of; expressing possession, relation, or association
Very common in noun phrases and set structures.
cartea de pe masă
the book on the table
numele de familie
the family name
o casă de piatră
a stone house
#4 · Preposition · ADP
In Romanian, de means “of; expressing possession, relation, or association”. 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.
A very common Romanian preposition with several core grammatical uses: possession/relationship, origin, material, cause, and especially as part of many noun and adjective phrases. It often corresponds to English 'of', 'from', 'by', or 'for', but meaning depends heavily on context.
neutralVery common in noun phrases and set structures.
the book on the table
the family name
a stone house
Used with places, time, and sources.
I’m coming from school
a train from Bucharest
since morning / from the morning
Common in expressions where English uses 'by'.
written by hand
a film by a famous director
Often in adjectival or noun phrase use.
spare keys
playground
drinking water
Used with comparative structures.
bigger than that
more than ten
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 98% of everyday use — learn these first.
de + noun
Very often links two nouns and shows relation, material, content, source, or purpose depending on context.
un pahar de vin
a glass of wine
de + place/time expression
Common for origin or starting point, and in time expressions.
de la ora opt
from eight o’clock
comparative + de
Appears in comparisons, especially after comparative forms.
mai bun de atât
better than that
de + past participle/adjectival form
Can introduce the agent in passive or resultative expressions.
un tablou pictat de un artist cunoscut
a painting painted by a well-known artist
vs. din
de is broader and often more abstract; din usually means 'out of/from inside' or 'made of' more concretely.
o sticlă de apă / a ieșit din casă
a bottle of water / he went out of the house
vs. la
de often links nouns or shows origin/relationship, while la usually marks location, direction, or recipient.
carte de istorie / merg la școală
history book / I’m going to school
vs. a
a is the Romanian genitive marker in many definite noun phrases; de often appears in broader noun relations and many fixed patterns.
numele de familie / casa băiatului
the family name / the boy’s house
Am cumpărat o sticlă de apă.
I bought a bottle of water.
de - Marks the noun that specifies the container content.
Vin de la birou.
I’m coming from the office.
de - Expresses source/origin.
Cartea de pe masă e a mea.
The book on the table is mine.
de - Used in a noun phrase with a following prepositional phrase.
A fost lăudat de profesor.
He was praised by the teacher.
de - Marks the agent in a passive-like construction.