Appendix:Romanian morphology

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The Romanian language's many phonetic mutations may seem confusing at first, but it comes naturally with time and practice.

Vowel mutations

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o/oa

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When o is followed by one or more consonants, the o changes to oa if the next syllable will contain ă or e.

examples
before change and addition after
avion forming plural, +e avioane
frumos forming feminine, +ă frumoasă
orb forming feminine plural, +e oarbe
orb forming feminine, +ă oarbă

e/ea

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When e is followed by one or more consonants, the e changes to ea if the next syllable will contain ă.

examples
before change and addition after
negru forming feminine, +ă neagră
românesc forming feminine, +ă românească
chem conjugating verb, +ă cheamă
plec conjugating verb, +ă pleacă

ă/e

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When ă is followed by one or more consonants or a syllable containing ă, the ă changes to e if the next syllable will contain e or i.

examples
before change and addition after
capăt forming plural, +e capete
măr forming plural, +i meri
sâmbă forming plural, +e sâmbete
văd conjugating verb, +i vezi*

*Note that there are two mutations in this word. See the section on the d/z mutation.

a/e

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When a is followed by a syllable containing ă or e, the a changes to e if the next syllable will contain e, i or uri.

examples
before change and addition after
ma forming plural, +e mese
băiat forming plural, +i băieți
iarbă forming plural, +uri ierburi
iau conjugating verb, +i iei

a/ă

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When a is followed by a syllable containing ă or e, the a changes to ă if the next syllable will contain e, i or uri.

examples
before change and addition after
ța forming plural, +i țări
entitate forming plural, +i entități
carne forming plural, +uri cărnuri
lucrare forming plural, +ă lucrări

ea/e

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When ea is followed by one or more consonants or a syllable containing ă, the ea changes to e if the next syllable will contain e, i or uri.

examples
before change and addition after
armean forming masculine plural, +i armeni
armeancă forming feminine plural, +e armence
dimineață forming plural, +i dimineți
beau conjugating verb, +i bei

oa/o

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When oa is followed by a syllable containing ă or e, the oa changes to o and the ă or e in the next syllable will change to i.

examples
before change and addition after
floare forming plural, +i flori
boa forming plural, +i boli
moale forming adjectival plural, +i moi
ascuțitoare forming plural, +i ascuțitori

ie/ia

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When ie is followed by one or more consonants, the ie changes to ia if the next syllable will contain ă.

examples
before change and addition after
biet forming feminine, +ă biată
fiert forming feminine, +ă fiartă
iert conjugating verb, +ă iartă
pier conjugating verb, +ă piară

â/i

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When â is followed by one or more consonants, the â changes to i if the next syllable will contain e or i.

examples
before change and addition after
cuvânt forming plural, +e cuvinte
vână forming plural, +e vine

Stress mutations

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In these mutations, the stressed syllable and the actual letter change. They generally occur most often in verb conjugation.

a/ă

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Stressed a changes to unstressed ă.

examples
before after
eu cáut noi căutăm
eu tác voi tăceți

o/u

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Stressed o changes to unstressed u.

examples
before after
a ru eu rog
a ju eu joc

Consonant mutations

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Consonant mutations are quite a bit easier than vowel mutations. Mutations occur when a consanant will be followed by certain vowels (usually e, i or î). Which vowel(s) will be indicated on the example charts.

s/ș mutations

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add: i
before change after
urs forming plural urși
rus forming plural ruși
frumos forming masculine plural frumoși

st/șt

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add: i
before change after
artist forming plural artiști
prost forming plural proști
eu asist conjugating verb tu asiști

str/ștr

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add: i
before change after
ministru forming plural miniștri
albastru forming masculine plural albaștri
nostru forming masculine plural noștri

sc/șt

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add: i or e
before change after
românesc forming plural românești
eu vorbesc conjugating verb el vorbește
eu cunosc conjugating verb tu cunoști

șc/șt

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add: i or e
before change after
eu mușc conjugating verb tu muști
cușcă forming plural cuști
pușcă forming plural puști

t/ț

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add: i or e
before change after
bărbat forming plural bărbați
frate forming plural frați
eu cânt conjugating verb tu cânți

d/z

[edit]
add: i, â/î or ă
before change after
brad forming plural brazi
cad conjugating verb cazi
a deschide conjugating verb deschizând

z/j

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add: i
before change after
obraz forming plural obraji
cneaz forming plural cneji
viteaz forming masculine plural viteji

Consonant drops

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n

[edit]
add: i
before change after
eu pun conjugating verb tu pui
eu vin conjugating verb tu vii
eu rămân conjugating verb tu rămâi

l

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add: i
before change after
cal forming plural cai
gol forming masculine plural goi