Basic conversation patterns
Useful phrases to strike up a conversation
România Internațional, 17.11.2013, 12:02
Your survival Romanian might as well include a kit of expressions and basic sentences you may want to use if you have no choice other than to strike up a conversation with someone. Or rather, you might start talking to someone simply because you happen to know those people and you just want to make friends.
As usual, we begin with a set of useful words and phrases.
A se trezi= to wake up
A se scula= to get up
A se spala= to wash oneself
A-si pieptana parul= to comb one’s hair
A se imbraca= to get dressed
A se incalta= to put on one’s shoes
A se duce= to go
A se intoarce= to come back
A se culca= to go to bed
A se grabi= to be in a hurry
A se gindi= to think
A intirzia=to be late
Now let us use some of these words in sentences that might in turn be part of a meaningful communicative pattern in Romanian:
La ce ora te trezesti dimineata?
What time do you wake up in the morning?
Cind te scoli din pat?
What time do you get up?
La ce ora te duci la servici?
What time do you go to work?
Dimineata ma trezeste desteptatorul.
In the morning, my alarm clock wakes me up.
Dupa ce ma scol, intii imi beau cafeaua.
After I get up, I drink my coffee first.
Dupa aceea, ma duc in baie sa ma spal si sa ma imbrac.
After that, I go to the bathroom to wash and get dressed.
Daca am timp sufficient, servesc micul dejun.
If I have enough time, I have breakfast.
Dar aceasta nu se intimpla prea des.
But that doesn’t happen very often.
Nu vreau sa intirzii la servici.
I don’t want to be late for work.
If you want to speak better Romanian, allow some time for yourself and stop doing things by the book. Get at it, and start talking to native Romanians!
