until; till
Marks the end point in time or an action.
Lucrez până la ora șase.
I work until six o’clock.
Așteaptă până mă întorc.
Wait until I come back.
#108 · Preposition · ADP
In Romanian, până means “until; till”. It’s the #108 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Preposition meaning mainly “until” or “up to,” used for time, limits, and endpoints. It is very common in standard Romanian.
neutralMarks the end point in time or an action.
I work until six o’clock.
Wait until I come back.
Marks a limit in space, amount, or degree.
We’re going as far as the center.
Prices went up to 100 lei.
Used in emphasis, often with a sense of surprise or extremity.
Even he came.
You’re tired even after an hour.
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 100% of everyday use — learn these first.
Often combines with la, în, atunci, and other limit markers to show the endpoint more precisely.
The preposition by itself can be enough, but in common usage it is frequently followed by another word that specifies the limit.
Stăm până la prânz.
We stay until noon.
Can be used with nouns, adverbs, pronouns, or clauses introduced by că / când / ce, depending on the structure.
It is a flexible preposition in Romanian and often introduces the boundary of an event or state.
Continuă până când termini.
Keep going until you finish.
In emphatic use, it can be reinforced by și (“even”).
This gives a stronger meaning of surprise or inclusion.
Până și profesorul a râs.
Even the teacher laughed.
vs. la
până marks the endpoint; la often introduces the point itself or a simple destination.
Merg până la gară, apoi iau autobuzul.
I go as far as the station, then I take the bus.
vs. între
până expresses a limit/end point, while între means “between” and is about location or range between two points.
Programul este până vineri, nu între luni și vineri.
The schedule runs until Friday, not between Monday and Friday.
Rămân aici până mâine.
I’m staying here until tomorrow.
până mâine - Time endpoint.
S-au plimbat până la râu.
They walked as far as the river.
până la râu - Spatial endpoint.
Am citit cartea până la capăt.
I read the book to the end.
până la capăt - Endpoint of an action.