The Romanian Alphabet - Vowels, Consonants, Numerals & more

Q: How many letters are in the Romanian alphabet?

The Romanian alphabet has 31 letters [1] . This includes the 26 standard Latin letters plus 5 distinctive diacritical letters: ă, â, î, ș, and ț . Of these, 8 are vowel letters (a, ă, â, e, i, î, o, u) and the remaining 23 are consonants.

Q: What are the 5 Romanian diacritical letters and how are they pronounced?

Romanian has 5 unique diacritical letters [3] : • Ă (ă) - pronounced like "a" in "about" or "u" in "but". Example: apă (water) • Â (â) - pronounced "uh", used in the middle of words. Example: român (Romanian) • Î (î) - same sound as â, used at the beginning or end of words. Example: împreună (together) • Ș (ș) - pronounced like "sh" in "shoe". Example: școală (school) • Ț (ț) - pronounced like "ts" in "cats". Example: țară (country) These letters are essential for correct Romanian spelling and pronunciation !

Q: What is the difference between and Î in Romanian?

Both and Î represent exactly the same sound , but they are used in different positions: • Î (î) - used at the beginning of words: înalt (tall), înainte (forward) • Î (î) - used at the end of words: a urî (to hate), coborî (to descend) • (â) - used in the middle of words: râu (river), mâine (tomorrow) • Exception: words derived from "România" always use "â" (român, românesc) This distinction is purely orthographic - the pronunciation is identical!

Q: How is Romanian different from other Romance languages?

Romanian has several unique features that distinguish it: • Geographic isolation - only Romance language in Eastern Europe • Slavic influence - absorbed vocabulary and some grammatical features from neighboring Slavic languages • Unique diacritics - ă, â, î, ș, ț are not found in other major Romance languages • Case system - retains grammatical cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, vocative) • Definite articles - attached as suffixes to nouns instead of separate words Despite these differences, Romanian shares 77% of its vocabulary with other Romance languages!

Q: Where is Romanian spoken around the world?

Romanian is spoken by approximately 24 million people [1] worldwide: • Romania - official language, spoken by about 19 million people • Moldova - official language (sometimes called "Moldovan"), spoken by 2.5 million • Diaspora communities - Italy, Spain, Germany, United States, Canada, and Israel • Minority communities - Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary, and Bulgaria • Regional status - recognized minority language in several European countries Romanian is an official language of the European Union !

Q: How do I type Romanian special characters (ă, â, î, ș, ț)?

There are several ways to type Romanian diacritical letters : • Romanian keyboard layout - switch your keyboard to Romanian in your operating system • Alt codes (Windows) - hold Alt and type: Alt+0259 (ă), Alt+0226 (â), Alt+0238 (î), Alt+0537 (ș), Alt+0539 (ț) • Character map - use your system's character map or special character picker • Online tools - use Romanian typing websites like Easy Romanian Typing • Autocorrect - some applications offer Romanian autocorrect to add diacritics automatically Using proper diacritics is essential for correct Romanian writing !

Q: Is the comma below (sedilă) the same as a cedilla?

No! The Romanian comma below (sedilă) is different from a cedilla: • Sedilă (correct) - Ș (ș) and Ț (ț) with comma-like mark below • Cedilla (incorrect) - Ş (ş) and Ţ (ţ) with hook-like cedilla below • History - before 1993, Romanian used cedilla due to technical limitations • Current standard - since 1993, comma below (U+0218, U+021A) is the official form [2] • Visual difference - sedilă is a comma shape, cedilla is a hook shape Modern Romanian typography requires the comma below , not the cedilla!

Q: Is Romanian easy to learn for English speakers?

Romanian offers both challenges and advantages for English speakers: • Advantages: - Latin alphabet makes reading accessible - Relatively phonetic - words are pronounced as written - Many cognates with English words of Latin origin • Challenges: - Grammatical cases (5 different cases) - Three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) - New sounds like ă, â/î that don't exist in English Overall, Romanian is considered moderately difficult for English speakers!

The Romanian alphabet consists of 31 letters, based on the Latin script with 5 distinctive diacritical letters^[2]. As the only Romance language spoken in Eastern Europe, Romanian uses special characters that set it apart: Ă (ă), Â (â), Î (î), Ș (ș), and Ț (ț). These diacritical marks are essential to proper Romanian spelling and pronunciation. The alphabet includes 8 vowel letters (a, ă, â, e, i, î, o, u) and 23 consonants, with â and î representing the same sound but used in different positions within words. The cedilla-like marks under ș and ț (called "sedilă") distinguish these letters from regular s and t. Romanian is spoken by approximately 24 million people^[1], primarily in Romania and Moldova, making it the fifth most spoken Romance language in the world.

Uppercase Vowels:

[A]

[A breve]

[A circumflex]

[E]

[I]

[I circumflex]

[O]

[U]

Lowercase Vowels:

[a]

[a breve]

[a circumflex]

[e]

[i]

[i circumflex]

[o]

[u]

Romanian Consonant Letters

The Romanian alphabet contains 23 consonants, including two distinctive letters with diacritics: ș (with comma below) and ț (with comma below). In Romanian, vowels and consonants combine to form syllables, which are the building blocks of words.

For example:

In the word "România" (Romania), meaning "Romania", the vowels o, â, i, and a combine with the consonants R, m, and n to form syllables and complete the word.

Uppercase Consonants:

[Be]

[Ce]

[De]

[Fe]

[Ge]

[Ha]

[Je]

[Ka]

[Le]

[Me]

[Ne]

[Pe]

[Qu]

[Re]

[Se]

[Se cu sedilă]

[Te]

[Te cu sedilă]

[Ve]

[Dublu Ve]

[Ics]

[Igrec]

[Ze]

Lowercase Consonants:

[be]

[ce]

[de]

[fe]

[ge]

[ha]

[je]

[ka]

[le]

[me]

[ne]

[pe]

[qu]

[re]

[se]

[se cu sedilă]

[te]

[te cu sedilă]

[ve]

[dublu ve]

[ics]

[igrec]

[ze]

[zero]

[unu]

[doi]

[trei]

[patru]

[cinci]

[șase]

[șapte]

[opt]

[nouă]

A a

[a]

Ă ă