A few days ago I was joking around with The Woman, saying that all international borders in this country should be marked, “Welcome to Romania – Nu E Voie” (new eh voh-yay). At least around here, it’s certainly an expression you will hear all the time. But what does it mean? It’s a little tricky because voie has a lot of different but similar definitions, … Continue reading Slang Expression of the Day: Nu E Voie
Many years ago, I was in Brasov with a mixed company of native English and Romanian speakers at a bar. An associate of mine, a man from Ireland, was telling the group about how he had set up an elaborate fancy dinner in town for his then wife (now divorced). He had pre-paid for the meal, arranged everything with the wait staff and done his … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Degeaba
In my last post, you saw the word gagică (GAH-jeekah), the official definition of which can be found here (in Romanian). Coming from the gypsy language (hopa!), it originally meant a woman who was something of a mistress, concubine or “lover” as opposed to one’s wife or established partner. Over time it has evolved into something along the lines of a generic word for any … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Gagica
Oh mercy, to understand Romanian mentality you’ve got to understand the custom of the pițipoancă (peetsy-poe-ankah) and the role she plays in society here. The normally verbose DEX has a very short definition of the word as a tanara usuratica, which translates literally to a “young, frivolous woman” however the most accurate translation in English would be something along the lines of a “bimbo”. Without … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Pitipoanca
Because all Romanian cities (including Bucharest) are heavily pedestrian, you’re going to do a lot of walking around and see a wide variety of stores and shops. Some are self-explanatory (computer stores always say “computer”, for instance) but others are not. In alphabetical order: Amanet – A pawnshop. Trades a lot more in gold and silver than electronic items and the like. If you don’t … Continue reading Stores in Romania
All Things Romania 