Bună ziua.
bù-nē sì-wā
Good day.
●z
Language tool · v1 · zh / ro / en · Readings are crutches, not pronunciation
Survival Romanian: the pinyin bridge and 100 phrases
Bridge: 41 sounds, ● = absent in Mandarin, ● = approximation. Phrases: 120 in 10 scenes, each with original ＋ reading ＋ warnings. At critical moments (police, doctor, allergies) show the original Romanian sentence.
Spelling and stress checked in dexonline, phrases matched against two published phrasebooks. All checked 2026-09-18.
Three things first: 4th tone in the readings marks stress; Romanian has no tones. Flagged sounds cannot be read correctly from the readings. The quiz tests recognition only, not speech.
The pinyin readings are crutches, not pronunciation: they only get you through a first attempt. Flagged sounds (r, î/â, etc.) do not exist in Mandarin — at critical moments (police, doctor, allergies) show the original Romanian sentence.
The pinyin bridge: 41 sounds
Each Romanian letter with its pinyin reading and one example. ● = sound absent in Mandarin, ● = approximation. Filter to flagged rows only; examples can be read aloud.
● red ＝ absent in Mandarin (r, î/â), ● amber ＝ approximation (j, v, z, ș etc.), no dot ＝ usable.
| Letter | IPA | Pinyin | Example | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | ā | apă ā-bè | Like “a” in “father”. | |
| ă | /ə/ | ē | fată fà-tè | Schwa; shorter and more central than Mandarin “e”. | |
| â | /ɨ/ | (e) | pâine pè-ī-nè | Absent in Mandarin; the “e” is only a placeholder. | |
| b | /b/ | b- | bine bì-nè | Plain “b”, unaspirated. | |
| c | /k/（e/i 前 /tʃ/） | g-（e/i 前见 ce/ci 行） | casă gǎ-sè | Default /k/; before e/i see the ce/ci rows. | |
| d | /d/ | d- | da dà | Plain “d”, unaspirated. | |
| e | /e/ | ē | femei fē-mèi | Fronter than Mandarin “e”; word-initial e- in este/eu sounds [je]. | |
| f | /f/ | f- | poftă bò-fū-tè | Plain “f”. | |
| g | /ɡ/（e/i 前 /dʒ/） | g-（e/i 前见 ge/gi 行） | gata gǎ-tè | Default /ɡ/; before e/i see the ge/gi rows. | |
| h | /h/ | h- | haine hǎi-nè | A breathy h, without Mandarin's velar scrape. | |
| i | /i/；词尾 -i 为影子音 | ī（词尾写作 (i)） | mic mì-gù | Full “i”, but word-final -i is a whispered shadow (i). | |
| î | /ɨ/ | (e) | încă ēn-gè | Same sound as â; î at edges, â inside. | |
| j | /ʒ/ | r- | jos rò-sū | Like French “j”; Mandarin “r” is only a rough stand-in. | |
| k | /k/ | g- | kebab gē-bà-bū | Loans only; read as “g”, never aspirated pinyin “k”. | |
| l | /l/ | l- | lei lěi | Plain “l”. | |
| m | /m/ | m- | masă mǎ-sè | Plain “m”; final -m borrows -n (pinyin has no -m). | |
| n | /n/ | n- | nume nù-mè | Plain “n”. | |
| o | /o/ | ō | om ò-mǔ | Plain “o”; written -uo after d/t/n/l/g/k/h/s per pinyin rules. | |
| p | /p/ | b- | poftă bò-fū-tè | Read as “b”, never aspirated pinyin “p”. | |
| q | /k/ | g- | quasar gū-wǎ-sà-rǔ | Loans only; /k/. | |
| r | /r/（颤舌） | (r-) | rog róu-gè | A trill, absent in Mandarin; learn it from a native speaker. | |
| s | /s/ | s- | suc sū-gù | Plain voiceless “s”. | |
| ș | /ʃ/ | sh- | șase shǎ-sè | Fronter than Mandarin “sh”. | |
| t | /t/ | d- | taxi dǎ-gū-sì | Read as “d”, never aspirated pinyin “t”. | |
| ț | /ts/ | z- | țară zǎ-lè | Read as “z”, never aspirated pinyin “c”. | |
| u | /u/ | ū | unde wùn-dè | Plain “u”. | |
| v | /v/ | w- | vin wēi-ēn | A fricative absent in Mandarin; “w” is only an approximation. | |
| w | /v/ | w- | whisky wèi-sī-jī | Loans only; like “v”. | |
| x | /ks/（元音间 /ɡz/） | kē-sī | text dè-kè-sī-tè | Split across two syllables; often /ɡz/ between vowels. | |
| y | /j/ | y- | yoga yòu-gǎ | Loans only; /j/. | |
| z | /z/ | s- | zi sī | A voiced “s”; Mandarin “s” is voiceless. | |
| ce | /tʃe/ | jiē | ceai jiè-ài | Near Mandarin “j”; not retroflex “ch”. | |
| ci | /tʃi/ | jī | cină jì-nè | Like ce, with i. | |
| che | /ke/ | gē | cheie gè-yē | Silent “h”: che sounds /ke/. | |
| chi | /ki/ | jī | chinez jī-nèi-sī | “j” is only a spelling crutch; the sound is hard /ki/. | |
| ge | /dʒe/ | jiē | deget dè-jiē-tè | Voiced; Mandarin “j” is voiceless. | |
| gi | /dʒi/ | jī | girafă jī-lǎ-fè | Like ge, with i. | |
| ghe | /ɡe/ | gē | ghete gè-tè | Silent “h”: ghe sounds /ɡe/. | |
| ghi | /ɡi/ | jī | ghid jì-dè | Like chi: the sound is hard /ɡi/. | |
| ea | /e̯a/ | yǎ | seară sè-yǎ-lè | One gliding syllable (ya). | |
| oa | /o̯a/ | wǎ | doamnă dòu-wǎ-mǔ-nè | One gliding syllable (wa). |
120 phrases: 10 scenes
Search in Chinese, Romanian, or pinyin. Each phrase has three lines: the original, the reading, the warnings. Starred phrases join the drill deck.
No matching phrase; try another word.
Basics
Bună dimineața.
bù-nē dī-mī-nì-yǎ-zè
Good morning.
—
Bună seara.
bù-nē sè-yǎ-lè
Good evening.
●r
Noapte bună.
nuò-ǎ-pū-tè bù-nē
Good night (to sleep).
—
La revedere.
lā rè-wēi-dè-rè
Goodbye.
●r ●v
Vă rog.
wō róu-gè
Please.
●r ●v
Mulțumesc.
mū-lū-zū-mè-sī-kè
Thank you.
—
Mulțumesc mult.
mū-lū-zū-mè-sī-kè mù-lǔ-tè
Thank you very much.
—
Cu plăcere.
gū bù-lè-jiè-rè
You're welcome.
●r ●ce
Da.
dà
Yes.
—
Nu.
nù
No.
—
Pardon.
bǎ-rè-dòng
Excuse me.
●r
Cum vă numiți?
gùn wō nū-mī-zì(i)
What is your name? (formal)
●v
Numele meu e ___.
nù-mè-lè mèi-ù yē ___
My name is ___.
—
Nu vorbesc bine românește.
nù wō-rè-bèi-sī-kè bì-nè róu-mèi-nèi-shì-tè
I can't speak Romanian well.
●â ●r ●v ●ș
Vorbiți engleză?
wō-rè-bì-zì(i) ēn-gù-lèi-sè
Do you speak English?
●r ●v ●z
Numbers
unu
ū-nū
one
—
doi
dòu
two
—
trei
dè-lèi
three
●r
patru
bǎ-dē-rū
four
●r
cinci
jìn-j(i)
five
●ci
șase
shǎ-sè
six
●ș
șapte
shǎ-pū-tè
seven
●ș
opt
ò-pū-tè
eight
—
nouă
nòu-wǒ
nine
—
zece
sè-jiē
ten
●ce ●z
douăzeci
dōu-wō-zè-j(i)
twenty
●ci ●z
o sută
ō sū-tè
one hundred
—
o mie
ō mī-yē
one thousand
—
Time
acum
ā-gùn
now
—
astăzi
ā-sī-tè-z(i)
today
●z
ieri
yē-r(i)
yesterday
●r
mâine
mèi-ī-nè
tomorrow
●â
dimineață
dī-mī-nì-yǎ-zè
morning
—
după-amiază
dū-bè-ā-mì-yǎ-zè
afternoon
●z
seară
sè-yǎ-lè
evening
●r
noapte
nuò-ǎ-pū-tè
night
—
ora unu
ò-lè ū-nū
one o'clock AM
●r
La ce oră este micul dejun?
lā jiè ò-lè yè-sī-tè mì-gū-lè dè-róng
What time is breakfast?
●r ●ce ●j
o zi
ō sī
one day
●z
Transport
Un bilet până la ___, vă rog.
wēn bī-lèi-tè bè-nè lā ___ wō róu-gè
One ticket to ___, please.
●â ●r ●v
Cât costă un bilet până la ___?
gè-dè gò-sī-tè wēn bī-lèi-tè bè-nè lā ___
How much is a ticket to ___?
●â
Unde este trenul pentru ___?
wùn-dè yè-sī-tè dè-rè-nū-lè bèn-tū-rū ___
Where is the train to ___?
●r
Unde merge trenul ăsta?
wùn-dè mè-rè-jiē dè-rè-nū-lè è-sī-tè
Where does this train go?
●r ●ge
Trenul ăsta oprește la ___?
dè-rè-nū-lè è-sī-tè ō-bù-rè-shì-tè lā ___
Does this train stop in ___?
●r ●ș
Cum ajung la ___?
gùn ā-róng lā ___
How do I get to ___?
●j
Cum ajung la gară?
gùn ā-róng lā gǎ-lè
How do I get to the train station?
●r ●j
Cum ajung la aeroport?
gùn ā-róng lā ā-ē-rōu-bò-rè-dè
How do I get to the airport?
●r ●j
Puteți să-mi arătați pe hartă?
bù-tè-zì(i) sē-m(i) ā-lè-dǎ-zì(i) bē hǎ-lè-tè
Can you show me on the map?
●r ●h
stânga
sì-dèng-gǎ
left
●â
dreapta
dè-rè-yǎ-bū-tè
right
●r
drept înainte
dè-lèi-bū-tè ēn-nā-ìn-tè
straight ahead
●î ●r
Taxi!
dǎ-gū-sì
Taxi!
●x
Conduceți-mă la ___, vă rog.
gōng-dū-jiè-zì(i)-mē lā ___ wō róu-gè
Take me to ___, please.
●r ●ce ●v
Lodging
Aveți camere libere?
ā-wèi-zì(i) gǎ-mè-rè lī-bèi-rè
Do you have any rooms available?
●r ●v
Cât costă o cameră pentru o persoană?
gè-dè gò-sī-tè ō gǎ-mè-rè bèn-tū-rū ō bèi-rè-suò-wǎ-nè
How much is a room for one person?
●â ●r
Pot să văd camera întâi?
bò-tè sē wò-dè gǎ-mèi-lè ēn-tèi
May I see the room first?
●î ●â ●r ●v
Aveți ceva mai liniștit?
ā-wèi-zì(i) jiē-wǎ mài lī-nī-shī-dì-tè
Do you have anything quieter?
●ce ●v ●ș
Aveți ceva mai ieftin?
ā-wèi-zì(i) jiē-wǎ mài yē-fū-dìn
Do you have anything cheaper?
●ce ●v
Bine. Vreau camera.
bì-nè wèi-rè-yǎ-ù gǎ-mèi-lè
OK, I'll take the room.
●r ●v
Eu rămân pentru o noapte.
yōu lè-mèn bèn-tū-rū ō nuò-ǎ-pū-tè
I will stay for one night.
●â ●r
Puteți recomanda alt hotel?
bù-tè-zì(i) rè-gō-mǎn-dǎ à-lǔ-tè hō-tè-lè
Can you suggest another hotel?
●r ●h
Prețul include micul dejun?
bù-rè-zū-lè īn-gǔ-lù-dè mì-gū-lè dè-róng
Is breakfast included?
●r ●j
Puteți să mă treziți la ___?
bù-tè-zì(i) sē mē dè-rè-zī-zì(i) lā ___
Can you wake me at ___?
●r ●z
Aș vrea să achit nota și să plec de la hotel.
ā-shī wèi-rè-yǎ sē ā-jì-tè nò-tè shī sē bù-lè-gè dē lā hō-tè-lè
I want to check out.
●r ●chi ●v ●ș ●h
Money
Cât costă?
gè-dè gò-sī-tè
How much is it?
●â
Cât costă asta?
gè-dè gò-sī-tè à-sī-tè
How much is this?
●â
Acceptați dolari americani?
ā-gū-jiē-bǔ-dǎ-z(i) dōu-là-r(i) ā-mèi-lì-gǎ-n(i)
Do you accept American dollars?
●r ●ce
Acceptați cărți de credit?
ā-gū-jiē-bǔ-dǎ-z(i) gè-rè-z(i) dē gè-rè-dì-tè
Do you accept credit cards?
●r ●ce
Puteți să schimbați bani pentru mine?
bù-tè-zì(i) sē sī-jī-mǔ-bǎ-zì(i) bà-n(i) bèn-tū-rū mì-nè
Can you change money for me?
●r ●chi
Unde pot să schimb bani?
wùn-dè bò-tè sē sì-jī-mǔ-bù bà-n(i)
Where can I get money changed?
●chi
Cât este rata de schimb?
gè-dè yè-sī-tè lǎ-tè dē sì-jī-mǔ-bù
What is the exchange rate?
●â ●r ●chi
Unde este un bancomat?
wùn-dè yè-sī-tè wēn bāng-guō-mà-tè
Where is an ATM?
—
Nota de plată, vă rog.
nò-tè dē bù-lǎ-tè wō róu-gè
The check, please.
●r ●v
Eating
O masă pentru o persoană, vă rog.
ō mǎ-sè bèn-tū-rū ō bèi-rè-suò-wǎ-nè wō róu-gè
A table for one person, please.
●r ●v
Pot să văd meniul, vă rog?
bò-tè sē wò-dè mèi-ní-yù-lè wō róu-gè
Can I look at the menu, please?
●r ●v
Aveți o specialitate a casei?
ā-wèi-zì(i) ō sī-bèi-jī-yǎ-lī-dà-tè ā gǎ-sēi
Is there a house specialty?
●ci ●v
Sunt vegetarian.
sùn-tè wēi-jiē-dā-rè-yǎ-ān
I'm a vegetarian.
●r ●ge ●v
Nu mănânc carne de porc.
nù mē-nàn-kè gǎ-rè-nè dē bò-rè-kè
I don't eat pork.
●â ●r
Aș vrea ___.
ā-shī wèi-rè-yǎ ___
I would like ___.
●r ●v ●ș
apă minerală
ā-bè mī-nē-là-lè
(bubbly) water
●r
apă plată
ā-bè bù-lǎ-tè
(still) water
—
Poftă bună!
bò-fū-tè bù-nē
Bon appetit.
—
Sunt gata.
sùn-tè gǎ-tè
I'm finished.
—
Shopping
Aveți asta în măsura mea?
ā-wèi-zì(i) à-sī-tè ēn mē-sù-lè mī-yǎ
Do you have this in my size?
●î ●r ●v
Este prea scump.
yè-sī-tè bù-rè-yǎ sì-gū-mǔ-bù
That's too expensive.
●r
Ați accepta ___?
ā-z(i) ā-gū-jiē-bǔ-dà ___
Would you take ___?
●ce
Nu-mi permit.
nù-m(i) bèi-rè-mì-tè
I can't afford it.
●r
Nu vreau aceasta.
nù wèi-rè-yǎ-ù ā-jì-yǎ-sī-tè
I don't want it.
●r ●ce ●v
Nu sunt interesat.
nù sùn-tè īn-tè-rè-sǎ-tè
I'm not interested.
●r
Nu sunt interesată.
nù sùn-tè īn-tè-rè-sǎ-tè
I'm not interested.
●r
Bine, îl iau.
bì-nè ē-lè yà-ù
OK, I'll take it (masc./neut. object).
●î
Bine, o iau.
bì-nè ō yà-ù
OK, I'll take it (fem. object).
—
Îmi puteți da o pungă?
ē-m(i) bù-tè-zì(i) dà ō bù-ēn-gè
Can I have a bag?
●î
Am nevoie de ___.
ān nèi-wò-yē dē ___
I need ___.
●v
Am nevoie de săpun.
ān nèi-wò-yē dē sē-bū-ēn
I need soap.
●v
Problems
Ajutor!
ā-rū-tuò-rè
Help!
●r ●j
Poliția!
bò-lī-zì-yǎ
Police!
—
Chem poliția.
gèn bò-lī-zì-yǎ
I'll call the police.
●che
E o urgență.
yē ō wū-rè-jiān-zè
It's an emergency.
●r ●ge
M-am rătăcit.
mā-ān lè-tè-jì-tè
I'm lost.
●r ●ci
Mi-am pierdut valiza.
mī-àn bì-yē-rè-dù-tè wǎ-lī-zè
I lost my bag.
●r ●v ●z
Mi-am pierdut portofelul.
mī-àn bì-yē-rè-dù-tè bò-rè-tuō-fèi-lū-lè
I lost my wallet.
●r
Lasă-mă în pace.
là-sē-mē ēn bǎ-jiē
Leave me alone.
●î ●ce
Nu mă atinge!
nù mē ā-dí-ēn-jiē
Don't touch me!
●ge
Am nevoie de ajutorul dumneavoastră.
ān nèi-wò-yē dē ā-rū-tuò-rū-lè dū-mǔ-nē-wō-à-sī-dē-rè
I need your help.
●r ●j ●v
Nu înțeleg.
nù ēn-zè-lèi-gè
I don't understand.
●î
Unde e toaleta?
wùn-dè yē tuō-ǎ-lè-tè
Where is the toilet?
—
Drill deck: recognition only
Read the gloss, recall the original, flip the card. This drills recognition, not accent — accent stays with the bridge and native speakers. Starred phrases cycle here with remembered/forgot self-grading.
Recognition only, never accent: no accent is scored here.
Quiz: eight questions, recognition only
Each question checks the bridge or spelling; answers open on tap. Answerable after reading the bridge and phrases.
Which pinyin initial for ce/ci?
“j” (ceai→jiè-ài). Not retroflex “ch”, not aspirated “c”.
î vs â: same sound?
Same sound /ɨ/; î at edges, â inside. Both absent in Mandarin.
Which sounds like “sh”: ș or ț?
ș is “sh”-like (fronter); ț reads as “z”.
How to read final -i in București?
Shadow vowel (i): barely sounded (bù-gū-rè-shì-t(i)).
What does “h” do in che/chi, ghe/ghi?
Silent “h”: che=/ke/, chi=/ki/, ghe=/ɡe/, ghi=/ɡi/.
How does initial e- sound in este?
It sounds yé- (yè-sī-tè); same for eu (yōu).
Which is fully absent in Mandarin: ț, r, or s?
“r” (the trill). ț→z works, “s” works directly; “r” needs a native model.
What do the tones in the readings mark?
Only stress (4th tone = stressed syllable); Romanian has no tones.
Scope: what this pack is and is not
This pack is a crutch for a first attempt: directions, food, lodging, help. Dish names live in the menu guide, pronunciation lessons with human teachers — this pack teaches no accent and certifies none.
Glossary. One Chinese gloss per word across the pack. File: glosar.json
Neighbours. Dish names live in the menu guide, ears in the listening guide — menu guide · listening guide. Local accents vary; on the ground, local speech rules.
Method
- Readings: pinyin marks only stress (4th tone ＝ stressed syllable), not Romanian tones; ra/ri syllables borrow la/li, final -m borrows -n, gi/chi borrow ji — spelling loans, each flagged with a warning.
- Final -i is a shadow vowel: barely sounded, only softening the consonant (București written -t(i)). Initial e- in este/eu sounds [je].
- Spelling and stress checked word by word in dexonline; phrases matched against two published phrasebooks (Wikivoyage, Omniglot), changes noted on the method page.
- Menu vocabulary stops at the survival line (water, bread, the bill); dish names are in the menu guide; no accent quiz, no recordings.
Source note
Wikivoyage Romanian phrasebook · Omniglot phrases and numbers pages · Wikipedia Romanian phonology · dexonline. Full list on the method page.