a / an (masculine and neuter: un)
Introduces one unspecified thing.
un băiat
a boy
un pahar
a glass
#17 · Determiner / article
un
In Romanian, un means “a / an (masculine and neuter: un)”. It’s the #17 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 indefinite article — "a / an". It has just two everyday forms, un for masculine and neuter nouns and o for feminine ones, and the corpus shows them running almost neck and neck. Unlike the definite article, which glues onto the end of the noun, this one stands in front of it.
neutrala / an (feminine: o)
The feminine form — also the numeral "one" and, confusingly, a clitic pronoun elsewhere.
o fată
a girl
o cafea
a coffee
one (numeral)
Counting, where the article and the number are the same word.
un minut
one minute
of a / to a (genitive-dative: unui, unei, unor)
The article carries the case that English shows with "of" or "to".
casa unui prieten
a friend's house
i-am spus unei colege
I told a colleague
some (plural: unii, unele, unor)
The plural forms mean "some / certain ones" rather than "a".
unii oameni
some people
unele lucruri
certain things
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 96% of everyday use — learn these first.
o50%
un46%
Show 7 more forms
unui2%
unei1%
unele<1%
unor<1%
unii<1%
-un<1%
-o<1%
Forms & Contrasts
- Subtype
- article
| Masculine / neuter singular | un | un om, un oraș. |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine singular | o | o femeie, o casă. Also the numeral "one". |
| Genitive-dative masc./neut. | unui | unui prieten. |
| Genitive-dative feminine | unei | unei fete — note the noun also shifts. |
| Plural "some" masc. | unii | unii oameni. |
| Plural "some" fem./neut. | unele | unele zile. |
| Genitive-dative plural | unor | părerea unor colegi. |
| Fused with în | într-un / într-o | Obligatory after în. |
vs. the definite article (-ul, -a)
Romanian attaches the definite article to the END of the noun, while the indefinite one stands in front.
un băiat / băiatul
a boy / the boy
vs. niște
niște is the plural "some" that pairs with un/o in the singular.
o carte / niște cărți
a book / some books
vs. o (object pronoun)
The same o also means "her / it" before a verb: position tells them apart.
O văd pe o fată.
I see a girl. (first o = her, second o = a)
Examples
Vreau o cafea, te rog.
I would like a coffee, please.
o - cafea is feminine, so it takes o — the single most frequent form of this lemma.
Am văzut un film bun.
I saw a good film.
un - film is neuter, which behaves as masculine in the singular: un film.
E mașina unui coleg.
It's a colleague's car.
unui - Genitive: the article takes the ending, and the noun stays unchanged.
Ne vedem într-o oră.
We'll meet in an hour.
într-o - After the preposition în the article fuses: într-un, într-o. Never în un.
Romanian has no plural "a": for "some books" you either drop the article (Am cărți) or use niște (niște cărți). unii / unele mean "certain ones", not plain "some".
Corpus examples
.
It's going to be okay.