# de

**Part of speech:** ADP  
**Frequency rank:** #4 most common Romanian word  
**Language:** Romanian

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.

## Meanings

- **of; expressing possession, relation, or association** — Very common in noun phrases and set structures.
- **from; indicating origin, source, or starting point** — Used with places, time, and sources.
- **by; in passive-like or agentive expressions** — Common in expressions where English uses 'by'.
- **for; indicating purpose or function** — Often in adjectival or noun phrase use.
- **than; in comparisons** — Used with comparative structures.

## Example sentences

- Am cumpărat o sticlă de apă. — _I bought a bottle of water._
- Vin de la birou. — _I’m coming from the office._
- Cartea de pe masă e a mea. — _The book on the table is mine._
- A fost lăudat de profesor. — _He was praised by the teacher._

## Forms

de, de-, d-

## Nearby words by frequency

- [avea](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/avea)
- [nu](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/nu)
- [fi](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/fi)
- [să](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/s%C4%83)
- [eu](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/eu)
- [tu](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/tu)
- [el](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/el)
- [ce](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/ce)
- [și](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/%C8%99i)

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Source: [https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/de](https://mostspoken.com/words/ro/de) — MostSpoken Romanian frequency dictionary.