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
Yes! Today you get not one but two awesome Romanian words explained, thus doubling your pleasure! The first one is a common phrase: a freca menta. You might recognize the word mentă because it comes from the same Latin root as in English, meaning “mint”, whether the savory plant or the flavor that we derive from it. The verb freca however means to “rub” or … Continue reading Double Your Pleasure
It’s really interesting understanding the etymology (origin) of words. In both Romanian and English the word film came from French, originally meaning a “thin coating” or a thin layer on the surface of something. The first films (referring to photographs or movies) were a special kind of paper which had a thin layer of chemicals on the top, hence the name. Later in English the … Continue reading WOTD: Film vs. Film Serial
The other day I came across a Romanian news article with the acronym “ș.a.m.d” tacked onto the end of a sentence and it made me laugh. Lately I’ve been hearing from a few people who (unbelievably!) are actually trying to learn Romanian so I thought I’d add this one to the repertoire in case you find this little phrase and wonder what it means. Simply … Continue reading Ș.A.M.D
I had to laugh because although I just formally learned the word imbulzeala (em-boolzy-ala) the other day, visitors and foreign residents in Romania have been asking me about the phenomenon for years. This is a classic Romanian word, constructed from a root word bulz, which means something like “clot” or “clump” or “clod”. As DEX helpfully informs us, when your mamaliga gels into a little … Continue reading WOTD: Imbulzeala
All Things Romania 