to take (pick up, get, receive)
The physical core sense, plus "to get" something handed to you.
Ia cartea.
Take the book.
Am luat un cadou.
I got a present.
#54 · Verb
lua
In Romanian, lua means “to take (pick up, get, receive)”. 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
A lua is "to take", rank 54, and one of the great irregulars: the present tense abandons the stem altogether — iau, iei, ia — before it returns in luăm, luați and the participle luat. That split is why ia and iau are among its most frequent measured forms. Beyond "take" it covers taking medicine, taking the bus, taking a decision (a lua o decizie), and having a meal (a lua micul dejun).
neutralto take (transport, a route)
Buses, trains, taxis, roads — exactly like English "take the bus".
Iau autobuzul.
I'm taking the bus.
Ia-o la stânga.
Take a left.
to take (medicine, food, a meal)
a lua o pastilă, and the set phrases a lua micul dejun / masa — Romanian "takes" a meal rather than eating it.
Ia o pastilă.
Take a pill.
Luăm masa la șapte.
We eat at seven.
to take / make (a decision, an exam, a grade)
Fixed collocations where English switches verb: a lua o decizie, a lua examenul, a lua o notă bună.
a lua o decizie
to make a decision
Am luat examenul.
I passed the exam.
to take away / take along (a lua cu)
With cu, or reflexively a se lua după cineva ("to follow someone's lead").
Ia-l cu tine.
Take it with you.
Nu te lua după el.
Don't follow his example.
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
- a lua
- Past Participle
- luat
- Gerund
- luând
- Imperative Singular
- ia
- Imperative Plural
- luați
- Auxiliary
- a avea
- Reflexive
- No
- Transitivity
- transitive
| Tense | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | iau | iei | ia | luăm | luați | iau |
| Imperfect | luam | luai | lua | luam | luați | 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 |
- eu and ei/ele share the present form iau; the subjunctive 3rd person is simply să ia, with no separate ending.
- The imperfect 2nd plural luați is spelled the same as the present and the imperative — context tells them apart.
- Many everyday actions use a lua where English uses another verb: a lua micul dejun (have breakfast), a lua examenul (pass the exam), a lua autobuzul (catch the bus).
Examples
Iau un taxi.
I'm taking a taxi.
iau - The irregular 1st singular iau — nothing in a lua predicts it, so learn it as a shape.
Ia loc, te rog.
Have a seat, please.
ia - Imperative ia (identical to the 3rd-singular present) in the fixed phrase a lua loc.
Ce iei de băut?
What are you having to drink?
iei - 2nd singular iei; de + infinitive-like băut is the standard "to drink" complement here.
Am luat trenul de dimineață.
I took the morning train.
luat - Compound past with participle luat — the stem lu- reappears outside the present.
Luăm o pauză?
Shall we take a break?
luăm - 1st plural luăm keeps the regular stem, so the paradigm looks like two verbs stitched together.
Ia-mă cu tine!
Take me with you!
ia-mă - Imperative plus a hyphenated clitic pronoun — the normal way object pronouns attach to commands.
The present is suppletive: iau, iei, ia, then luăm, luați, iau. Forms like "luu" or "lui" do not exist, and the imperative is ia (singular) / luați (plural) — from the two different stems.
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)