road, street, way, route
The most common sense; used for roads, routes, and paths.
drum național
national road
drum de țară
country road
pe drum
on the way
drumul spre casă
the way home
#177 · Noun · NOUN
In Romanian, drum means “road, street, way, route”. It’s the #177 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 noun meaning a road, route, way, or path; it also appears in the fixed expression a-și lua drumul / a-și vedea de drum and in many everyday phrases about travel and direction.
neutralThe most common sense; used for roads, routes, and paths.
national road
country road
on the way
the way home
A smaller or less formal route, often in nature or rural settings.
a path through the forest
mountain trail
Often figurative, especially in expressions about life, progress, or leaving.
to mind one's own business / to go on one's way
to set off / to get under way
life follows its course
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 95% of everyday use — learn these first.
| plural definite | drumurile | |
|---|---|---|
| plural indefinite | drumuri | |
| singular definite | drumul | |
| singular indefinite | drum | |
| genitive dative plural | drumurilor | |
| genitive dative singular | drumului |
Drumul până la gară durează zece minute.
The road to the station takes ten minutes.
drumul până la gară - Definite singular used for a specific road/route.
Am luat-o pe un drum mai scurt.
I took a shorter route.
un drum mai scurt - Indefinite singular with a general route.
Suntem pe drum, ajungem în curând.
We're on the way; we'll arrive soon.
pe drum - Very common expression meaning 'on the way'.
Au deschis drumul spre centru.
They opened the way to the center.
au deschis drumul - Figurative use meaning to make something possible or accessible.
Common phrases built around drum — worth learning as whole units.
lit. “to give the-road” · dative clitic marks the object: dă-i drumul (let it go / go ahead); îi dau drumul (I turn it on)