oneself; himself/herself/itself/themselves (used after a preposition)
Reflexive, emphatic, often abstract or formal.
în sine
in itself; inherently
de sine
by oneself; on one’s own
pentru sine
for oneself
în sinea lui/ei
in his/her heart; inwardly
#20 · Pronoun · PRON
In Romanian, sine means “oneself; himself/herself/itself/themselves (used after a preposition)”. It’s the #20 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Reflexive pronoun used with prepositions, especially in formal or general statements: 'of himself/herself/itself/themselves', 'to himself/herself', etc. In modern Romanian, it appears in fixed or semi-fixed structures like 'în sine', 'de sine', 'pentru sine'.
formalReflexive, emphatic, often abstract or formal.
in itself; inherently
by oneself; on one’s own
for oneself
in his/her heart; inwardly
Used in reflexive or introspective expressions.
to be inwardly, to be oneself
to speak to oneself
to come to oneself
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 88% of everyday use — learn these first.
| base form | sine | Used mainly after prepositions or in fixed expressions. |
|---|---|---|
| accusative/dative with preposition | pe sine / pentru sine / de sine | Common after prepositions; often formal or emphatic. |
| possessive-style expression | sinea lui/ei | Literally 'his/her inward self'; idiomatic and somewhat elevated. |
vs. se
'se' is the normal unstressed reflexive clitic in verbs; 'sine' is used mainly after prepositions or in set phrases.
Se vede în oglindă.
He/She sees themself in the mirror.
vs. lui / ei / lor
'lui/ei/lor' are ordinary personal pronouns; 'sine' refers back to the subject in a reflexive way and is less direct.
A făcut-o pentru sine, nu pentru ei.
He/She did it for himself/herself, not for them.
Ideea este bună în sine, dar aplicarea ei e dificilă.
The idea is good in itself, but applying it is difficult.
în sine - Common abstract use meaning 'in itself'.
A luat decizia pentru sine, nu pentru ceilalți.
He made the decision for himself, not for the others.
pentru sine - Shows the reflexive pronoun after a preposition.
În sinea ei, știa că nu avea dreptate.
In her heart, she knew she was wrong.
în sinea ei - Natural idiomatic use, especially with a possessive after sine.