How to read and say Romanian

Romanian pronunciation is very phonetic. The accent and sounds are almost identical to Italian and other Romance languages (with very few, if any, Slavic influences), so remember to sound every letter clearly. Also, sounds very rarely differ between words (e.g. the letter i is always pronounced the same, every time, unlike in English or even French).

Like English, Romanian has secondary stresses in words. We have not attempted to represent those here. Stress usually falls on the second-last syllable if it ends in a vowel, and last if it ends in a consonant. If you know another Romance language, you shouldn't worry as the stress patterns are usually the same in similar-sounding words.

Questions in Romanian that end with a verb often use a rising tone on the last syllable or two.

Vowels

a

somewhat like lot or a palm (IPA: ä)

e

in between dress and face (IPA: e̞). 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 yell (IPA: je̞)

i

like beep when in the middle or start of a word (IPA: i).
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 (IPA: ʲ). (If this is too difficult, 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").

o

like a port (IPA: o̞)

u

like a goose (IPA: u)

ă

like about (IPA: ə)

â, î

somewhat like roses (IPA: ɨ). î is used at the beginning and at the end of words, â in all other cases.

Consonants

b

like 'b' in "bed" (IPA: b)

c

like 'ch' in "cheese" (like Italian 'c') when followed by 'e' or 'i', otherwise like 'k' (IPA: tʃ)

d

like 'd' in "dog" (IPA: d)

f

like 'f' in "federation" (IPA: f)

g

like 'g' in "gym" when followed by 'e' or 'i', otherwise like 'g' in "gear" (IPA: ɡ)

h

like 'h' in "help" (never silent in Romanian) (IPA: h)

j

like the French 'j' in "Bonjour" - English equivalent is the "s" in "pleasure" (IPA: ʒ)

k

like 'c' in "chord" (IPA: k)

l

like 'l' in "love" (IPA: l)

m

like 'm' in "mother" (IPA: m)

n

like 'n' in "nice" (IPA: n)

p

like 'p' in "spit" (IPA: p)

q

like 'k' in "sketch" (this letter is rarely used in Romanian)

r

like 'r' in "Roma" (IPA: r)

s

like 's' in "snake" (IPA: s)

ș

like 'sh' in "lush" (IPA: ʃ)

ț

similar to 'ts' in "cats" (IPA: ts)

t

like 't' in "stand" (IPA: t)

v

like 'v' in "very" (IPA: v)

w

like 'v' in "very" (IPA: v) or "w" in English loanwords

x

like 'cks' in "picks", sometimes 'gs' in "pigs"

y

like 'i' in "dip"

z

like 'z' in "fizz" (IPA: z)

Common diphthongs

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.

Common digraphs

ch

like 'c' in "collar" (hard sound). This is always followed by an e or i

gh

like 'g' in "giving". Can only be used before an e or i

gn

like 'ni' in "onion"