Politeness costs nothing and is one of the most important forms of expression and relationship between people. There is a saying that politeness is the golden key that opens all doors, and this is probably true. One of the parables that stuck in my mind from my childhood spent in a beautiful Romanian village was this one, which I heard from many people there: if I greet someone and I don’t get a reply, all I can do is greet the next person I meet.
Romanian people are polite. Of course there are exceptions – like everywhere else in the world – but in general Romanians enjoy meeting other people, whether they are strangers and just getting to know each other, or people they know, or even people they are close to. Romanians are sociable and appreciate being greeted and greeting others in turn. In fact, we have to recognise that greetings are the first form of interaction between two or more people, regardless of the place or context in which this interaction takes place, whether it is between people with whom we have a bond or simply between two strangers.
Incidentally, the famous expression “You had me at hello!” can mean any number of things, but for Romanians, it can also mean that every conversation starts with a greeting.
How do you say Good morning in Romanian?
”Good morning” in Romanian is actually a construction identical to the English one, composed of the exact Romanian equivalent of the words:
Good morning = Bună dimineața!
The only thing to note would be that in Romanian, within the greeting formula, the word “morning” is articulated: ”dimineața”, as opposed to the unarticulated form which would be “dimineață”. This is also relevant to all Romanian greetings that name a particular time of day.
Romanians do not have a clearly established benchmark for a particular time of day by which to use “good morning”, and after which to use “good day”. It simply relies on habit. Some will say “good morning” until around ten o’clock, others until later, perhaps until twelve o’clock, often identified as lunchtime.
How do you say Good day in Romanian?
Following the same way of constructing the expression, translating each of the words “Good Day” we will have in Romanian:
Bună ziua!
This greeting is used in Romania for most of the day, from the moment we consider that it is no longer morning until the moment we consider that it is already evening. It should be remembered that in Romanian there is no greeting formula that is used specifically for lunchtime or afternoon. As times of the day, they are all expressed nominally in Romanian. And while we’re on the subject of the moments of the day, it would be a good time to remind ourselves a little of these important parts of vocabulary:
Sunrise – răsărit
Morning – dimineață
Lunch – prânz
Midday – amiază
Afternoon – după-amiază
Evening – seară
Sunset – apus
Night – noapte
Midnight – miezul nopții
Returning now to what we were saying, in Romanian we have the words for noon and afternoon, but there is no greeting formula dedicated to these periods. So we say “Good Day” all the way from ,,Good morning” to …
How do you say Good Evening in Romanian?
Good evening! = Bună seara!
As I said for the morning greeting, there is no clear benchmark for when the evening greeting should be used. Some say “Bună seara” at 6pm, others at 7 or 8pm. The season also matters a lot, because in Romania there is quite a big difference in day length between winter and summer, for example. In winter it starts to get dark around 6pm and it’s perfectly natural to greet with ‘Good evening’, whereas in summer it’s light until about 10pm, so no one will judge you if you still say ‘Good evening’ at 7pm.
How do you say good night in Romanian?
As in English, “Good night” is way of saying Good bye! than a greeting, and that’s because it’s used at the end of a conversation, when the two people end the discussion or interaction, and wish each other well:
Good night! – Noapte bună!
Well, these are the greetings you can use in Romanian for the main moments of the day. And while we’re on the subject of moments of the day, how about taking a look at this article where you’ll find some information about the meals Romanians eat during the day?
We hope we’ve whetted your appetite for Romanian words. And if you’re wondering how hard it is to learn to speak Romanian or how quickly you can do it, here you’ll find an article that will answer those very questions. We are waiting for you on romanianonline.com for offers tailored especially for you, so that you can find the best formula for online Romanian language courses.