

Yeah I kinda guessed Krityx meant they sound the same and not spell the same but cheers for that.

I am thinking about buying a proper course to teach me the basics in Romanian, everything I learn just now from listening to my boyfriend and his friends and repeating what I hear, but I know nothing about spelling, word order, grammar, plurals, masculine or feminine, for instance I was talking about my vechina who is male but I think vechina might mean a female neighbour....

I did Latin at school and I noticed someone saying earlier on this post some things in Romanian are kinda similar so maybe I need to do some memory jogging amo amas amat and all that.............:-)

But this site is the best for helpful and friendly people to give quick answers. Thanks everyone.

you can download this to help you with grammar. It's almost 200 pages.

http://www.seelrc.org:8080/grammar/p...e_romanian.pdf

But i suggest getting more formal lessons from a tutor perhaps. You need instruction and corrections. Romanian is a pretty tough language to learn. For me anyway. Also, you might want to try Livemocha.com. There are very nice lessons set up there and I receive corrections for both speaking and writing lessons pretty quickly.

Thanks Mike123

Can someone please tell me how I would say "I speak a little Romanian." and "I'm learning Romanian."

There was a guy in Glasgow trying to sell me The Big Issue (or something like that) and he was telling me he was from Romania and had no money or job etc. and I said, "Salut!" and he was all shocked and like, "Salut! You are Romanian?"
"No. I speak a little Romanian. Ce mai faci?"
"Bine! How do you know Romanian?"
"I'm learning it."
"Will you please buy it?"
"Sorry. Imi pare rau. Nu bani."
"Nu bani." and he just laughed and said thanks.

I might just start a conversation with him next time and buy his magazine.

Poate (maybe but I think I am most definitely wrong here Stevo)

"Vorbesc putin Romaneste" for I speak a little Romanian.

No idea about the learning one because I am struggling with verbs right now.....

And Mike123, had my boyfriend in stitches last night when I told him he wasn't getting a lift to the shop and he was to "merge pe jos".

Also I had a really good chat with my friend last night and tried really hard to stick a few words in here and there but it is having confidence that you are pronouncing correctly and using words in the right context.

Noapta Buna :-)

You could also say like this:

I speak a little Romanian- Vorbesc puțină română
I'm learning Romanian - Învăț română.

Originally Posted by CJ1978

Poate (maybe but I think I am most definitely wrong here Stevo)

"Vorbesc putin Romaneste" for I speak a little Romanian.

No idea about the learning one because I am struggling with verbs right now.....

And Mike123, had my boyfriend in stitches last night when I told him he wasn't getting a lift to the shop and he was to "merge pe jos".

Also I had a really good chat with my friend last night and tried really hard to stick a few words in here and there but it is having confidence that you are pronouncing correctly and using words in the right context.

Noapta Buna :-)

I'm glad. it is nice when you can make those you love laugh so good, huh!

I know what you mean, the second you sense the uncertainty, you loose all confidence you built up inside.

What part is your boyfriend from? Are you planning to visit him there? It is such a beautiful country! I miss it so much. :-<

btw, Learn the rules for the verb conjugations and practice them with a pen at least 1/2 of the time. It's so much easier when you just have to learn the infinitives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ajuta-ma te rog: cineva poteti ajuta sa inteleg "o s-o tai" (ceva la fel asta?) Inseamna "I have to go, I have to split". dar asta-i tot ca inteleg. nu sunt familiar cu formularul verbului asta. Iti multumesc pentru ajutorul tau!

Help please: can someone please help me understand "o s-o tai" (something like this?) It means "i have to go, i have to split". But that's about all I understand. I'm not at all familiar with this type of verb form. Thank you for your help!