to do
General activity or action — the answer to "what are you doing?".
Ce faci?
What are you doing? / How are you?
Nu am nimic de făcut.
I have nothing to do.
#21 · Verb · VERB
In Romanian, face means “to do”. It’s the #21 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
One of the most useful verbs in Romanian — it covers both English "do" and "make", powers dozens of everyday set phrases, and turns up in the standard greeting "Ce faci?" (literally "What are you doing?", used for "How are you?").
neutralGeneral activity or action — the answer to "what are you doing?".
What are you doing? / How are you?
I have nothing to do.
To produce, create, or prepare something concrete.
to make food / cook
to make a mistake
With the reflexive pronoun se, it describes a change of state, often about weather or time.
It's getting cold.
It's getting late.
Informal way to ask or state a price.
How much is it?
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 4 forms cover about 84% of everyday use — learn these first.
| Tense | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | fac | faci | face | facem | faceți | fac |
| Imperfect | făceam | făceai | făcea | făceam | făceați | făceau |
| Perfect compus | am făcut | ai făcut | a făcut | am făcut | ați făcut | au făcut |
| Future | voi face | vei face | va face | vom face | veți face | vor face |
| Conditional | aș face | ai face | ar face | am face | ați face | ar face |
| Subjunctive | să fac | să faci | să facă | să facem | să faceți | să facă |
Ce faci diseară?
What are you doing tonight?
faci - Present, 2nd person singular — the everyday "faci" you'll hear constantly.
Am făcut o prăjitură pentru tine.
I made a cake for you.
făcut - Perfect compus: auxiliary "am" (a avea) + past participle "făcut".
Nu știu ce să fac.
I don't know what to do.
fac - Subjunctive after "să" — 1st person keeps the plain form "fac".
Afară se face frig.
It's getting cold outside.
face - Reflexive "se face" = to become — here about the weather.
Common phrases built around face — worth learning as whole units.
lit. “what you-do”
lit. “to make oneself worries” · reflexive dative clitic marks the worrier: îmi fac griji (I), îți faci griji (you)
lit. “what does”
lit. “what more you-do”
lit. “not-yourself make worries” · plural/formal: nu vă faceți griji
lit. “to make bad” · dative clitic marks who's affected: îmi face rău (it makes me feel bad), îi face rău (it harms him)
lit. “to do oneself the-work” · reflexive: îmi fac treaba (I do my job), își face treaba (he/she does their job)
lit. “to make good” · dative clitic: îmi face bine (it does me good); «fă bine să...» = do me a favor and...