Well yesterday I used a word that some of you had probably never heard before. I do indeed hope you never hear it during your time in Romania or while speaking to Romanians. Sadly, however, it is a word that’s all too regularly employed. I am referring to țeapă (tZOPP-uh). Sometimes you’ll see it spelled online as “tzeapa” or even “tzapa” due to the inability … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Ţeapă
Until you speak Romanian more or less fluently, I do not recommend you use the word tanti (tawn-tee) but you may hear it and wonder what it means. As you can see at the link, it’s a word that’s used to address a woman, particularly an “older” woman. It would never, ever be used for a young woman in any situation. It comes straight from … Continue reading Word of the Day: Tanti
Well here’s a word you won’t hear every day: prohod. In fact, the only time you’ll (probably) ever hear it is today because it refers to the specific Orthodox religious ceremony conducted on Good Friday. The word prohod specifically refers to funeral rites or the series of prayers and ceremonies conducted when someone is buried. What’s interesting (to me) is that the Slavic (yep) root … Continue reading Word of the Day: Prohod
A word you will often hear in Romanian is fleac (flay-ock) but what does it mean? Probably the most accurate English translation would be the word bagatelle, which today sounds fairly archaic and the only place I ever “heard” it regularly was in a Norwegian book. A more modern translation would be “a trifle” or perhaps the word “nothing”, as in the following exchange: Lady: … Continue reading Word of the Day: Fleac
In my last article, I translated the word cârcotaș as “gossip”, which isn’t quite right. From DEX: (Om) care caută mereu ceartă, care e veșnic nemulțumit. Or in English (my translation): A person who is always starting an argument, who is eternally displeased In other words, a quarrelsome, bitterly negative person who is always ready to start an argument or get into a dispute about … Continue reading Word of the Day: Cârcotaș
All Things Romania 