Romanian uses both adapted loans and words that still show their foreign source. Source spelling and Romanian grammar both control the written form. The borrowed common noun body (a close-fitting garment or bodysuit) takes the attached definite form bodyul (the bodysuit). The loan show takes the hyphenated plural show-uri (shows).
How do you decide how to write a borrowed word?
First identify the word's status. Then check its current DOOM3 entry. Retain a foreign source spelling when DOOM3 records it. For a loan used in Romanian, use the Romanian article, plural, and capitalization that DOOM3 records.
- Decide whether you are writing a common noun used in Romanian, a foreign proper name, or a multiword foreign expression. Do not treat a person's name or a brand as an ordinary common noun without checking its established spelling.
- Check DOOM3 for the headword, gender, definite form, plural, pronunciation notes, and any usage label. A new or fashionable loan may have an entry even when DOOM3 does not recommend it for every context.
Then copy the recorded Romanian form. A sufficiently integrated loan can attach Romanian morphology as one word: bodyul (the bodysuit) and bodyuri (bodysuits). A difficult-to-integrate source ending, a mismatch between spelling and pronunciation, or an abbreviation or multiword expression can take the Romanian ending after a hyphen when DOOM3 records that pattern: show-uri (shows), CD-uri (CDs), and fake news-uri (fake news items).
When do Romanian endings attach without a hyphen?
When DOOM3 treats the loan's final letters as an ordinary written ending in Romanian, it records the definite ending -ul or the neuter plural ending -uri without a hyphen. The examples below include y pronounced as Romanian i.
| Base form | Recorded forms | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| body (bodysuit; English source form) | bodyul (the bodysuit); bodyuri (bodysuits) | DOOM3 treats y as a usable letter in these Romanian forms. |
| hobby (English source form) | hobbyuri (hobbies) | Attach the plural directly: hobbyuri, not hobby-uri. |
| spray (English source form) | sprayuri (sprays) | The form retains the source spelling and attaches the plural ending. |
| fairplay (English source form) | fairplayul (fair play) | The current definite form is written as one word. |
The recorded examples do not create a productive rule for every new loan. The final letter, its pronunciation in Romanian, the word's grammatical behavior, and the dictionary entry can lead to different forms. The source language's plural does not determine the Romanian form. Keep the listed Romanian form instead.
When does a borrowed word keep a hyphen?
A hyphen commonly separates -ul or -uri from a foreign-looking base in cases of difficult pronunciation or integration, a mismatch between the written ending and its pronunciation, or an abbreviation or multiword source expression.
| Base or source form | Romanian form | Reason for the hyphen |
|---|---|---|
| show (English source form) | show-uri (shows) | The final w does not function as an ordinary Romanian word ending in this form. |
| kitsch (German source form) | kitsch-uri (kitsch objects) | The hyphen separates the final foreign letter sequence from -uri. |
| bleu (French source form) | bleu-uri (blue shades) | The written ending does not transparently match the Romanian pronunciation. |
| CD or VIP (abbreviation) | CD-uri, VIP-uri | A hyphen makes the Romanian plural ending clear after an initialism or acronym. |
| fake news (English source expression) | fake news-ul, fake news-uri | The multiword source form remains visible before the Romanian endings. |
What happens to capitalization and Romanian diacritics?
Common nouns used in Romanian are normally lowercase, whether they are old loans or recent foreign words: fairplay, kitsch, and fake news. Foreign proper names keep their established source capitalization and spelling. Müller, Washington, and New York are foreign names rather than Romanian common nouns. Romanian words and adapted forms still require Romanian diacritics such as ă, â, î, ș, and ț wherever the standard spelling calls for them.
- Keep the source spelling of an unadapted name: write Müller, not a guessed Romanian replacement. A legal or established personal name can preserve a spelling that does not follow the general spelling of Romanian common nouns.
- Foreign origin does not make an ordinary loan a proper noun: write un gest de fairplay (an act of fair play), not a capitalized common noun.
- Keep the required Romanian diacritics in surrounding text and in adapted loans: ă, â, î, ș, and ț remain part of the standard spelling.
- Do not automatically Romanianize every foreign source form. If a name, title, quotation, or source expression is intentionally presented in the original spelling, mark that status and preserve it.
What does inclusion in DOOM3 tell you about register?
DOOM3 records current spelling, pronunciation, morphology, and some usage restrictions; inclusion does not recommend a foreign word for every text. A recent loan may be common in technology, business, media, or conversation, while a formal or general-audience text may prefer a Romanian equivalent. Choose register for the audience and context rather than treating every loan as either correct or incorrect.
Which is the current definite singular form of the borrowed noun body?
- body-uri
- bodyul
- body-ul
- bodyi
DOOM3 records bodyul with the definite ending attached directly. The spelling body-ul uses a hyphen, but this current pattern attaches the ending directly.
Which plural keeps a hyphen in the current pattern taught here?
- hobbyuri
- bodyuri
- show-uri
- sprayuri
A hyphen separates the foreign-looking final spelling of show from -uri: show-uri. The examples hobbyuri, bodyuri, and sprayuri attach the plural ending directly.
Which spelling preserves a foreign proper name's source form?
- Müller
- Muller
- Muler
- Müllerul
Müller is presented as a foreign proper name, so its established capitalization and source spelling are preserved. The other options respell it or add an ending without a stated Romanian context.
Which sentence uses the recorded plural of show to mean “I saw two shows”?
- Am văzut două showuri.
- Am văzut două șouri.
- Am văzut două show-uriuri.
- Am văzut două show-uri.
The recorded plural is show-uri. It keeps the source form show and adds one Romanian plural ending after a hyphen.
What should you do first with a new borrowed word?
- Always copy the source language's plural.
- Always add -uri without a hyphen.
- Check the current DOOM3 entry and use its recorded form.
- Avoid every word that came from another language.
Loanword spelling and inflection depend on the word's integration, final spelling, pronunciation, and usage. The current DOOM3 entry records these features, so check it first. An automatic English plural, automatic -uri, or blanket avoidance ignores the documented variation.