very (before an adjective)
The default intensifier. The adjective still agrees with its noun — foarte does not.
foarte bun
very good
o zi foarte frumoasă
a very beautiful day
#66 · Adverb
foarte
In Romanian, foarte means “very (before an adjective)”. It’s the #66 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Foarte is "very", rank 66, invariable, and it has one strict rule that English does not prepare you for: it may only stand in front of an adjective or another adverb. To intensify a verb you need foarte mult. Îmi place foarte mult is correct; Îmi place foarte is not a sentence.
neutralvery (before an adverb)
Same position, same behaviour.
foarte bine
very well
foarte repede
very quickly
very much (as foarte mult)
The only way to intensify a verb. mult carries the verb, foarte carries mult.
Îmi place foarte mult.
I like it very much.
Mulțumesc foarte mult.
Thank you very much.
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 100% of everyday use — learn these first.
foarte100%
Patterns
Invariable and always in front of the word it strengthens. It never agrees, never takes an ending, and never stands alone as an answer — for "very much so" the reply is Foarte mult or Chiar foarte.
foarte + adjective
The core use; the adjective still agrees with its noun.
niște oameni foarte buni
some very good people
foarte + adverb
Strengthens manner, speed or degree.
Vorbește foarte repede.
He speaks very fast.
verb + foarte mult
The obligatory frame for intensifying a verb.
Muncește foarte mult.
She works very hard.
cel mai + adjective (not foarte)
For the superlative Romanian switches to cel mai; foarte only ever gives "very", never "most".
cel mai bun / foarte bun
the best / very good
Examples
E foarte bine.
That's very good.
foarte - With the adverb bine. Note bine and not bun — a fi in an impersonal verdict takes the adverb.
O cafea foarte bună.
A very good coffee.
foarte - foarte stays unchanged while the adjective agrees: bună for the feminine cafea.
Îmi place foarte mult.
I like it very much.
foarte mult - The verb needs mult in between. This is the pattern to drill — the bare *foarte after a verb is simply ungrammatical.
Sunt foarte obosit.
I'm very tired.
foarte - Before a participle used as an adjective; the participle agrees with the speaker — obosită if a woman is speaking.
Nu e foarte departe.
It isn't very far.
foarte - Under a negation foarte softens the statement rather than strengthening it, exactly as "not very" does in English.
Foarte cannot attach to a verb. Say Îmi place foarte mult, never *Îmi place foarte. The rule is short: adjective or adverb after foarte, always.
Corpus examples
.
I'm very sorry.