#54 · Verb · VERB

lua

content

In Romanian, lua means “to take; to pick up; to get”. It’s the #54 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.

Meaning & Use

Very common Romanian verb meaning to take, get, pick up, buy, or consume; it is also used in many everyday expressions and as part of fixed verb forms.

neutral

to take; to pick up; to get

basic physical or practical taking

Am luat cartea de pe masă.

I took the book off the table.

Ia umbrela cu tine.

Take the umbrella with you.

Ne luăm biletele online.

We get our tickets online.

to buy; to get for oneself

common in everyday speech

Am luat pâine de la brutărie.

I bought some bread from the bakery.

Își ia o cafea înainte de muncă.

He gets himself a coffee before work.

to take medicine; to consume

used for pills, food, drink, etc.

Ia două pastile după masă.

Take two pills after the meal.

Nu mai lua încă o gură.

Don't take another sip.

to take, as in transportation or routes

about means of transport or a route

Luăm autobuzul până în centru.

We take the bus to the city center.

A luat un taxi acasă.

He took a taxi home.

Forms you’ll actually hear

Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 5 forms cover about 89% of everyday use — learn these first.

luat30%

ia18%

iau17%

iei12%

lua12%

Show 13 more forms

luați7%

luam1%

luată<1%

luăm<1%

luate<1%

luând<1%

luase<1%

luându<1%

luau<1%

luai<1%

luasem<1%

luă<1%

luaseră<1%

Conjugation

Infinitive: lua
Past Participle: luat
Gerund: luând
Imperative Singular: ia
Imperative Plural: luați
Auxiliary: a avea
Reflexive: No
Transitivity: both

Tense	eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
Present	iau	iei	ia	luăm	luați	iau
Imperfect	luam	luai	lua	luiam	lueați	luau
Perfect compus	am luat	ai luat	a luat	am luat	ați luat	au luat
Future	voi lua	vei lua	va lua	vom lua	veți lua	vor lua
Conditional	aș lua	ai lua	ar lua	am lua	ați lua	ar lua
Subjunctive	să iau	să iei	să ia	să luăm	să luați	să ia

Very frequent and highly flexible verb.
Often changes meaning depending on context.
Present forms are irregular: eu iau, tu iei, el/ea ia.

Examples

Am luat cartea de pe masă.

I took the book off the table.

am luat - past tense, very common everyday use

Ia umbrela cu tine.

Take the umbrella with you.

ia - imperative / present-form command

Luăm autobuzul până în centru.

We take the bus to the city center.

luăm - present indicative, 1st person plural

In expressions

Common phrases built around lua — worth learning as whole units.

a o lua razna— to go crazy, to go off the rails

lit. “to take-it astray” · the clitic «o» is fixed: a luat-o razna = he/she went crazy

a lua loc— to take a seat, to sit down

lit. “to take place” · luați loc = please have a seat (formal)

Nearby words by frequency

ceva#48 doar#49 când#50 crede#51 bun#52 unde#53 om#55 veni#56 merge#57 acest#58 părea#59 timp#60

Meaning & Use

Very common Romanian verb meaning to take, get, pick up, buy, or consume; it is also used in many everyday expressions and as part of fixed verb forms.

neutral

to take; to pick up; to get

basic physical or practical taking

Am luat cartea de pe masă.

I took the book off the table.

Ia umbrela cu tine.

Take the umbrella with you.

Ne luăm biletele online.

We get our tickets online.

to buy; to get for oneself

common in everyday speech

Am luat pâine de la brutărie.

I bought some bread from the bakery.

Își ia o cafea înainte de muncă.

He gets himself a coffee before work.

to take medicine; to consume

used for pills, food, drink, etc.

Ia două pastile după masă.

Take two pills after the meal.

Nu mai lua încă o gură.

Don't take another sip.

to take, as in transportation or routes

about means of transport or a route

Luăm autobuzul până în centru.

We take the bus to the city center.

A luat un taxi acasă.

He took a taxi home.

Conjugation

Infinitive: lua
Past Participle: luat
Gerund: luând
Imperative Singular: ia
Imperative Plural: luați
Auxiliary: a avea
Reflexive: No
Transitivity: both

Tense	eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
Present	iau	iei	ia	luăm	luați	iau
Imperfect	luam	luai	lua	luiam	lueați	luau
Perfect compus	am luat	ai luat	a luat	am luat	ați luat	au luat
Future	voi lua	vei lua	va lua	vom lua	veți lua	vor lua
Conditional	aș lua	ai lua	ar lua	am lua	ați lua	ar lua
Subjunctive	să iau	să iei	să ia	să luăm	să luați	să ia

Very frequent and highly flexible verb.
Often changes meaning depending on context.
Present forms are irregular: eu iau, tu iei, el/ea ia.

Examples

Am luat cartea de pe masă.

I took the book off the table.

am luat - past tense, very common everyday use

Ia umbrela cu tine.

Take the umbrella with you.

ia - imperative / present-form command

Luăm autobuzul până în centru.

We take the bus to the city center.

luăm - present indicative, 1st person plural

In expressions

Common phrases built around lua — worth learning as whole units.

a o lua razna— to go crazy, to go off the rails

lit. “to take-it astray” · the clitic «o» is fixed: a luat-o razna = he/she went crazy

a lua loc— to take a seat, to sit down

lit. “to take place” · luați loc = please have a seat (formal)