his / her / its (after the noun)
Refers back to a third person. The noun keeps its definite article: prietenul său, casa sa.
prietenul său
his / her friend
casa sa
his / her house
#31 · Determiner / article
său
In Romanian, său means “his / her / its (after the noun)”. It’s the #31 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
The 31st most frequent word: "his / her / its". Like every Romanian possessive it agrees with the thing owned, not the owner — so sa can mean "his" (casa sa = his house). In everyday speech people mostly reach for lui and ei instead, which is why the measured corpus is dominated by one form, sa; său itself is far rarer and leans formal or written.
neutralhis own / her own (reflexive, tied to the subject)
său points back to the sentence subject, so it removes the ambiguity lui can create.
Ion și-a vândut casa sa.
Ion sold his own house.
fiecare cu părerea sa
each with their own opinion
its (of a thing or institution)
The natural choice for non-human owners in written and formal Romanian.
orașul și istoria sa
the city and its history
compania și angajații săi
the company and its employees
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top form cover about 94% of everyday use — learn these first.
sa94%
Show 3 more forms
său3%
sale2%
săi<1%
Forms & Contrasts
- Subtype
- possessive
| masculine singular | său | fratele său |
|---|---|---|
| feminine singular | sa | casa sa — by far the most frequent form |
| masculine plural | săi | prietenii săi |
| feminine / neuter plural | sale | ideile sale |
| standalone (with possessive article) | al său / a sa / ai săi / ale sale | Used with no noun following: E al său. |
vs. lui / ei
lui and ei are invariable and name the owner's gender; său agrees with the possessed noun and hides it. Spoken Romanian prefers lui/ei.
casa sa / casa lui / casa ei
his-or-her house / his house / her house
vs. lor (their)
For several owners Romanian uses the invariable lor — there is no agreeing form.
casa lor
their house
vs. meu / tău
Identical four-form pattern, different person: meu (my), tău (your), său (his/her).
casa mea / casa ta / casa sa
my house / your house / his house
Examples
Maria și familia sa au plecat.
Maria and her family left.
sa - familie is feminine, so the form is sa — agreement with the possessed noun, not with Maria.
Fiul său studiază medicina.
His / her son studies medicine.
său - Masculine singular fiul takes său. In speech most people would say fiul lui / fiul ei.
Copiii săi sunt mari acum.
His / her children are grown now.
săi - Masculine plural — copiii săi.
Și-a recunoscut greșelile sale.
He acknowledged his mistakes.
sale - Feminine plural sale, doubled by the reflexive și- which already signals "his own".
Cartea e a sa.
The book is his / hers.
a sa - Standing alone, the possessive needs the article: al său, a sa, ai săi, ale sale.
său does not tell you the owner's gender — sa is equally "his" and "her", because it agrees with the noun in front of it. When you need to be explicit, or simply want to sound conversational, use lui for a male owner and ei for a female one: cartea lui / cartea ei.
Corpus examples
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