which; what; who (used in questions asking to identify someone or something)
Usually asks for a choice, identity, or specification.
Care este numele tău?
What is your name?
Care dintre ele îți place?
Which one do you like?
Care a venit?
Who came?
#34 · Pronoun · PRON
In Romanian, care means “which; what; who (used in questions asking to identify someone or something)”. It’s the #34 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
A very common Romanian interrogative and relative pronoun/determiner meaning mainly “which,” “what,” “who,” or “that/which” depending on context. It is used both to ask about identity or choice and to link a subordinate clause to a noun or idea.
neutralUsually asks for a choice, identity, or specification.
What is your name?
Which one do you like?
Who came?
Often means “who/which/that” in English; the exact translation depends on the noun and clause.
The man who called is my teacher.
The book that I read is interesting.
This is the house that I liked.
Used to specify a known or selected item/person.
Which book do you want?
In which city do you live?
Which day suits you?
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 99% of everyday use — learn these first.
| base form | care | Used for singular and plural, masculine and feminine. |
|---|---|---|
| common pattern | care dintre... | “which of...” |
| relative use | care + clause | Introduces a relative clause: omul care..., cartea care... |
| with preposition | în care / la care / despre care | Preposition usually comes before care in formal standard Romanian. |
vs. ce
care asks you to choose or identify one item from a set; ce is broader (“what/which”) and often more open-ended.
Care profesor te-a ajutat?
Which teacher helped you?
vs. cine
care can mean “who” only in some contexts, but cine is the normal question word for people.
Cine a venit? / Care dintre ei a venit?
Who came? / Which of them came?
vs. pe care
In relative clauses, pe care is used when care is the direct object in standard Romanian.
Cartea pe care am cumpărat-o este scumpă.
The book that I bought is expensive.
Care este problema?
What is the problem?
care - Basic question asking for identification.
Nu știu care variantă e mai bună.
I don’t know which option is better.
care - Interrogative in an indirect question.
Fata care stă lângă tine e sora mea.
The girl who is standing next to you is my sister.
care - Relative pronoun referring to a person.