one; one person; one thing
used when the noun is understood from context or omitted
Am doi frați: unul lucrează în Cluj, celălalt în Iași.
I have two brothers: one works in Cluj, the other in Iași.
Dă-mi unul, te rog.
Give me one, please.
#94 · Pronoun · PRON
In Romanian, unul means “one; one person; one thing”. It’s the #94 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Romanian numeral/pronominal form meaning "one" or "one person/one of them"; often used to refer to an unspecified person or to contrast one item with another.
neutralused when the noun is understood from context or omitted
I have two brothers: one works in Cluj, the other in Iași.
Give me one, please.
indefinite reference, often with a contrast or emphasis
One of them was late to the meeting.
Some guy came and asked for you.
used in contrasts: unul ... celălalt
One says it’s easy, the other says it’s hard.
I have two books; one is new, the other is old.
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 89% of everyday use — learn these first.
| masculine singular nominative/accusative | unul | basic form as pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| feminine singular nominative/accusative | una | feminine counterpart |
| masculine/feminine plural | unii / unele | plural forms used pronominally |
| construction | unul dintre + plural | one of + plural noun/pronoun |
vs. un
un is the indefinite article/determiner before a noun; unul is the standalone pronoun.
Am un telefon. / Vreau unul.
I have a phone. / I want one.
vs. celălalt
unul often appears in contrasts, while celălalt means "the other one."
Unul e gata, celălalt nu încă.
One is ready, the other not yet.
Dă-mi unul, te rog.
Give me one, please.
unul - Indefinite numeral/pronoun used without a noun.
Unul dintre ei a lipsit de la curs.
One of them missed class.
unul - Common in the pattern unul dintre + plural.
Unul spune adevărul, celălalt minte.
One tells the truth, the other lies.
unul - Used in contrast with celălalt.
Common phrases built around unul — worth learning as whole units.
lit. “one of” · agrees: una dintre (feminine)