Tu or dumneavoastră? Formal and informal 'you' in Romanian

Two ways to say you

Like French, German and Italian, Romanian has an informal and a polite you. Choosing the right one matters more than getting every ending right: a polite form with a small mistake still sounds respectful.

• tu

  you (informal, one person)

• dumneavoastră

  you (polite, one or more people)

• voi

  you (informal, more than one person)

• dumneata

  you (semi-polite, mostly older speakers)

Tu is for friends, family, children, and people of your own age in relaxed settings. Dumneavoastră is for strangers, older people, and anyone in a professional or official role. When you are not sure, start with the polite form; nobody minds being treated politely, and the other person can always offer tu.

Dumneata sits in between and is heard mostly from older speakers. You will recognise it, but you rarely need to use it.

The verb does most of the work

Romanian usually drops the pronoun, so the polite you is mostly heard in the verb ending, not in the word dumneavoastră itself. The polite form uses the same verb form as the plural you: the ending -ți.

• Ce faci?

  How are you? (tu)

• Ce faceți?

  How are you? (polite or plural)

• De unde ești?

  Where are you from? (tu)

• De unde sunteți?

  Where are you from? (polite)

• Cum te cheamă?

  What's your name? (tu)

• Cum vă numiți?

  What's your name? (polite)

The small object pronouns follow the same split: te and îți for tu, vă for the polite form. That is why please is te rog or vă rog, as the essential phrases guide explains.

• Îți mulțumesc.

  Thank you. (tu)

• Vă mulțumesc.

  Thank you. (polite)

Even when the verb is plural, an adjective agrees with the real person: Sunteți obosit? to one man, Sunteți obosită? to one woman (Are you tired?).

Asking politely

Requests and instructions also change. The polite imperative is the same as the plural one, ending in -ți, and vă rog makes it gentle.

• Luați loc, vă rog.

  Please have a seat.

• Așteptați un moment, vă rog.

  Please wait a moment.

• Mă puteți ajuta?

  Could you help me? (polite)

A question with puteți (can you) is often softer still than an imperative: Puteți repeta, vă rog? (Could you repeat that, please?).

Mr, Mrs and Miss

• domnul

  Mr, the gentleman

• doamna

  Mrs, Ms, the lady

• domnișoara

  Miss, the young lady

Talking about someone, use the title with the surname: domnul Popescu, doamna Ionescu. Talking to someone, the title takes the vocative: Domnule Popescu!, Doamnă!, and with a profession Domnule doctor or Doamnă profesoară. Domnișoara is used less than it once was; doamna is the safe choice for any adult woman.

For he and she there is a polite form too: dumnealui (he) and dumneaei (she), or dânsul and dânsa. You will hear them when someone speaks respectfully about an older person who is present.

Switching to tu

Moving from dumneavoastră to tu is a small social step, and it is usually offered by the older person or the one in the more senior role.

• Ne putem tutui?

  Can we say tu to each other?

• Spune-mi Ana.

  Call me Ana.

The verb a se tutui means to be on tu terms. Once someone has offered it, keep using tu with them; going back to the polite form can sound cold.

In emails and letters

Further reading

• dexonline (opens in a new tab), the free online dictionary of Romanian.
• Institutul Limbii Române (opens in a new tab), the Romanian Language Institute.