what (question)
The default interrogative, for things rather than people.
Ce faci?
What are you doing? / How are you?
Ce este asta?
What is this?
#9 · Pronoun
ce
In Romanian, ce means “what (question)”. It’s the #9 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 "what" — and the ninth most common word in the language. One invariable form does the work of English "what", "which", "that" and even "how" in exclamations, which is why it turns up in the two phrases every learner meets first: Ce faci? and Ce mai faci?
neutralwhat / which (before a noun)
Used as a determiner. For a choice from a known set, care is the sharper word.
Ce culoare preferi?
What colour do you prefer?
La ce oră?
At what time?
what / that (relative, linking clauses)
Introduces an embedded clause after verbs like a ști, a spune, a vedea.
Nu știu ce vrei.
I don't know what you want.
Spune-mi ce s-a întâmplat.
Tell me what happened.
how / what a… (exclamation)
Before an adjective or noun it carries the force of English "how!" or "what a!".
Ce frumos!
How beautiful!
Ce zi!
What a day!
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 96% of everyday use — learn these first.
ce96%
Show 1 more form
ce-4%
Forms & Contrasts
- Subtype
- interrogative
| Base form | ce | Invariable — no gender, number or case endings. |
|---|---|---|
| Before a vowel | ce- | ce-ai, ce-i, ce-a spus. |
| "why" | de ce | The standard question word for reason. |
| "how much / how many" | cât / câtă / câți / câte | A separate word that does agree. |
vs. care
care asks "which one" from a known set and can carry case (pe care, căruia); ce is the open "what".
Care îți place? / Ce îți place?
Which one do you like? / What do you like?
vs. cine
cine is only for people, ce only for things.
Cine e acolo? / Ce e acolo?
Who's there? / What's there?
vs. cum
cum is "how / in what manner". But "how are you" is Ce faci, not *Cum faci.
Cum ai făcut asta?
How did you do that?
Examples
Ce mai faci?
How are you doing?
ce - The everyday greeting. The little mai adds "still / these days" and softens it.
Ce-ai zis?
What did you say?
ce- - Before a vowel, ce hyphenates onto the next word: ce-ai, ce-i, ce-a — the measured ce- form.
Nu am ce să fac.
There's nothing I can do.
ce - A fixed frame: a avea ce să + verb. Literally "I don't have what to do".
Ce cald e azi!
How hot it is today!
ce - Exclamative ce + adjective — no separate word for "how" is needed.
Use ce for things and cine for people: Ce vezi? ("What do you see?") vs. Cine vine? ("Who is coming?"). And "why" is de ce, literally "of what".
In expressions
Common phrases built around ce — worth learning as whole units.
de ce— why
lit. “of what”
Ce e?— What is it? / What's up?
lit. “what is”
ceea ce— what, that which
lit. “that-one what”
De ce nu?— Why not?
lit. “of what not”
Pentru ce?— For what? / What for?
lit. “for what”
Corpus examples
?
What's going on here?
?
Why are you here?
.
I don't know what you're talking about.
?
Why not?
?
What's going on?
?
What do you mean?
?
What do you mean?
?
What happened?