more (comparative marker)
Placed before an adjective or adverb to compare — Romanian has no "-er" ending.
mai bun
better
mai repede
faster
#19 · Adverb
mai
In Romanian, mai means “more (comparative marker)”. It’s the #19 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 tiny word doing an enormous amount of work — the 19th most frequent in Romanian. mai builds every comparative (mai bun = "better"), and on its own means "still", "again", or, under a negation, "any more". It also slips between nu and the verb to soften a sentence, which is why it turns up in Ce mai faci?
neutralstill / yet
Something continues to be the case.
Mai ești acolo?
Are you still there?
Mai am puțin.
I still have a little.
any more / no longer (with nu)
Under a negation the meaning flips to discontinuation.
Nu mai vreau.
I don't want any more.
Nu mai locuiesc acolo.
I don't live there any more.
again / another (one more time)
Adds a further instance, often with încă or o dată.
Mai spune o dată.
Say it again.
Mai vrei cafea?
Do you want more coffee?
softener (untranslatable)
Adds a casual, conversational tone rather than a meaning — hard to translate, easy to hear.
Ce mai faci?
How are you doing (these days)?
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.
mai100%
Patterns
Always immediately before the word it modifies — before an adjective for comparison, before the verb for the "still / any more" senses. With a clitic pronoun it follows the clitic: nu mă mai suna.
mai + adjective/adverb
The comparative — Romanian never adds an ending to the adjective.
mai mare
bigger
cel / cea / cei / cele mai + adjective
The superlative; the article agrees with the noun.
cea mai bună zi
the best day
nu + mai + verb
"not any more" — the negation and mai must be adjacent.
Nu mai pot.
I can't take any more.
mai + verb
"still / again / some more", depending on context.
Mai vine cineva?
Is anyone else coming?
Examples
E mai frumos decât credeam.
It's nicer than I thought.
mai - Comparative: mai + adjective, and the "than" is decât.
Nu mai am timp.
I don't have time any more.
mai - Fixed order nu + mai + verb. Without mai it would just be "I have no time".
Mai stai puțin!
Stay a bit longer!
mai - "still / a bit more" with an imperative — very common in invitations.
Cel mai bun prieten al meu.
My best friend.
cel mai - The superlative is cel/cea/cei/cele + mai + adjective — mai alone is only "more".
mai sits between nu and the verb, not after it: Nu mai vin ("I'm not coming any more"), never *Nu vin mai. Word order alone carries this meaning.
Corpus examples
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See you later.