life (existence)
The abstract noun. Romanian normally takes the definite article where English takes none: viața e grea.
Așa e viața.
That's life.
toată viața
all my life
#102 · Noun
viață
In Romanian, viață means “life (existence)”. It’s the #102 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
Viață is "life", rank 102, feminine — and it has one irregularity worth meeting head-on: the stem changes in the genitive and the plural, from via- to vie-. So it is viața but vieții, viață but vieți. Beyond that it behaves as English does, including the phrase în viață, "alive".
neutralsomebody's life
A particular life, with a possessive or a genitive.
viața mea
my life
în viața de zi cu zi
in everyday life
alive (în viață)
The fixed phrase for being alive — Romanian has no everyday single adjective for it.
E încă în viață.
He's still alive.
never in my life (în viața mea)
Under a negation it becomes an emphatic "never": n-am văzut în viața mea.
Niciodată în viața mea.
Never in my life.
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 2 forms cover about 87% of everyday use — learn these first.
viața53%
viață34%
Show 3 more forms
vieții8%
vieți3%
viețile2%
Noun Forms
- Gender
- feminine
- Countability
- both
| singular indefinite | viață | |
|---|---|---|
| singular definite | viața | |
| plural indefinite | vieți | |
| plural definite | viețile | |
| genitive dative singular | vieții | |
| genitive dative plural | vieților |
Feminine, with the definite article attached at the end: viață → viața. The irregularity is in the stem rather than the endings — the genitive-dative singular vieții and the whole plural (vieți, viețile, vieților) replace ia with ie. The endings themselves are perfectly regular.
Examples
Așa e viața.
That's life.
viața - The definite article is required. Romanian marks abstractions as definite where English leaves them bare.
E o viață frumoasă.
It's a beautiful life.
viață - The indefinite with o, and the adjective agreeing in the feminine: frumoasă.
Sensul vieții e o întrebare veche.
The meaning of life is an old question.
vieții - The genitive vieții shows the stem change: via- becomes vie-. This is what makes the word irregular.
E încă în viață.
He's still alive.
viață - A fixed phrase, and the noun stays bare inside it — never *în viața here.
Au salvat multe vieți.
They saved many lives.
vieți - The plural also takes the vie- stem. multe agrees in the feminine plural.
The stem changes: viață and viața keep the a, but the genitive vieții and the plural vieți switch to ie. Writing *viațăi or *viațe are the two forms a learner reaches for first, and neither exists.