How to say YOU in Romanian

I remember having a conversation with Romanian teenagers not long after I first came to Romania. We were discussing whether Romanian or English was the easier language to learn. They insisted that Romanian was the more difficult language, but knowing the intricacies of the English language, I wasn't so sure.

Fast forward several years: I now say that Romanian starts out easy to learn since it (unlike English) is a phonetic language and has almost no exceptions to the grammatical rules. However, the more I've studied Romanian, the harder it gets, because the grammar is much more complicated.

On previous occasions, I’ve written about the complexities of the Romanian language (like how to say “that” or how to say “Romanian” in Romanian), and I have a few ideas for future blog posts. But for now, I’d now like to draw your attention to yet another word that should be a lot simpler to say than it is: how to say “YOU” in Romanian.

In English, we use just one word (“YOU”) for both singular and plural, in both formal and informal settings, and as the subject, object, and indirect object of sentences. To make it possessive, you simply add an “R” to the end to make “YOUR” (or “RS” for “YOURS”). But in Romanian, each of these variables has a different word!

YOU as Singular & Plural
In English, “YOU” is both singular and plural. The question, “Are YOU coming this evening?” could be asked of one person or of a group. In Romanian, different forms are used, depending on whether “YOU” is singular or plural.

YOU as Formal & Informal (or in between)
In English, the question, “What would YOU like for dinner tonight?” could be addressed to a 2-year old child or to her majesty the queen. There’s no difference in the form of YOU that is used. But in Romanian, it’s much more complicated. The form of YOU depends not only on whether it’s singular or plural, but also on who is being addressed. When I address a stranger, a person of authority, or someone older than I am, I use the formal YOU, but when I address friends or people younger than I am, I use the familiar form.

To make things even more complicated, there is a third form that is in the middle, conveying both familiarity and respect. For example, some people use this term when addressing their elders whom they are close to (like a parent or grandparent). My elderly neighbors sometimes use this when speaking to me – conveying respect, but since I’m considerably younger than they are, they don’t use the formal form.

So, that’s the introduction. Now let’s look at the different forms of YOU in Romanian. 

Caution: continuing to read may make your brain hurt!

YOU as Subject 
In English sentences, “YOU” can be both the subject and the direct object. In the sentence, “Did the car hit YOU?”, “car” is the subject, and “YOU” is the direct object. The same words can be used in the sentence, “Did YOU hit the car?”, in which “YOU” is the subject.

Romanian is more complicated; it uses different forms for subject and object. And since there are already different forms for singular & plural, and for familiar, formal, & semi-formal, here’s a list of 6 ways to say “Did YOU hit the car” in Romanian:

• Use "tu" (familiar singular) if you are asking a child.
• Use "voi" (familiar plural) if you are asking a group of children.
• Use "dumneata" (semi-formal singular) if you are asking your uncle.
• Use "dumneavoastră" (formal singular or plural, also semi-formal plural) if you are asking your boss.
• And the way Romanian grammar is structured, you don't even need to use any of these pronouns; you can just use the correct conjugation of the verb - either second-person singular or second-person plural!

"The car hit you."

YOU as Direct Object

It's just as complicated to use “YOU” as a direct object in Romanian. Let's look at the different ways you would ask, "Did the car hit you?"

• Use "te" (simple familiar & semi-formal singular) if asking if a friend. 
• Use "vă" (simple for all plural forms and formal singular) if asking your friends or a stranger.

These first two forms of YOU use the simple direct object. There is also a more complex form of the direct object that emphasizes whom is the object. In the example above, the emphasis is whether the car actually hit anyone (you), but in the examples below, it is known that the car hit someone, so the emphasis is whether it hit you or someone else. Each of the following continue to ask, "Did the car hit you?"

• Use "te…pe tine" (familiar singular) if asking a friend. 
• Use "te…pe dumneata" (semi-formal singular) if asking your aunt.
• Use "vă...pe voi" (familiar plural) if asking a group of friends.
• Use "vă…pe dumneavoastră" (emphasized singular and plural of both formal and semi-formal forms) if asking your neighbor that you don't know extremely well, or if asking your aunt and uncle together.

So...that's 6 ways to say "Did the car hit you?" in Romanian, each with a slightly different meaning!

YOU as Indirect Object
In English sentences, in addition to being the subject or object of a sentence, “YOU” can also be the indirect object, as in the following sentence: “I gave YOU the ball.” (“I” is the subject; “ball” is the direct object; “you” is the indirect object, receiving the direct object.)

You guessed it. There are 6 ways to say "you" as an indirect object in Romanian. The first 2 are the simple indirect object:

• Use "îți" (simple familiar & semi-formal singular) when speaking to a friend.
• Use "vă" (simple for all plural forms and formal singular) when speaking to a group of people or to an individual you respect. 

Use the complex form of the indirect object when emphasizing that it is to YOU that the ball is being given (instead of to someone else).

• Use "îți…ție" (emphasized familiar singular) when speaking to a friend.
• Use "îți… dumitale" (emphasized semi-formal singular) when speaking to an adult neighbor who is younger than you that you don't know very well.
• Use "vă...vouă" (emphasized familiar plural) when speaking to close family members.
• Use "vă… dumneavoastră" (emphasized singular and plural form of formal and the plural form of semi-formal) when speaking to one or more persons in authority.

"YOUR" as the possessive of "YOU"

In English, “YOUR” is used for all possessive forms. In Romanian, it depends not depends not only on whether the possessor is singular/plural and formal/familiar/semi-formal, but also on whether the object being possessed is singular or plural, masculine, feminine or neuter.

When asking a friend if an object belongs to them, you would use the following forms, depending on the object:

• Use "tău" if referring to a singular object is grammatically masculine or neuter, like “your chair” or "your brother."
• Use "ta" if it is a singular object which is grammatically feminine, like “your book” or "your mother."
• Use "tăi" if you're referring to more than one object that is masculine “your brothers” or "your cookies."
• Use "tale" if the object is plural and grammatically feminine or neuter, like “your chairs” or "your sisters."

You follow the same rules when asking a group of friends:

• Use "vostru" when referring to a singular object  (possessing a masculine or neuter singular object “your chair” or "your brother."
• Use "voastră" if it is a singular object which is grammatically feminine, like “your book” or "your mother."
• Use "voștri" if you're referring to more than one object that is masculine “your brothers” or "your cookies."
• Use "voastre" if the object is plural and grammatically feminine or neuter, like “your chairs” or "your sisters."

Thankfully, it's quite a bit simpler when the object(s) is/are possessed by one person you address semi-formally. You use the word "dumitale" regardless of the number or gender of the object being possessed!

The same is true when the object(s) is/are possessed by one or more people you address formally (or more than one person you address semi-formally). Again, it’s the same word, regardless of the number or gender of the object being possessed: "dumneavoastră."

"YOURS"

In English, we use “YOURS” in a sentences like “The book is yours” or simply “It is yours” (which means the same as "it is your book.") This is done in Romanian, too, but again, it’s more complicated. The same form of “YOUR” from above is used, but now with a preceding pronoun, which is determined by whether the object being possessed is masculine or neuter singular ("al"), feminine singular ("a"), masculine plural ("ai"), or feminine or neuter plural ("ale").

If talking to a friend (& using the same rules that applied for "YOUR"), you would use the following:

• Use "al tău,"  "a ta," "ai tăi," or "ale tale," depending on the gender and number of the object. 

When the object(s) is/are possessed by more than one person with whom you’re familiar:

• Use "al vostru" "a voastră" "ai voștri" or "ale voastre", depending on the gender and number of the object

When the object(s) is/are possessed by one person you address semi-formally:

• Use "al dumitale" "a dumitale" "ai dumitale" or "ale dumitale" based on the gender and number of the object.

When the object(s) is/are possessed by one or more people you address formally (or more than one person you address semi-formally):

• Use "al dumneavoastră", "a dumneavoastră," "ai dumneavoastră," or "ale dumneavoastră" depending on the gender and number of the object.

Those Romanian teenagers were right: English sure is a lot simpler, at least when it comes to saying YOU.