Hopa (pronounced hope-ah) is a tough word to translate because it’s used in two different situations. The most general way to think of regular hopa is something like “oops-a-daisies”. For example: Waiter drops some dishes – HOPA! Your friend stumbles on the sidewalk – HOPA! You spill beer on yourself because you’re drunk – HOPA! The other way it’s used is in the expression hopa … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day – Hopa
Step 1 – Speak Italian and Spanish and then laugh and dismiss with a wave the Romanian language. After all they’re all Romance languages, no? Practically all the same. Step 2 – Meet some Romanians in the United States, ask ’em to tell you a bunch of words. Only remember one – opt – meaning the number eight. Really. The first day I showed up … Continue reading How I Learned Romanian in 37 Easy Steps
Over the years, I’ve met a few poor bastards who were trying to learn the Romanian language. Most of these people were ethnic Hungarians and so have a genuine need-to-know so they can operate and live in this country. The rest? Poor saps who fell in love with a Romanian person, usually Foreign Guy meets Beautiful Can’t Live Without Her Romanian Girl. Sigh. I guess … Continue reading A Few Useful Phrases
Sooner or later in Romania you’re going to hear (or read) the word mă (pronounced muh as in “mug” without the g sound). What does it mean? It’s a little confusing because “ma” is a normal pronoun referring to something that is “mine” or about “me”, for example saruta-ma means “kiss me”. But mă is something different and doesn’t exist in any dictionary. If you … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day – Ma
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