come on / let's (hai să)
With să plus a 1st-plural verb it is the standard proposal. Warmer than a bare imperative.
Hai să mergem.
Let's go.
Hai să mâncăm.
Let's eat.
#118 · Interjection
hai
In Romanian, hai means “come on / let's (hai să)”. It’s the #118 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Hai is the word that gets Romanians moving. It means "come on", "let us", and — at the end of a phone call — "bye". Rank 118, invariable, and it takes no verb of its own: hai să mergem, "let us go". It is also the friendliest way to hurry somebody, because it includes you in the hurry.
colloquialcome on / hurry up
On its own it urges. Tone decides whether it is encouraging or impatient.
Hai, că întârziem!
Come on, we're going to be late!
bye (ending a call)
Hai, pa! is the everyday sign-off. Hai alone closes a conversation the way English "right then" does.
Hai, pa!
Right, bye!
oh come on (disbelief)
Hai, lasă! dismisses something you do not believe.
Hai, lasă!
Oh, come off it!
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.
hai100%
Usage
Invariable and verbless. For a group, or for anyone you address with dumneavoastră, the form is haideți — see the separate entry for haide. hai să takes the 1st-plural subjunctive (hai să mergem), while hai la takes a place (hai la masă). The doubled hai-hai and the drawn-out haaai are speech, not writing.
Examples
Hai să mergem acasă.
Let's go home.
hai - hai să plus the 1st-plural subjunctive. Romanian has no separate "let us" — this is it.
Hai, mai repede!
Come on, faster!
hai - Urging with no verb at all. mai repede is the comparative of the adverb.
Hai, pa!
Right, bye!
hai - The standard end of a phone call between friends. Neither word is formal.
Hai că poți!
Come on, you can do it!
hai - hai că introduces encouragement. The că has no translation here; it simply carries the tone.
Hai la masă!
Come and eat!
hai - With a place phrase and no verb — the call to the table in every Romanian household.
Hai is warm but informal. It belongs with friends, family and colleagues you address as tu. In a formal setting use the plural haideți, or drop the word altogether and use a plain polite imperative.
In expressions
Common phrases built around hai — worth learning as whole units.
hai să— let's; come on, let's
lit. “come-on that”