how? (question word)
Asks about manner or means. Sits at the front of the question; Romanian needs no auxiliary like English "do".
Cum te cheamă?
What is your name? (lit. how are you called?)
Cum se spune?
How do you say it?
#41 · Adverb
cum
In Romanian, cum means “how? (question word)”. It’s the #41 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 "how" — the 41st most frequent word, and invariable, so there is exactly one form to learn. It asks questions (Cum te cheamă?), it links clauses as "as / the way that" (fă cum vrei), and in Ce mai faci? territory it powers the first sentence of nearly every conversation. Its one true trap is that "How are you?" is Ce faci?, not *Cum ești?.
neutralas / the way that (linking word)
Introduces a clause of manner, comparing how one thing is done with another.
Fă cum vrei.
Do as you like.
Nu e cum credeam.
It isn't the way I thought.
as soon as (cum + verb, time)
With a past or future verb, cum can mean "the moment that" — often reinforced as de cum.
Cum a intrat, a început să râdă.
The moment he came in, he started laughing.
De cum ajung, te sun.
As soon as I arrive, I'll call you.
what?! / how come? (exclamation)
Standing alone, Cum? is both a polite "sorry, what?" and a surprised "what do you mean?".
Cum? Nu te-am auzit.
Sorry? I didn't hear you.
Cum așa?
How come?
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.
cum100%
Patterns
Invariable, and it takes the first position in its clause. Attached clitics hook onto it in speech: cum îl cheamă → cum îl cheamă, and Cum e? routinely contracts to Cum îi? in casual Romanian.
cum + present tense = a plain how-question
No auxiliary verb, no inversion. The verb simply follows cum in its normal conjugated form.
Cum funcționează?
How does it work?
cum să + subjunctive = how to …
Romanian has no bare "how to" infinitive here; it uses să plus a conjugated verb agreeing with the subject.
Nu știu cum să explic.
I don't know how to explain.
așa cum = just as / exactly the way
The pair așa … cum makes an explicit comparison of manner, matching English "just as".
A fost exact așa cum ai spus.
It was exactly as you said.
cum ar fi = such as / for example
A fixed phrase (literally "how it would be") used to introduce examples in speech and writing.
Fructe, cum ar fi mere și pere.
Fruit, such as apples and pears.
Examples
Cum te cheamă?
What is your name?
cum - Literally "how are you called" — Romanian asks the name with cum, not with ce.
Cum ajung la gară?
How do I get to the station?
cum - Present tense ajung does the work of English "do I get" — no auxiliary is added.
Spune-mi cum ai făcut asta.
Tell me how you did that.
cum - The same word introduces an indirect question, with normal statement word order after it.
Fă cum știi tu mai bine.
Do it the way you know best.
cum - Here cum is not a question at all but "the way that" — a very common spoken pattern.
Cum de nu ai știut?
How is it that you did not know?
cum de - cum de adds disbelief — it questions not the manner but the fact itself.
"How are you?" is Ce faci? or Ce mai faci?, never *Cum ești? — that sentence asks what someone is like as a person. Cum ești îmbrăcat? (how are you dressed) is fine; Cum ești? as a greeting is not.
In expressions
Common phrases built around cum — worth learning as whole units.
ca și cum— as if, as though
lit. “as and how”
cum de— how come, how is it that
lit. “how of”
după cum— as, according to (how)
lit. “after how”