Romanian Alphabet and Pronunciation Guide for English Speakers

Overview of the Romanian Alphabet

The Romanian alphabet is based on the Latin script and consists of 31 letters. It includes all the letters of the English alphabet except for k, q, w, and y, which are used only in foreign words and names. Additionally, Romanian has five special letters with diacritics that represent unique sounds.

Romanian Alphabet Letters

Here is the full list of Romanian letters:

• A, a
• Ă, ă
• Â, â
• B, b
• C, c
• D, d
• E, e
• F, f
• G, g
• H, h
• I, i
• Î, î
• J, j
• K, k (foreign words)
• L, l
• M, m
• N, n
• O, o
• P, p
• Q, q (foreign words)
• R, r
• S, s
• Ș, ș
• T, t
• Ț, ț
• U, u
• V, v
• W, w (foreign words)
• X, x
• Y, y (foreign words)

Special Romanian Letters and Their Pronunciation

Romanian has five letters with diacritics that are essential for correct pronunciation. These letters are Ă, Â, Î, Ș, and Ț. Each represents a distinct sound not found in English.

• Ă, ă: Pronounced like the 'a' in sofa – a mid-central vowel /ə/.
• Â, â and Î, î: Both represent the same sound, a close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/, similar to the 'i' in roses but more central.
• Ș, ș: Pronounced like 'sh' in shoe /ʃ/.
• Ț, ț: Pronounced like 'ts' in cats /ts/.

Pronunciation Tips for English Speakers

While many Romanian letters correspond to English sounds, some require special attention. Here are key pronunciation tips:

• The letter C is pronounced as /k/ before a, o, u and as /tʃ/ (like 'ch' in church) before e, i.
• The letter G is pronounced as /g/ before a, o, u and as /dʒ/ (like 'j' in judge) before e, i.
• The letter H is always pronounced as a voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like the 'h' in hat.
• The letter R is rolled or trilled, similar to the Spanish 'r'.
• Stress in Romanian words usually falls on the penultimate (second to last) syllable, but there are exceptions.

Common Romanian Words with Pronunciation Examples

Pronunciation of Example Words

- Bună: Pronounced /ˈbunə/, stress on the first syllable.
- Mulțumesc: Pronounced /mul.t͡suˈmesk/, stress on the last syllable.
- Te rog: Pronounced /te roɡ/.
- Da: Pronounced /da/.
- Nu: Pronounced /nu/.