now / right now
The present moment. Often reinforced as chiar acum or acum imediat for "right this second".
Vin acum.
I'm coming now.
Ce facem acum?
What do we do now?
#44 · Adverb
acum
In Romanian, acum means “now / right now”. It’s the #44 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
The Romanian "now" — rank #44, invariable, and useful from the first lesson. Two things surprise learners: acum plus a time span means "ago" (acum două zile = two days ago), and de acum means "from now on". The colloquial short form is acu', and acuma is a common spoken variant.
neutralago (acum + a time span)
Counting backwards from the present. Romanian puts acum in front, where English puts "ago" behind.
acum două zile
two days ago
acum un an
a year ago
from now on / by now (de acum, până acum)
With a preposition it marks a boundary in time rather than a point.
De acum înainte, fii atent.
From now on, be careful.
Până acum, nimic.
So far, nothing.
well now / come on (softener)
At the start of a sentence, acum can soften an objection, like English "now, look…".
Acum, să fim serioși.
Now, let's be serious.
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 100% of everyday use — learn these first.
acum100%
Patterns
Invariable. It moves freely — front, middle or end of the clause — and fronting it simply emphasises the timing. Spoken variants: acuma (full, very common) and acu' (clipped, casual only).
acum + span = ago
Points backwards from the present; the span keeps its normal form (două zile, un an, o săptămână).
Am ajuns acum o oră.
I arrived an hour ago.
peste + span = in / from now (future)
The forward-looking counterpart of acum + span. Learn the two as a pair.
Plec peste o oră.
I'm leaving in an hour.
de acum (înainte) = from now on
de marks the starting point; înainte is optional but very common in speech.
De acum, mă trezesc devreme.
From now on, I get up early.
până acum = so far / until now
Covers everything from the past up to the present moment; usually with a compound past.
Până acum nu s-a plâns nimeni.
So far nobody has complained.
Examples
Acum nu pot vorbi.
I can't talk right now.
acum - Fronted for emphasis on the time; Nu pot vorbi acum is equally correct and slightly flatter.
Ne-am mutat acum trei ani.
We moved three years ago.
acum trei ani - Not "now three years" — acum before a span is the Romanian "ago". There is no separate word for it.
De acum înainte vorbim doar în română.
From now on we only speak Romanian.
de acum înainte - de acum înainte is a set phrase; the present tense vorbim covers the future here.
Până acum am învățat cincizeci de cuvinte.
So far I have learned fifty words.
până acum - până acum = "up to now / so far", and pairs naturally with the perfect compus am învățat.
Acu' vin!
Coming right up!
acu' - The clipped spoken form. Fine among friends, out of place in writing.
acum două zile means "two days ago", not "now, two days". If you want "in two days" (future), say peste două zile. Swapping acum and peste reverses the direction of time.
In expressions
Common phrases built around acum — worth learning as whole units.
până acum— until now, so far
lit. “until now”
chiar acum— right now
lit. “really now”