Alphabet in Romanian Language

Knowing the Romanian alphabet is necessary to learn the Romanian Language. Romanian alphabet configuration is practiced in a day-to-day conversation. Without the Romanian alphabet, it is extremely hard to speak the Romanian words and phrases correctly even if a person know how to write those phrases in Romanian. Learn More

As with any language, the better a person articulate a letter in a word, the better understood you will be in conversing in the Romanian language. Here are some web links which guides you to the Romanian alphabet and exactly how it really is pronounced in English.

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Vowels in Romanian Alphabet

a	in between the 'a' in "father"
	Hear the sound for a
e	in between 'e' of "dress" and 'a' of "face". However, it is not a diphthong like the vowel in "face" is in most accents of English. When the word begins with an 'e' and it is a form of "a fi" (to be) or a pronoun it is like 'ye' in "yell"
	Hear the sound for e
i	like 'ee' in "beep" when in the middle or start of a word. When at the end, it is barely sounded - for example, in the word Bucureşti, it is pronounced Boo-KOO-resht with a very short and slight i - never pronounce it as Boo-KOO-reshtee. The terminal "i" causes a slight "softening" of the preceding consonant. (If this is too hard, don't pronounce the i at all.) The few Romanian words with a very strong terminal "i" sound are spelled with a double "i" ("ii").
	Hear the sound for i
o	like 'o' in "chlorine", rounded, fairly short sound
	Hear the sound for o
u	like 'oo' in "broom", but much shorter
	Hear the sound for u
ă	like 'a' in "digital". This sound is usually mispronounced (people tend to pronounce it like 'u' in 'cup', but in fact, this sound is frequently found in English.) When seeing ă always think of the sound in the rather than in bra. Similar to French 'e' in word 'je'.
	Hear the sound for ă
â, î	no precise English equivalent - it's best to hear it being spoken. â and î are the same sound in Romanian. î is used at the beginning and at the end of words, â in all other cases. The closest American English sound is the ""oo"" in "book", but it's a bit shifted toward a "soft 'i'", as in "it". Similar to French 'u' in word 'rue'.
	Hear the sound for â, î

Consonants in Romanian Alphabet

b	like 'b' in "bed"
c	like 'ch' in "cheese" (like Italian 'c') when followed by 'e' or 'i', otherwise like 'k'
d	like 'd' in "dog"
f	like 'f' in "federation"
g	like 'g' in "gym" when followed by 'e' or 'i', otherwise like 'g' in "gear"
h	like 'h' in "help" (never silent in Romanian)
j	like the French 'j' in "Bonjour" - English equivalent is the "s" in "pleasure"
	Hear the sound for j
k	like 'c' in "scan"
l	like 'l' in "love"
m	like 'm' in "mother"
n	like 'n' in "nice"
p	like 'p' in "spit"
q	like 'k' in "sketch" (this letter is rarely used in Romanian)
r	not like the 'r' in "row"; more like 'r' of "pretty" in North American English (similar to the Italian r)
	Hear the word 'Reşiţa' in Romanian, note the 'r' sound
s	like 's' in "snake"
ş	like 'sh' in "lush"
ţ	similar to 'ts' in "thats"
t	like 't' in "stand"
v	like 'v' in "very"
w	like 'v' in "very" or "w" in english loadwords
x	like 'cks' in "picks", sometimes 'gs' in "pigs"
y	like 'i' in "dip"
z	like 'z' in "fizz"

Semi Vowels/ Diphthongs in Romanian Alphabet

oi	like 'oy' in "boy"
ea	diphthong beginning with a short Romanian "e" sound and ending with the Romanian "a" sound. These two sounds are pronounced smoothly and quickly together as one syllable. However, this letter pair is not always a diphthong.
oa	diphthong beginning with a short Romanian "o" sound and ending with the Romanian "a sound. These two sounds are pronounced smoothly and quickly together as one syllable.

[table id=romanian filter=”Special Consonant Cluste

Alphabet in Romanian Language