to say; to tell
general act of speaking or reporting words
Îți spun adevărul.
I'm telling you the truth.
Ce ai spus?
What did you say?
I-a spus să vină mai devreme.
He/She told him/her to come earlier.
#27 · Verb · VERB
In Romanian, spune means “to say; to tell”. It’s the #27 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Very common Romanian verb meaning to say, tell, or state. It is irregular and highly frequent in everyday speech, news, and writing.
neutralgeneral act of speaking or reporting words
I'm telling you the truth.
What did you say?
He/She told him/her to come earlier.
used for giving information, opinions, or reports
He/She says that he/she is leaving tomorrow.
According to the report, the costs increased.
naming or identifying someone/something in a certain way
What do you call it here?
What do you call it in your family?
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 4 forms cover about 92% of everyday use — learn these first.
| Tense | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | spun | spui | spune | spunem | spuneți | spun |
| Imperfect | spuneam | spuneai | spunea | spuneam | spuneați | spuneau |
| Perfect compus | am spus | ai spus | a spus | am spus | ați spus | au spus |
| Future | voi spune | vei spune | va spune | vom spune | veți spune | vor spune |
| Conditional | aș spune | ai spune | ar spune | am spune | ați spune | ar spune |
| Subjunctive | să spun | să spui | să spună | să spunem | să spuneți | să spună |
Îmi spui și mie ce s-a întâmplat?
Can you tell me too what happened?
spui - informal request for information
Mă bucur că mi-ai spus adevărul.
I'm glad you told me the truth.
ai spus - past action
Spune-mi când ajungi.
Tell me when you arrive.
Spune-mi - imperative with clitic
Common phrases built around spune — worth learning as whole units.
lit. “you-want that you-say”
lit. “what you-want that you-say”
lit. “it says”
lit. “to tell the-truth”