of (possession, relation, material)
Joins two nouns the way English "of" or a noun-noun compound does.
o cană de cafea
a cup of coffee
profesor de română
Romanian teacher
#4 · Preposition
de
In Romanian, de means “of (possession, relation, material)”. It’s the #4 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Romanian's all-purpose preposition and the fourth most frequent word in the language. It covers English "of", "from", "by", "about" and "to", links a noun to its material or quantity, and introduces the supine (ceva de mâncat). It is also the glue in dozens of compound prepositions and conjunctions.
neutralfrom (origin, source)
Where someone or something comes from — often reinforced as din/de la.
Sunt de aici.
I'm from here.
un cadou de la mama
a present from mum
linking numbers above 19 to a noun
Obligatory after 20 and above: douăzeci de ani, o sută de lei — but doi ani with no de.
treizeci de minute
thirty minutes
to (before the supine: something to do)
de + supine expresses purpose or availability, like English "to eat / for eating".
ceva de mâncat
something to eat
Am de lucru.
I have work to do.
since / for (time span)
How long something has been going on.
Locuiesc aici de trei ani.
I've lived here for three years.
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 98% of everyday use — learn these first.
de98%
Show 2 more forms
de-1%
d-<1%
Grammar Behavior
noun + de + noun
Builds the possessive/material link where English uses "of" or a compound.
stație de autobuz
bus stop
number (≥ 20) + de + noun
Obligatory linker for larger quantities.
o sută de oameni
a hundred people
de + supine
Expresses purpose or something available to be done.
mașină de spălat
washing machine
compound prepositions with de
de combines widely: de la, de pe, până la de, din (= de + în), înainte de, în loc de.
Vin de la muncă.
I'm coming from work.
vs. din
din (de + în) means "out of / from inside", while plain de is the broader, weaker link.
Iese din casă.
He's coming out of the house.
vs. despre
despre is the precise "about (a topic)"; de can do it colloquially but despre is the clear choice.
Vorbim despre tine.
We're talking about you.
Examples
Un pahar de apă, te rog.
A glass of water, please.
de - The classic container + de + substance pattern — note there is no article on apă.
Am nevoie de ajutor.
I need help.
de - a avea nevoie de always takes de; the preposition belongs to the expression, not to the noun.
Vorbim de mult despre asta.
We've been talking about this for a long time.
de - de + a quantity of time = "for / since" with a present-tense verb.
E ceva de văzut acolo.
There's something to see there.
de - de + supine (văzut) gives the English "to see / worth seeing" sense.
After a number of 20 or more, de is compulsory before the noun: douăzeci de ani, not *douăzeci ani — while numbers up to 19 take no de at all.
Corpus examples
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Why are you here?
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Why not?