Bună ziua.
bù-nē sì-wā
Good day.
●z ●ă
Language tool · v1 · zh / ro / en · Readings are crutches, not pronunciation
Survival Romanian: the pinyin bridge and 120 phrases
Bridge: 41 rows, ● = 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 checked word by word in dexonline (attached forms via their split parts); stress set from the manuals' respellings + dictionary accents. 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. Red-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 rows
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 | Status | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | ā | — | apă ā-bè | Like “a” in “father”. |
| ă | /ə/ | ē | amber | fată fà-tè | Schwa; shorter and more central than Mandarin “e”. |
| â | /ɨ/ | (e) | red | pâine pè-ī-nè | Absent in Mandarin; the “e” is only a placeholder. |
| b | /b/ | b- | — | bine bì-nè | Plain “b”, unaspirated. |
| c | /k/ (before e/i: /tʃ/) | g- (before e/i see ce/ci) | — | casă gǎ-sè | Default /k/; before e/i see the ce/ci rows. |
| d | /d/ | d- | — | da dà | Plain “d”, unaspirated. |
| e | /e/ | ē | amber | 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/ (before e/i: /dʒ/) | g- (before e/i see ge/gi) | — | gata gǎ-tè | Default /ɡ/; before e/i see the ge/gi rows. |
| h | /h/ | h- | amber | haine hǎi-nè | A breathy h, without Mandarin's velar scrape. |
| i | /i/; final -i is a shadow vowel | ī (final written (i)) | — | mic mì-gù | Full “i”, but word-final -i is a whispered shadow (i). |
| î | /ɨ/ | (e) | red | încă ēn-gè | Same sound as â; î at edges, â inside. |
| j | /ʒ/ | r- | amber | 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/ (trill) | (r-) | red | 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- | amber | 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- | amber | vin wēi-ēn | A fricative absent in Mandarin; “w” is only an approximation. |
| w | /w/ | w- | amber | whisky wèi-sī-jī | Loans only; like English “w” (whisky), some speakers use /v/. |
| x | /ks/ (/ɡz/ between vowels) | kē-sī | amber | 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- | amber | zi sī | A voiced “s”; Mandarin “s” is voiceless. |
| ce | /tʃe/ | jiē | amber | ceai jiè-ài | Near Mandarin “j”; not retroflex “ch”. |
| ci | /tʃi/ | jī | amber | cină jì-nè | Like ce, with i. |
| che | /ke/ | gē | amber | cheie gè-yē | Silent “h”: che sounds /ke/. |
| chi | /ki/ | jī | amber | chinez jī-nèi-sī | “j” is only a spelling crutch; the sound is hard /ki/. |
| ge | /dʒe/ | jiē | amber | deget dè-jiē-tè | Voiced; Mandarin “j” is voiceless. |
| gi | /dʒi/ | jī | amber | girafă jī-lǎ-fè | Like ge, with i. |
| ghe | /ɡe/ | gē | amber | ghete gè-tè | Silent “h”: ghe sounds /ɡe/. |
| ghi | /ɡi/ | jī | amber | 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.
●ă ●e
Bună seara.
bù-nē sè-yǎ-lè
Good evening.
●r ●ă ●e
Noapte bună.
nuò-ǎ-pū-tè bù-nē
Good night (to sleep).
●ă ●e
La revedere.
lā rè-wēi-dè-rè
Goodbye.
●r ●v ●e
Vă rog.
wō róu-gè
Please.
●r ●v ●ă
Mulțumesc.
mū-lū-zū-mè-sī-kè
Thank you.
●e
Mulțumesc mult.
mū-lū-zū-mè-sī-kè mù-lǔ-tè
Thank you very much.
●e
Cu plăcere.
gū bù-lè-jiè-rè
You're welcome.
●r ●ce ●ă ●e
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 ●ă
Numele meu e ___.
nù-mè-lè mèi-ù yē ___
My name is ___.
●e
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 ●e
Vorbiți engleză?
wō-rè-bì-zì(i) ēn-gù-lèi-sè
Do you speak English?
●r ●v ●z ●ă ●e
Numbers
unu
ū-nū
one
—
doi
dòu
two
—
trei
dè-lèi
three
●r ●e
patru
bǎ-dē-rū
four
●r
cinci
jìn-j(i)
five
●ci
șase
shǎ-sè
six
●ș ●e
șapte
shǎ-pū-tè
seven
●ș ●e
opt
ò-pū-tè
eight
—
nouă
nòu-wǒ
nine
●ă
zece
sè-jiē
ten
●ce ●z ●e
douăzeci
dōu-wō-zè-j(i)
twenty
●ci ●z ●ă ●e
o sută
ō sū-tè
one hundred
●ă
o mie
ō mī-yē
one thousand
●e
Time
acum
ā-gùn
now
—
astăzi
ā-sī-tè-z(i)
today
●z ●ă
ieri
yē-r(i)
yesterday
●r ●e
mâine
mèi-ī-nè
tomorrow
●â ●e
dimineață
dī-mī-nì-yǎ-zè
morning
●ă ●e
după-amiază
dū-bè-ā-mì-yǎ-zè
afternoon
●z ●ă
seară
sè-yǎ-lè
evening
●r ●ă ●e
noapte
nuò-ǎ-pū-tè
night
●e
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 ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
Unde este trenul pentru ___?
wùn-dè yè-sī-tè dè-rè-nū-lè bèn-tū-rū ___
Where is the train to ___?
●r ●e
Unde merge trenul ăsta?
wùn-dè mè-rè-jiē dè-rè-nū-lè è-sī-tè
Where does this train go?
●r ●ge ●ă ●e
Trenul ăsta oprește la ___?
dè-rè-nū-lè è-sī-tè ō-bù-rè-shì-tè lā ___
Does this train stop in ___?
●r ●ș ●ă ●e
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 ●ă
Cum ajung la aeroport?
gùn ā-róng lā ā-ē-rōu-bò-rè-dè
How do I get to the airport?
●r ●j ●e
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 ●ă ●e
stânga
sì-dèng-gǎ
left
●â
dreapta
dè-rè-yǎ-bū-tè
right
●r ●e
drept înainte
dè-lèi-bū-tè ēn-nā-ìn-tè
straight ahead
●î ●r ●e
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 ●ă ●e
Lodging
Aveți camere libere?
ā-wèi-zì(i) gǎ-mè-rè lī-bèi-rè
Do you have any rooms available?
●r ●v ●e
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 ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
Aveți ceva mai liniștit?
ā-wèi-zì(i) jiē-wǎ mài lī-nī-shī-dì-tè
Do you have anything quieter?
●ce ●v ●ș ●e
Aveți ceva mai ieftin?
ā-wèi-zì(i) jiē-wǎ mài yē-fū-dìn
Do you have anything cheaper?
●ce ●v ●e
Bine. Vreau camera.
bì-nè wèi-rè-yǎ-ù gǎ-mèi-lè
OK, I'll take the room.
●r ●v ●e
Eu rămân pentru o noapte.
yōu lè-mèn bèn-tū-rū ō nuò-ǎ-pū-tè
I will stay for one night.
●â ●r ●ă ●e
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 ●e
Prețul include micul dejun?
bù-rè-zū-lè īn-gǔ-lù-dè mì-gū-lè dè-róng
Is breakfast included?
●r ●j ●e
Puteți să mă treziți la ___?
bù-tè-zì(i) sē mē dè-rè-zī-zì(i) lā ___
Can you wake me at ___?
●r ●z ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
Money
Cât costă?
gè-dè gò-sī-tè
How much is it?
●â ●ă
Cât costă asta?
gè-dè gò-sī-tè à-sī-tè
How much is this?
●â ●ă
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 ●e
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 ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
Unde pot să schimb bani?
wùn-dè bò-tè sē sì-jī-mǔ-bù bà-n(i)
Where can I get money changed?
●chi ●ă ●e
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 ●e
Unde este un bancomat?
wùn-dè yè-sī-tè wēn bāng-guō-mà-tè
Where is an ATM?
●e
Nota de plată, vă rog.
nò-tè dē bù-lǎ-tè wō róu-gè
The check, please.
●r ●v ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
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 ●e
Sunt vegetarian.
sùn-tè wēi-jiē-dā-rè-yǎ-ān
I'm a vegetarian.
●r ●ge ●v ●e
Nu mănânc carne de porc.
nù mē-nàn-kè gǎ-rè-nè dē bò-rè-kè
I don't eat pork.
●â ●r ●ă ●e
Aș vrea ___.
ā-shī wèi-rè-yǎ ___
I would like ___.
●r ●v ●ș ●e
apă minerală
ā-bè mī-nē-là-lè
(bubbly) water
●r ●ă ●e
apă plată
ā-bè bù-lǎ-tè
(still) water
●ă
Poftă bună!
bò-fū-tè bù-nē
Bon appetit.
●ă
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 ●ă ●e
Este prea scump.
yè-sī-tè bù-rè-yǎ sì-gū-mǔ-bù
That's too expensive.
●r ●e
Ați accepta ___?
ā-z(i) ā-gū-jiē-bǔ-dà ___
Would you take ___?
●ce ●e
Nu-mi permit.
nù-m(i) bèi-rè-mì-tè
I can't afford it.
●r ●e
Nu vreau aceasta.
nù wèi-rè-yǎ-ù ā-jì-yǎ-sī-tè
I don't want it.
●r ●ce ●v ●e
Nu sunt interesat.
nù sùn-tè īn-tè-rè-sǎ-tè
I'm not interested.
●r ●e
Nu sunt interesată.
nù sùn-tè īn-tè-rè-sǎ-tè
I'm not interested.
●r ●ă ●e
Bine, îl iau.
bì-nè ē-lè yà-ù
OK, I'll take it (masc./neut. object).
●î ●e
Bine, o iau.
bì-nè ō yà-ù
OK, I'll take it (fem. object).
●e
Îmi puteți da o pungă?
ē-m(i) bù-tè-zì(i) dà ō bù-ēn-gè
Can I have a bag?
●î ●ă ●e
Am nevoie de ___.
ān nèi-wò-yē dē ___
I need ___.
●v ●e
Am nevoie de săpun.
ān nèi-wò-yē dē sē-bū-ēn
I need soap.
●v ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
M-am rătăcit.
mā-ān lè-tè-jì-tè
I'm lost.
●r ●ci ●ă
Mi-am pierdut valiza.
mī-àn bì-yē-rè-dù-tè wǎ-lī-zè
I lost my bag.
●r ●v ●z ●e
Mi-am pierdut portofelul.
mī-àn bì-yē-rè-dù-tè bò-rè-tuō-fèi-lū-lè
I lost my wallet.
●r ●e
Lasă-mă în pace.
là-sē-mē ēn bǎ-jiē
Leave me alone.
●î ●ce ●ă ●e
Nu mă atinge!
nù mē ā-dí-ēn-jiē
Don't touch me!
●ge ●ă ●e
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 ●ă ●e
Nu înțeleg.
nù ēn-zè-lèi-gè
I don't understand.
●î ●e
Unde e toaleta?
wùn-dè yē tuō-ǎ-lè-tè
Where is the toilet?
●e
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. Each Romanian word keeps the same Chinese translation throughout the phrase set. Download glossary (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 checked word by word in dexonline (attached forms via their parts); stress set from the manuals' respellings and dictionary accents. 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.