you (informal singular subject)
Dropped unless emphatic — the verb ending already marks 2nd person.
Tu ce crezi?
What do you think?
Și tu?
You too?
#7 · Pronoun
tu
In Romanian, tu means “you (informal singular subject)”. It’s the #7 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 Romanian "you" — informal singular, and the hub of the second-person family. Like eu, the subject pronoun is normally dropped; what you hear constantly are the clitics te and îți. Romanian also distinguishes politeness levels: tu with friends, dumneavoastră with strangers and officials.
neutralyou (direct object: te / -te)
Unstressed clitic before the verb, or hooked onto a positive command.
Te ascult.
I'm listening to you.
Ridică-te!
Get up!
to you (indirect object: îți / ți-)
The dative clitic, contracting to ți- before a vowel or another clitic.
Îți place?
Do you like it?
Ți-am spus.
I told you.
you (after a preposition: tine)
The stressed form used after cu, pentru, la, despre…
pentru tine
for you
la tine
at your place
you (plural / polite: voi, vă)
voi addresses a group informally; vă is its clitic and also serves the polite dumneavoastră.
Vă rog.
Please. (literally: I ask you)
Voi unde mergeți?
Where are you (all) going?
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 6 forms cover about 81% of everyday use — learn these first.
te31%
tu14%
tine11%
vă9%
-te8%
-ți8%
Show 9 more forms
te-4%
îți4%
ți-3%
-vă2%
v-2%
voi2%
ți1%
ție<1%
vi<1%
Forms & Contrasts
- Subtype
- personal
| Subject (informal singular) | tu | Usually dropped; used for emphasis. |
|---|---|---|
| Direct object (unstressed) | te / te- / -te | Te văd, te-am văzut, uită-te. |
| Indirect object (unstressed) | îți / ți- / -ți | Îți dau, ți-a spus, spune-ți. |
| Stressed (after prepositions) | tine | cu tine, pentru tine, la tine. |
| Stressed dative | ție | Emphatic: Ție ți-am spus. |
| Subject (plural) | voi | Addressing several people informally. |
| Object (plural / polite) | vă / v- / -vă | Vă rog, v-am spus, uitați-vă. |
| Polite address | dumneavoastră | Takes plural verb forms and vă as its clitic. |
vs. te vs. îți
te is the direct object ("you"), îți the indirect ("to you"). Verbs like a plăcea and a da take îți.
Te aștept. / Îți dau cartea.
I'm waiting for you. / I'm giving you the book.
vs. tu vs. dumneavoastră
tu is informal singular; dumneavoastră is the polite form and always takes plural verb agreement.
Ce faci? / Ce faceți?
How are you? (informal / polite)
vs. voi (you all) vs. voi (I will)
Same spelling as the future auxiliary voi ("I will") — position tells them apart.
Voi veni. / Voi veniți?
I will come. / Are you (all) coming?
Examples
Te iubesc.
I love you.
te - te is the direct-object clitic and the single most frequent form of this lemma.
Cum te cheamă?
What's your name?
te - Literally "how do they call you" — the standard way to ask a name.
Ți-e frig?
Are you cold?
ți- - îți contracts to ți- before e (= este). Same frame as mi-e foame.
Vin cu tine.
I'm coming with you.
tine - After a preposition, only the stressed form tine works — never te.
Vă mulțumesc!
Thank you (polite / plural).
vă - vă covers both the plural voi and the polite dumneavoastră — safe with strangers.
Choosing tu with someone older, a shopkeeper or an official can read as rude. Default to the polite dumneavoastră (with vă and 2nd-person plural verbs) until invited to switch.
In expressions
Common phrases built around tu — worth learning as whole units.
Și tu?— And you? / You too?
lit. “and you”
Dar tu?— And you? / What about you?
lit. “but you”
Corpus examples
?
Where are you going?
.
Good to see you.
.
I love you too.