somebody / someone
An unnamed person. Used in statements where English says "somebody".
A sunat cineva.
Somebody called.
E cineva acasă?
Is anybody home?
#100 · Pronoun
cineva
In Romanian, cineva means “somebody / someone”. It’s the #100 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Cineva is "somebody" or "anybody" — a person you cannot or will not name. Rank 100, and almost invariable: only the genitive-dative cuiva differs. It is built from cine plus the ending -va, the same ending that gives ceva "something" and cumva "somehow". Its negative counterpart is nimeni.
neutralanybody (in questions)
Romanian keeps cineva in questions where English switches to "anybody".
Vine cineva?
Is anybody coming?
Ai văzut pe cineva?
Did you see anybody?
somebody (as a direct object, pe cineva)
As the object of a verb it takes pe, exactly like cine.
Caut pe cineva.
I'm looking for somebody.
somebody's (cuiva)
The genitive-dative form, for "to somebody" and "somebody’s".
Dă-i cuiva.
Give it to somebody.
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.
cineva100%
Forms & Contrasts
- Subtype
- indefinite
| Subject / after a preposition | cineva | A venit cineva. Vorbesc cu cineva. |
|---|---|---|
| Direct object | pe cineva | Caut pe cineva — the pe is obligatory. |
| Genitive-dative | cuiva | I-am dat cuiva. Rare but regular. |
| Negative counterpart | nimeni | Replaces cineva under a negation. |
vs. ceva
cineva is a person, ceva is a thing — the same -va ending built on cine and ce.
A spus cineva ceva.
Somebody said something.
vs. nimeni
nimeni is the negative form and forces nu onto the verb.
Nu e nimeni acasă.
Nobody is home.
vs. unul
cineva is somebody out of nowhere; unul is one specific member of a group already mentioned.
A sunat cineva. / A sunat unul dintre ei.
Somebody called. / One of them called.
Examples
A sunat cineva la ușă.
Somebody rang the doorbell.
cineva - As the subject it needs no pe. The verb comes first here, which is normal when the subject is the news.
Cunoști pe cineva aici?
Do you know anybody here?
pe cineva - As a direct object it takes pe. Leaving it out is the commonest mistake with this word and with cine.
Vorbește cu cineva.
He's talking to somebody.
cineva - After a preposition no pe is needed — cu already does that job.
Nu am văzut pe nimeni.
I didn't see anybody.
cineva - Under a negation cineva is replaced by nimeni, and the verb keeps nu. Romanian does not say *nu am văzut pe cineva.
I-am spus cuiva.
I told somebody.
cuiva - The dative cuiva, doubled by the clitic i-. Romanian normally repeats the dative with a clitic.
Under a negation cineva must become nimeni. Nu vine nimeni is "nobody is coming"; *Nu vine cineva is not Romanian. The same swap governs ceva → nimic and undeva → nicăieri.