time (as a quantity you have or lack)
Uncountable and usually bare, with no article. This is where most of the word’s frequency sits.
Nu am timp.
I don't have time.
Ai puțin timp?
Do you have a moment?
#60 · Noun
timp
In Romanian, timp means “time (as a quantity you have or lack)”. It’s the #60 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Timp is "time", rank 60 and the most frequent abstract noun in spoken Romanian. Almost all of its use is two forms: bare timp for "time" as a quantity (Nu am timp) and definite timpul for time as the thing itself (Timpul trece). It is neuter, so its plural behaves like a feminine one — un timp, două timpuri.
neutralthe time (as it passes)
The definite timpul, for time itself rather than an amount of it.
Timpul trece repede.
Time goes by quickly.
Cu timpul, o să înțelegi.
In time, you'll understand.
a period / an era
Countable in this sense, and this is what the plural timpuri is for.
în timpuri grele
in hard times
pe timpul lui
in his day
weather
An older and regional use, kept alive in fixed phrases. Everyday Romanian says vremea for weather.
timp frumos
fine weather
tense (grammar) / beat (music)
The technical senses, where the plural is timpuri for tenses and timpi for beats and measured intervals.
timpurile verbale
the verb tenses
timpi de reacție
reaction times
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 98% of everyday use — learn these first.
timp66%
timpul32%
Show 5 more forms
timpului2%
timpuri<1%
timpurile<1%
timpurilor<1%
timpii<1%
Noun Forms
- Gender
- neuter
- Countability
- both
| singular indefinite | timp | |
|---|---|---|
| singular definite | timpul | |
| plural indefinite | timpuri | |
| plural definite | timpurile | |
| genitive dative singular | timpului | |
| genitive dative plural | timpurilor |
Neuter nouns behave as masculine in the singular and as feminine in the plural: un timp, timpul, but două timpuri, timpurile. A second plural timpi exists for the technical senses — beats in music, measured intervals in sport and engineering — and never for time in general.
Examples
Nu am timp acum.
I don't have time right now.
timp - The bare form. Romanian drops the article for uncountable quantities, exactly where English also says nothing.
Timpul trece.
Time passes.
timpul - The definite article is attached to the end of the noun: timp + -ul. As the subject of a general truth, the noun must be definite here.
În timpul zilei lucrez.
During the day I work.
timpul - în timpul + genitive is the standard way to say "during". The following noun takes its genitive form: zilei, not ziua.
Ce faci în timpul liber?
What do you do in your free time?
timpul - timp liber is a fixed pair for "free time"; the adjective follows the noun, as adjectives normally do.
Am pierdut mult timp.
I wasted a lot of time.
timp - After a quantity word such as mult, puțin or destul, the noun stays bare.
A fost odată, în alte timpuri.
It was once, in other times.
timpuri - The neuter plural takes the feminine ending -uri. This is the only common context where the plural appears at all.
For "What time is it?" Romanian does not use timp — it is Cât e ceasul? or Cât e ora?. And for the weather, say vremea, not timpul. Timp is time as duration, not time on a clock.
In expressions
Common phrases built around timp — worth learning as whole units.
în timp ce— while, as
lit. “in time that”
tot timpul— all the time, always
lit. “all the-time”
timp de— for (a period of)
lit. “time of”
e timpul— it's time (to)
lit. “is the-time”
în timpul— during
lit. “in the-time of” · governs the genitive: în timpul nopții (during the night)
cât timp— how long; as long as
lit. “how-much time”
a pierde timp— to waste time
lit. “to lose time” · nu-mi pierde timpul = don't waste my time