Common Romanian adjective form patterns

Romanian adjectives match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Many change their form, while some keep one form across genders and numbers. Compare un băiat bun (a good boy), o fată bună (a good girl), and două scaune bune (two good chairs).

How do you choose an adjective form?

First identify the noun's gender and number. Then choose the matching form from the adjective's pattern. An adjective may have one, two, three, or four distinct forms.

1. Find the noun's gender and number. A neuter noun uses a masculine adjective form in the singular and a feminine plural form in the plural; review Romanian noun gender if needed.
2. Check the adjective's pattern rather than adding an ending automatically. Learn a new adjective with its gender-number forms.
3. Use the form that matches the noun: o carte interesantă (an interesting book), două cărți interesante (two interesting books).

The pattern labels count distinct forms, including a form that serves more than one gender or number.

How does the four-form pattern distinguish gender and number?

Four-form adjectives have a separate form for masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural. Neuter nouns use the masculine singular form in the singular and the feminine plural form in the plural.

How does the three-form pattern share a plural?

Three-form adjectives have one masculine and neuter singular form, a separate feminine singular form, and one plural form for all genders. In both mic, mică, mici and nou, nouă, noi, the plural form serves masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.

How do two-form and one-form adjectives share forms?

Two-form adjectives have two distinct written forms across gender and number. One-form adjectives stay unchanged. Mare uses mare in every singular and mari in every plural: un oraș mare (a big city), o casă mare (a big house), două orașe mari (two big cities).

Invariable adjectives such as roz are standard, not incomplete forms. They keep one spelling with nouns of every gender and number. Other invariable color adjectives exist, but learn each one as a dictionary item rather than guessing from its meaning.

How can a stem change in a feminine or plural form?

An adjective may add or replace an ending, and its stem may also change. Learn the full set of gender-number forms: frumos, frumoasă, frumoși, frumoase (beautiful), românesc, românească, românești (Romanian), and nou, nouă, noi (new).

• A consonant-final adjective often adds -ă in the feminine singular: bun becomes bună, and its masculine plural is buni.
• An adjective ending in -u can replace that ending: mândru becomes mândră, mândri, mândre (proud).
• Some forms have a spelling change before the plural ending: mic becomes mici, and frumos becomes frumoși. Keep the required diacritics in every form.

Mistakes to avoid

• Do not use feminine singular bună with a neuter plural. Write două scaune bune.
• Do not assume every adjective has four different forms. mare has mare/mari, and roz does not change.
• Do not attach a plural ending without checking the adjective. The standard forms are nou, nouă, noi and vechi, veche, vechi.
• Do not use an adjective's form pattern to choose its position. Ordinary noun-first order is the neutral starting point; other positions can affect emphasis and article placement. See adjective position for that separate choice.