badly / poorly
Modifying a verb. Invariable in this use.
Merge rău.
It's going badly.
Am dormit rău.
I slept badly.
#74 · Adverb
rău
In Romanian, rău means “badly / poorly”. It’s the #74 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Rău is the opposite of bine: "badly". Rank 74. As an adverb it never changes — Merge rău, "it is going badly". The same word also lives a second life as an adjective, and there it does agree (rău, rea, răi, rele), which is the split worth keeping straight: a verb takes the invariable rău, a noun takes the agreeing one.
neutralunwell (îmi e rău / mi-e rău)
The standard way to say you feel sick, built with a dative clitic and a fi.
Mi-e rău.
I feel sick.
I s-a făcut rău.
He felt faint.
a shame / too bad (îmi pare rău)
Îmi pare rău is the everyday "I am sorry" — literally "it seems bad to me".
Îmi pare rău.
I'm sorry.
Ne pare rău.
We are sorry.
harm / evil (as a noun, răul)
With an article it becomes a noun: răul, "the evil", "the harm".
Nu-ți vreau răul.
I don't wish you harm.
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.
rău100%
Patterns
As an adverb it is invariable and follows the verb it modifies. Its degrees are irregular: mai rău ("worse"), cel mai rău ("worst"), foarte rău ("very badly"). As an adjective it agrees — rău, rea, răi, rele — and its comparative is likewise mai rău, with no separate word for "worse".
îmi pare rău
The everyday apology, and the word’s most frequent context.
Îmi pare rău că am întârziat.
I'm sorry I was late.
mi-e rău
Feeling physically unwell, with a dative clitic.
Ți-e rău?
Do you feel sick?
nu e rău
Understated approval, exactly like English "not bad".
Filmul nu e rău.
The film isn't bad.
mai rău / cel mai rău
The comparative and superlative, both built with mai.
E și mai rău acum.
It's even worse now.
Examples
Îmi pare rău.
I'm sorry.
rău - The single most common home for this word. The verb stays 3rd singular; the dative clitic îmi says whose regret it is.
Mi-e rău.
I feel sick.
rău - îmi e contracts to mi-e in speech and writing alike. Romanian says "to me it is bad" rather than "I am sick".
Nu e rău!
Not bad!
rău - The same understated compliment as in English. The adverb is invariable, so it never changes for who or what is being judged.
Vorbește rău românește.
He speaks Romanian badly.
rău - Modifying a verb, so the invariable adverb is correct here — never *rea, whoever the speaker is.
E un om rău.
He's a bad man.
rău - The adjective use, agreeing with om. For a woman it becomes o femeie rea — this is the form that changes.
Rău and bine are adverbs; rău/rea and bun/bună are the matching adjectives. A verb takes the adverb (Merge rău), a noun takes the adjective (un om rău). Saying *E un om rea or *Merge rea are the two errors this pair produces.
In expressions
Common phrases built around rău — worth learning as whole units.
îmi pare rău— I'm sorry / I regret it
lit. “to-me it-seems bad” · clitic marks the experiencer: îți pare rău (you), îi pare rău (he/she)
a face rău— to harm; to make (someone) feel bad/unwell
lit. “to make bad” · dative clitic marks who's affected: îmi face rău (it makes me feel bad), îi face rău (it harms him)
mi se face rău— to feel sick, to feel faint
lit. “to-me refl makes bad” · i se face rău = he/she feels faint; distinct from «a face rău» = to harm
mi-e rău— I feel sick, I feel unwell
lit. “to-me is bad” · «mi-e + adjective» frame; distinct from «mi se face rău» (feel faint); clitic marks the experiencer (îți e rău, îi e rău)
Corpus examples
.
I'm very sorry.