his; of him
Possession or close association, especially with masculine/neuter singular nouns.
cartea lui
his book
numele lui
his name
fratele lui
his brother
#37 · Determiner / article · DET
In Romanian, lui means “his; of him”. It’s the #37 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
High-frequency Romanian determiner used mainly to show possession or association, especially with masculine/neuter singular nouns. It also appears in fixed patterns and in indirect objects with a, e.g. în cartea lui, i-am dat lui Ion.
neutralPossession or close association, especially with masculine/neuter singular nouns.
his book
his name
his brother
Used in phrases like a da lui / a spune lui, often with a personal name or stressed pronoun.
I told Andrei.
I gave him the book.
He doesn't like it.
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 86% of everyday use — learn these first.
| masc./neut. sg. possessive determiner | lui | Used with masculine or neuter singular nouns |
|---|---|---|
| stressed dative marker | lui | Often appears before a name or pronoun in indirect-object patterns |
vs. său
Both can mean 'his', but lui is by far the common everyday form; său is more formal/literary and less often used in speech.
Cartea lui este aici.
His book is here.
vs. ei
ei is the feminine singular possessive/dative form; lui is used for masculine/neuter singular and for 'to him'.
Cartea ei / cartea lui
Her book / his book
vs. al
al agrees with the noun and is used in genitive-type possessive structures; lui is the invariable form used after a possessed noun or in stressed dative patterns.
Cartea lui / cartea alui (nonstandard)
His book / (nonstandard)
Cartea lui este pe masă.
His book is on the table.
lui - possessive use
I-am trimis lui Maria un mesaj.
I sent Maria a message.
lui - dative-type pattern with stressed name
Nu-mi place stilul lui.
I don't like his style.
lui - possession/association