he / she / they (subject: el, ea, ei, ele)
Normally dropped; used to disambiguate or contrast. ele is the feminine plural.
El vine mâine.
He's coming tomorrow.
Ea nu știe.
She doesn't know.
#8 · Pronoun
el
In Romanian, el means “he / she / they (subject: el, ea, ei, ele)”. It’s the #8 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 "he" — and the entry point to the busiest pronoun family in the language. Third person is where Romanian clitics get dense: îl, o, îi, le all crowd in front of the verb and change shape around vowels (l-a văzut, i-am spus). The measured corpus puts o and -l above el itself.
neutralhim / it (direct object: îl / -l / l-)
Masculine direct-object clitic, glued to the verb or auxiliary.
Îl cunosc.
I know him.
L-am văzut.
I saw him.
her / it (direct object: o)
Feminine direct-object clitic — and it goes AFTER the verb in the compound past: am văzut-o.
O văd.
I see her.
Am invitat-o.
I invited her.
to him / to her / to them (indirect: îi, le, i-, li)
The dative clitics; îi covers both "to him" and "to her", le is the plural.
Îi spun mâine.
I'll tell him/her tomorrow.
Le-am dat cheile.
I gave them the keys.
his / her / their (possessive: lui, ei, lor)
The genitive forms double as possessives: cartea lui, mașina ei, casa lor.
prietenul lui
his friend
părinții lor
their parents
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 9 forms cover about 82% of everyday use — learn these first.
o14%
-l11%
el11%
-o10%
-i10%
ea7%
l-7%
le6%
îl4%
Show 11 more forms
ei4%
îi4%
i-4%
le-2%
i1%
ele1%
-le<1%
l<1%
lui<1%
li<1%
lor<1%
Forms & Contrasts
- Subtype
- personal
| Subject masculine sg. | el | Usually dropped unless contrastive. |
|---|---|---|
| Subject feminine sg. | ea | "she". |
| Subject plural | ei / ele | ei = masculine or mixed, ele = all feminine. |
| Direct object masc. | îl / l- / -l | Îl văd, l-am văzut, vezi-l. |
| Direct object fem. | o / -o | O văd, but am văzut-o (after the participle). |
| Direct object plural | îi / le | îi = masculine, le = feminine: îi văd, le văd. |
| Indirect object sg. | îi / i- / -i | Same form for "to him" and "to her". |
| Indirect object plural | le / le- / li | Le spun, le-am spus, li se pare. |
| Genitive / possessive | lui / ei / lor | cartea lui, cartea ei, casa lor. |
vs. îl vs. îi
îl is the direct object ("him"), îi the indirect ("to him") — and îi is also the masculine plural direct object.
Îl ajut. / Îi dau bani.
I'm helping him. / I'm giving him money.
vs. ei (they) vs. ei (her)
Subject plural "they" versus the feminine genitive "her" — position decides.
Ei sunt aici. / Este sora ei.
They are here. / It's her sister.
vs. o (her) vs. o (a/an)
The clitic o and the feminine indefinite article o are homographs: o carte = "a book".
O văd citind o carte.
I see her reading a book.
Examples
Îl aștept afară.
I'm waiting for him outside.
îl - Masculine object clitic before the verb; before a vowel it becomes l-: l-am așteptat.
Am văzut-o ieri.
I saw her yesterday.
-o - The feminine o is the one clitic that follows the participle in the compound past — a real learner trap.
I-am spus totul.
I told him/her everything.
i- - Dative îi contracts to i- before the auxiliary am/ai/a.
Ei nu vin astăzi.
They aren't coming today.
ei - Masculine/mixed plural subject. Careful: ei also means "her" in the genitive — cartea ei.
Este mașina lui.
It's his car.
lui - lui after a definite noun expresses "his"; the feminine equivalent is ei.
In the compound past, masculine and feminine objects sit on opposite sides of the participle: l-am văzut ("I saw him") but am văzut-o ("I saw her").