With the internet being so ubiquitous and dictionaries (online and “offline” in print) so accessible, there isn’t much need for me to “teach” or translate most Romanian words here on the blog. That being said, sometimes some words aren’t in the dictionary but nonetheless are essential components of speaking the Romanian language. Today’s word is one such example – rămâne (ra-moon-eh), which ordinarily is a … Continue reading WOTD: Rămâne
As Europeans began their centuries long business of exploration, subjugation, genocide, slavery and colonization of lands inhabited by the indigenous peoples (“Indians”) of the Americas, it isn’t surprising that along the way they adopted native words into their own language for the plants, animals and activities that they encountered. Modern English has hundreds of words in regular use that were originally native words. Just yesterday … Continue reading WOTD: Cauciuc
Due to an openly admitted work by another person hereby linked officially on this blog article that I found this morning, I also was informed that the selfsame article had been concisely rendered into Romanian by Adevarul newspaper. Quite frankly, I’ll say on the outset I am a little jealous. The one truly Romanian experience I’ll never get have is growing up here as a … Continue reading Shit or be Shat Upon
I actually learned this word this year, which just goes to show you that you should never stop learning words, even in your own native language (my latest acquisition in English is gallimaufry). The verb I just learned recently is impodobi, which has a regular series of conjugations. The verb is a combination of im (to effect/add/put) and podoaba, meaning decorations, ornaments or accessories (from … Continue reading WOTD: Impodobi
When I write about “Words of the Day” I like to find either rare expressions or ones that you might not casually find in the dictionary. Whether it’s common everywhere or not, it seems like lately I’ve been hearing this one quite a lot. Today’s phrase bătut în cuie (batoot in kwee-yeah) literally means “beaten in (with) nails” but is very similar to both the … Continue reading WOTD: Bătut în cuie
All Things Romania 