A Romanian adjective describes a noun and usually changes to match its gender and number. Compare un băiat bun (a good boy) with o fată bună (a good girl): the adjective is the same idea, but its ending follows the noun.
How do Romanian adjectives agree?
Choose the adjective form that matches the noun's gender and number; first identify the noun pattern in Romanian noun gender, then match singular with singular or plural with plural.
| Noun pattern | Gender and number | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | masculine + singular | un băiat bun (a good boy) |
| Feminine singular | feminine + singular | o fată bună (a good girl) |
| Neuter singular | neuter + singular | un scaun bun (a good chair) |
| Masculine plural | masculine + plural | doi băieți buni (two good boys) |
| Feminine plural | feminine + plural | două fete bune (two good girls) |
| Neuter plural | neuter + plural | două scaune bune (two good chairs) |
How do you choose the form?
- Find the noun that the adjective describes: in case frumoase (beautiful houses), the adjective describes case.
- Check the noun's gender and number. The noun's article or numeral can help: un and doi often point to masculine, while o and două point to feminine; a neuter noun uses the masculine pattern in the singular and the feminine pattern in the plural.
- Use the matching adjective form: un hotel nou (a new hotel), but două hoteluri noi (two new hotels).
Which adjective forms should you learn?
Many adjectives have four forms, but common adjectives also have three, two, or one written form. The table gives useful examples, not a rule that predicts every new adjective; the fuller adjective form patterns article covers more endings and stem changes.
| Pattern | Forms by gender and number | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Four forms | m./n. singular; f. singular; m. plural; f./n. plural | bun, bună, buni, bune (good) |
| Three forms | m./n. singular; f. singular; all plurals | mic, mică, mici (small); nou, nouă, noi (new) |
| Two forms | all singulars; all plurals | mare, mari (big); verde, verzi (green) |
| One form | all genders and numbers | roz (pink): o rochie roz, două rochii roz (a pink dress, two pink dresses) |
What happens with a neuter noun?
A neuter noun looks masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural, so its adjective changes in the same direction. In un scaun bun (a good chair), bun is masculine singular; in două scaune bune (two good chairs), bune is feminine plural. See neuter nouns for the noun pattern.
What can stay the same?
Agreement does not mean that every form must look different. With mare, singular masculine and feminine use the same form, while plural uses mari: un oraș mare, o casă mare, orașe mari, case mari (a big city, a big house, big cities, big houses).
The standard invariable adjective roz keeps one written form with every gender and number. This is a real adjective pattern, not a missing ending: pereți roz (pink walls) and rochii roz (pink dresses). The examples here are neutral contemporary Standard Romanian; regional, archaic, and conversational forms are outside this basic lesson.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not use the masculine singular automatically: o fată bună, not o fată bun.
- Do not use doi with every plural noun: două fete bune and două scaune bune both need două.
- Do not change an invariable adjective: două rochii roz, not două rochii roze in this basic pattern.
- Do not assume that one ending works for every adjective. Learn a useful set together, such as bun, bună, buni, bune or mare, mari.
Which phrase shows feminine singular adjective agreement?
- o carte bună
- un băiat bun
- doi băieți buni
- două scaune bune
Carte is feminine singular, so the matching form is bună. The other phrases are masculine singular, masculine plural, and neuter plural.
Complete: două scaune ___ (two good chairs)
- bune
- bun
- bună
- buni
Scaune is a neuter plural noun. Neuter plurals take the feminine plural adjective form, bune.
Which sentence has correct agreement and means “The two houses are big”?
- Cele două case sunt mari.
- Cele doi case sunt mari.
- Cele două case sunt mare.
- Cele două casă sunt mari.
Case is feminine plural, so the numeral is două and the plural form of mare is mari.
Complete: Am două cărți ___. (I have two new books.)
- noi
- nouă
- nou
- noii
Cărți is feminine plural, and nou has the plural form noi for both genders.
Which statement about mare is correct?
- It has separate masculine and feminine singular forms.
- It is the same for masculine and feminine singular, but plural is mari for all genders.
- It never changes for singular or plural.
- It uses mare in every plural phrase.
Mare is one form for singular and mari is the plural form: un băiat mare, o fată mare, băieți mari, fete mari.