SIMON & SCHUSTERS

PIMSLEUR

romanian

reading booklet
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Graphic Design: Maia Kennedy

and Recorded Program 2008 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Reading Booklet 2008 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Pimsleur is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio,
a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Mfg. in USA.

All rights reserved.

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ROMANIAN
Voices
English-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ray Brown
Romanian-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . . . . Rare Pamfil
Female Romanian Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ligia Buzan
Male Romanian Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Buzan

Course Writers
Ligia Buzan Elisabeth B. Weir

Reviewer
Adela Gavozdea

Editors
Marie P. Grandin-Gillette Beverly D. Heinle

Executive Producer
Beverly D. Heinle

Producer & Director

Sarah H. McInnis

Recording Engineers
Peter S. Turpin Kelly Saux

Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Reading Lessons

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Romanian Alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Unit Eleven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Unit Twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unit Thirteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Unit Fourteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Unit Fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Unit Sixteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Unit Seventeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Unit Eighteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Unit Nineteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Unit Twenty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Unit Twenty-One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Unit Twenty-Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Unit Twenty-Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Unit Twenty-Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Unit Twenty-Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Unit Twenty-Six . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Unit Twenty-Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Unit Twenty-Eight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Unit Twenty-Nine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Unit Thirty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

v
 ROMANIAN
Introduction

The Romanian language is a member of

the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the
Indo-European family of languages, and as such
presents many similarities with the other Romance
languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish,
and Catalan.
The Dacians, an Indo-European tribe,
inhabited the Romanian territory in ancient times.
They were defeated by the Roman Empire in
106 AD and part of Dacia (Oltenia, Banat, and
Transylvania) became a Roman province. There are
four main dialects of the language: Daco-Romanian
(the official language spoken in Romania and the
dialect taught in this course), Megleno-Romanian
(spoken in the Balkans), Istro-Romanian (spoken
in Istria and Croatia, closer to Italian than to
Daco-Romanian), and Aromanian (spoken in
Macedonia, Albania, Greece, and Romania). The
Daco-Romanian dialect is used in both Romania
and Moldova in the mass media, in schools, and in
colloquial speech and writing.
Approximately twenty-two million people
speak Romanian in Romania. Romanian is also the
official language of Moldova, spoken by some three
million people. There are about one million speakers
 ROMANIAN
Introduction (continued)

of Romanian in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia,

Albania, Serbia, and Hungary.
Romanian is written in the Roman alphabet,
although prior to 1859 it was written in the Cyrillic
alphabet. There are 20 consonants and 8 vowels.
Through the use of diacritics, the letters , , , , and
have been added to the alphabet. The letters q, w, and
y are used only in foreign words. A complete listing of
the alphabet and diacritical marks follows, starting on
page 4. Whenever possible, English equivalents are
given in the chart. You should use this for reference
only, however, as all the information you need to do
the Readings is contained in the audio.
When the Communists came to power in the
1940s, they made two changes to the Romanian
orthography, to make it appear more Slavic. Since
the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the Romanian
government has restored the original system. This
new (i. e., older Romanian) spelling is now being
used in government documents and newspapers, as
well as being taught in the schools. In this course we
have used only the restored forms of spelling.
The first restored change is that the letter
is changed to when it appears in the middle of a

2
 ROMANIAN
Introduction (continued)

word. For example, the word previously spelled

cnd becomes cnd when the new spelling is used.
Similarly, cnt becomes cnt, orict becomes orict,
and so on. Note that these changes only apply when
the appears in the middle of a word. Words begin-
ning with , such as nteleg, will remain the same.
The second change applies only to the forms of
the verb to be. In each of these forms, the letter
is replaced by the letter u. For example, snt becomes
sunt, and sntei becomes suntei.
There are twenty Romanian reading lessons.
They are in the units, starting with Unit Eleven,
and are also combined at the end of the program.
You may choose to do the Readings along with the
units, or you can wait and do them all together at the
end. Feel free to repeat the reading lessons as often
as needed for practice with the sounds of the Romanian
alphabet. Instructions on how to proceed with the
Readings are contained in the audio portion of the
course.

3
 ROMANIAN
Romanian Alphabet

Letter Approximate Pronunciation

Aa a in father
(a with breve) a in above (schwa)
(a with circumflex) No exact equivalent in English.
Bb b in ball
Cc c in cat
Dd d in door
Ee e in merry, ye in yes
Ff f in far
Gg g in goat or g in general
Hh h in house
Ii i in machine or y in yes
(i with circumflex) same as
Jj s in treasure
Kk k in kit
Ll l in low
Mm m in mat
Nn n in nut
Oo o in go or floor
Pp p in post, sometimes
combination of p and b
Qq k in kilt, used only in foreign words
Rr trilled r
Ss s in soap
(s with comma) sh in ship

4
 ROMANIAN
Romanian Alphabet (continued)

Letter Approximate Pronunciation

Tt t in tip, sometimes combination
of t and d
(t with comma) ts in bits; zz in pizza
Uu u in group or w in woe
Vv v in vat
Ww v in vat; in foreign words w in
west
Xx x in mix or example
Yy y in yes; in foreign words i in
machine
Zz z in zipper

Diacritical Marks
Letter
a with breve
a with circumflex
i with circumflex
s with comma
t with comma

5
 ROMANIAN
Romanian Alphabet (continued)

Combinations
Letter Approximate Pronunciation
ai i in bite
i or followed by ee in beet
i a in about followed by the ee in
meet
au ou in mouth
u a in about followed by oo in boot
ce che in check
ci chee in cheer
che ke in kelp
chi kee in keen
ea ai in bait followed by a in father
ei ei in vein
ge ge in gem
gi jee in jeep
ghe ge in get
ghi gee in geek
i or followed by ee in meet
oa o-ah / wa
oi oy in toy
ou o in oh

6
 ROMANIAN
Unit Eleven

1. am
2. v
3. vnt
4. cnd
5. Ct cost?
6. adnc
7. mnnc
8. tnar
9. s cumpr
10. mine
11. pine
12. cine
13. atunci
14. dulci
15. taci
16. cine
17. cinci
18. educi
19. douzeci
20. s cinez
7
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twelve

1. zece
2. unsprezece
3. treisprezece
4. foarfece
5. rece
6. de ce
7. euro
8. mei
9. banii mei
10. doisprezece euro
11. cinci euro
12. cincinal
13. ascultai
14. repetai
15. datorai
16. murmurai
17. s spunei
18. nelegei
19. ncercai s ntrebai
20. nepai
8
 ROMANIAN
Unit Thirteen

1. i
2. aisprezece
3. tii
4. nite
5. aizeci i ase
6. Bucureti
7. mult
8. muli
9. foarte
10. moarte
11. toate
12. toarte
13. coarde
14. doamn
15. dumneavoastr
16. domnioar
17. Poftii berea dumneavoastr, doamn.
18. vnztoarea
19. Sunt foarte frumoase!
20. Cte persoane sunt n maina dumneavoastr?
9
 ROMANIAN
Unit Fourteen

1. doi
2. doisprezece
3. doi dolari
4. V dau doi dolari.
5. Dai-mi doi dolari.
6. Poftii doi euro.
7. Nu snt muli euro.
8. Nu am dolari deloc.
9. Foarte muli euro!
10. ceai
11. ceaiul
12. ceaiul dumneavoastr
13. loveai
14. cereai
15. ziar
16. Daciana
17. iau
18. s iau
19. s iau prnzul
20. Nu pot s iau.
10
 ROMANIAN
Unit Fifteen

1. biat
2. biatul
3. biei
4. bieii
5. munii
6. este
7. Este aici.
8. Nu este aici.
9. unde
10. unde este
11. Unde este bulevardul?
12. Bulevardul este aici?
13. Unde este Eugen?
14. Eugen nu este aici.
15. mulumesc
16. doresc
17. vorbesc
18. Eminescu
19. Popescu
20. locuiesc
11
 ROMANIAN
Unit Sixteen

1. deloc
2. Am noroc.
3. Avei noroc la joc.
4. Avei bani?
5. Banii ajung.
6. Ajunge?
7. pot
8. fac
9. Pot s fac.
10. Datorez douzeci de dolari.
11. i am i
12. i eu i
13. tii unde este strada Eminescu?
14. treizeci i ase
15. Dai-mi treizeci i ase de euro.
16. aptesprezece
17. ceva
18. beau
19. s beau ceva
20. i eu a dori s beau ceva.
12
 ROMANIAN
Unit Seventeen

1. lmie
2. tmie
3. mi
4. mi datorai
5. ncercai s ntrebai
6. nchis
7. nchise
8. trziu
9. noaptea foarte trziu
10. cenuiu
11. iubesc
12. iubesc ciurda
13. sear
14. A dori s cinez disear.
15. imaginai-v
16. o sut aizeci
17. soia mea
18. Soia mea ar dori s bea nite ceai.
19. singur
20. Suntei singur, domnioar?
13
 ROMANIAN
Unit Eighteen

1. ou
2. rou
3. nou cu dou
4. culeg
5. Vinul este prea scump.
6. porumb
7. Soul meu vrea s mnnce.
8. cuvntul
9. cerul este cenuiu
10. Am mers la Ateneul Romn mpreun.
11. reuit
12. Un arici?
13. Critici?
14. ceva pentru dumneavoastr
15. Nu, disear este prea trziu.
16. Dorii ceva, doamn?
17. Nu doresc ap.
18. nseamn
19. cuvntul
20. Ce nseamn cuvntul aceasta?
14
 ROMANIAN
Unit Nineteen

1. Vorbii prea repede!

2. Alte lebede.
3. A vrea s cumpr o carte.
4. zahr
5. Este foarte departe.
6. Putem s bem ceva?
7. Undeva cndva
8. Vrei s mncm ceva?
9. V rog, spunei da.
10. Mi-ar place.
11. Mi-ar place s v cunosc.
12. M bucur s v cunosc.
13. Mai scump?
14. Ascultai, am s repet.
15. Cine poate face masa?
16. ntr-un
17. rotire
18. corolar
19. corodare
20. Corodarea este rapida in ru.
15
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty

1. diminea
2. As dori s iau micul dejun dimineaa aceasta.
3. Copiii au multe jucrii.
4. Avem patru copii.
5. Avei copii?
6. copii / copiii
7. Copiii sunt nali?
8. copilului
9. nali ca brazii
10. plrie
11. o plrie frumoas
12. Ea este nalt.
13. Vrei s cinai disear cu mine?
14. Mine este mai bine.
15. Cine mai vine la cin?
16. Ct v datorez pentru cin?
17. Copiii au venit la cin.
18. Iertarea este frumoas.
19. ieim
20. Vrei s ieim disear?
16
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-One

1. Ctlina
2. Ieronim
3. Floarea
4. Vasile
5. Dumitru
6. Rotaru
7. Ciprian
8. Corina
9. Mdlina
10. Ciliboaie
11. Crtrescu
12. Coriolan Pomposu
13. Sever Popovici
14. Simona Ciloci
15. Gavril Gitnaru
16. Mircea Pavelescu
17. Traian Bsescu
18. George Buzdugan
19. Constantin Crihlmeanu
20. Clin Popescu Triceanu
17
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Two

1. Ascultai cu atenie.
2. nelegei tot ce spun?
3. nelegem puin.
4. Sunt fericit s v cunosc familia.
5. Venii mai aproape.
6. E prea mult benzin.
7. Ajunge acum
8. Cine tie, s rspund!
9. A dori s clatoresc mai mult.
10. Vrei s clatorii cu familia?
11. Ce idee bun.
12. Da, a dori s clatoresc cu familia.
13. Trebule s o lum la dreapta.
14. Norocul cltorului.
15. E bine c avei o main rapid!
16. Cost foarte mult.
17. Unde este toaleta?
18. tiu ce vrei s spui.
19. Totui trebuie s vorbeti clar.
20. Unde putem s ne ntlnim?
18
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Three

1. nelegei ce spun?
2. Ce dorii s cumprai astzi?
3. A dori s cumpr treizeci de litri de benzin.
4. E prea puin pentru ruta spre Bucureti.
5. Avem o main mic.
6. Dar avei o familie mare.
7. E bine c avei o main rapid.
8. Cost foarte puin.
9. Este prea departe.
10. Nu, este aproape.
11. Conducei ncet!
12. Nu mergem la Bucureti mine!
13. Ct benzin s pun?
14. Nu prea mult!
15. Spunei ci litri dorii.
16. Familia dumneavoastr vine la Bucureti?
17. Da, copiii vin cu mine!
18. Unde este toaleta?
19. Este drept nainte!
20. Nu, este la dreapta.
19
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Four

1. Toat lumea tie c drumul e dificil.

2. Luai-o la stnga dac vrei s ajungei la
timp!
3. Toate drumurile duc la Bucureti.
4. E un ora vechi i interesant.
5. A dori s-l vizitez mpreuna cu familia mea.
6. nelegei tot ce spun?
7. ncerc s neleg, dar vorbii prea repede.
8. Mai spunei o dat! Repetai, v rog!
9. Nu pot vorbi att de rar.
10. Fii amabil!
11. Ascultai cu atenie!
12. Ct benzin s pun?
13. Am ntrebat ceva important.
14. Avem destula benzin. Ajunge!
15. Am ales ruta cea mai lung. Luai-o la
stnga.
16. Vreau s ne oprim aici s mncm!
17. Mncarea i benzina cost prea mult.
18. Am destui bani s pltesc.
19. S mergem atunci.
20. Vrei s mergem drept nainte?
20
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Five

1. mi trebuie mai muli bani.

2. Ci bani avei la dumneavoastr?
3. Suficient s cumpr cadouri frumoase.
4. V place oraul acesta?
5. mi plac munii nali.
6. mi plac oraele mici i acesta e un ora mare.
7. V rog s venii devreme.
8. Vreau s ajung la Bucureti la timp.
9. Luai-o la stnga i apoi imediat la dreapta.
10. Ce plcere s v revd la Bucureti!
11. Unde este familia dumneavoastr?
12. Toi copiii sunt acas cu mama lor.
13. ntrebai-l pe el.
14. tie pe ce drum s o ia.
15. Conducei cu atenie.
16. Ct v datorez?
17. Foarte puin, zece euro.
18. Cost foarte puin.
19. Nu mergem la Bucureti mine.
20. Este drept nainte.
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 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Six

1. M bucur c vizitai oraul luna viitoare.

2. Vreau s vedei cteva magazine noi.
3. ncercai s reinei adresa.
4. Ct mi ia s ajung acolo?
5. Ct de departe vrei s mergei?
6. Aproximativ optzeci de kilometri.
7. Sper s ne vizitai n curnd!
8. V rog s ne nsoii la cin.
9. La ce numr locuii?
10. Poftim? Ct cost biletul?
11. Nu, ce culoare are maina.
12. Este o main mic pentru o familie mare
13. Restaurantul este mic, dar foarte faimos.
14. Cte zile stai la hotel?
15. tiu cine vine la cumprturi.
16. Cunoatei pe cineva n Bucureti?
17. Am foarte muli prieteni n ora.
18. Nu pot gasi cheia de la apartament.
19. Nu tiu despre ce vorbii.
20. Atunci, descurcai-v singur!
22
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Seven

1. A vrea s petrecem cteva zile mpreun.

2. Sunt o sut aizeci de kilometri.
3. Cel puin putem cltori mpreun.
4. mi pare ru, nu pot, caltoresc mpreun
cu soul meu!
5. Am cunoscut multe persoane excelente.
6. Preurile sunt exorbitante i excessive.
7. Am cteva oferte exclusive pentru dumnea-
voastr.
8. Ct cost un apartament mare n centrul
oraului?
9. Vreau s petrec cteva zile singur.
10. Locuiesc la marginea oraului, nu departe
de familia mea.
11. Ci copii avei?
12. Avem trei copii mari.
13. Haidei s ne grbim s ieim din ora.
14. Ct v datorez, v rog?
15. Ce spunei? Nu am atia bani!
16. Nici o problem. V mprumut eu banii.
17. Ce zi splendid pentru o plimbare.
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 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Seven (continued)

18. Este foarte rece astzi. Nu vreau s merg

la plimbare!
19. Temperatura este sub zero grade Celsius.
20. Ce este dedesubt?

24
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Eight

1. Nu neleg nimic.
2. Ce cuvnt nu nelegei?
3. De ce nu m credei? Nu neleg toate
cuvintele.
4. Ce vrei s spunei?
5. Nimic. Nu vreau s spun nimic.
6. Mereu rmnei n urm!
7. Vreau s vizitez nite prieteni buni din
Bucureti.
8. Vrei s mergei singur?
9. E un drum lung, dar m descurc.
10. Am ndeajuns pentru benzin.
11. Pot sta cu dumneavoastr cteva zile?
12. Putei sta dou zile pn se ntoarce soul
meu.
13. Unde sunt prosoapele din baie?
14. Ce se va ntmpla mine?
15. Asta e tot ce pot s v spun acum.
16. S ne grbim! Nu avem mult timp.
17. Cltorii singur?

25
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Eight (continued)

18. Lucrez n zilele urmtoare.

19. Nu avem nimic de lucru. Putem cltori
mai mult acum.
20. Nimeni nu mi-a spus nimic.

26
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Nine

1. Atenie, v rog! Cursul ncepe imediat!

2. Care este lecia dumneavoastr preferat?
3. Am cumprat o sticla de vin rou!
4. Nu, o luai la dreapta.
5. Drumul este mai scurt pe aici!
6. Ateptai-m mai ncolo, v rog.
7. Am repetat aceast propoziie de o sut de
ori.
8. V rog conducei cu atenie!
9. Unde este bulevardul Eroilor, v rog?
10. Mergei drept nainte, e drumul cel mai scurt!
11. V place mncarea Romneasc
12. Mncarea Romneasc este delicioas!
13. Astzi este o zi frumoas cu soare.
14. Povestii-mi despre cltoria dumneavoastr
n Romnia.
15. Nimic nu este foarte scump aici.
16. Suntem aici de sptmna trecut.
17. Am but vinuri foarte bune n casa dumnea-
voastr.

27
 ROMANIAN
Unit Twenty-Nine (continued)

18. Am gsit multe plrii frumoase.

19. Ieri, totul a mers mult mai bine.
20. Urmai-m! Am s v art drumul corect!

28
 ROMANIAN
Unit Thirty

1. Scuzai-m, domnule.
2. Am sosit ieri sear.
3. Voi merge la Iai dimineaa aceasta.
4. mi trebuie nite benzin n main mea!
5. Am bani destui pentru o sut kilometri.
6. Poftim?
7. Scuzai-m doamn, dar pn la Iai sunt o
sut aizeci de kilometri.
8. Adevrat?
9. V trebuie treizeci de litri de benzin
doamn.
10. Dar am numai optzeci de euro!
11. Atunci, dai-mi o carte de credit.
12. Bine. Pot s fac aceasta!

29
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