Romanian changes the forms for one and two to match a noun's gender. Say un băiat, doi băieți (one boy, two boys), but o fată, două fete (one girl, two girls). A neuter noun follows the masculine pattern in the singular and the feminine pattern in the plural: un scaun, două scaune (one chair, two chairs).
How do Romanian one and two agree with nouns?
Use un or o before a singular noun, and use doi or două before its plural according to the noun's gender pattern.
| Noun gender | One + singular | Two + plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | un | doi | un băiat, doi băieți (one boy, two boys) |
| Feminine | o | două | o studentă, două studente (one female student, two female students) |
| Neuter | un | două | un caiet, două caiete (one notebook, two notebooks) |
Which form of one goes before a noun?
Before a noun, the forms are un for masculine and neuter singular nouns and o for feminine singular nouns. These forms can be the indefinite article (a/an) or the numeral (one); context supplies the difference. The numeral changes form when it stands independently, so compare the two positions.
| Position | Masculine or neuter | Feminine | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before a noun | un | o | un hotel (a/one hotel); o carte (a/one book) |
| Used independently | unu | una | Câte cărți ai? - Una. (How many books do you have? - One.) |
With a noun, un or o may mean a/an or one: Am o soră. (I have a sister, or I have one sister.) Context determines which reading applies. The Romanian cardinal numbers article covers the wider number system, while Romanian indefinite articles explains the article meaning of un and o.
Do not use the independent forms unu and una directly before a noun in the basic pattern. Say un hotel and o carte, not unu hotel or una carte.
How can one and two help identify a noun's gender?
Learn a count noun with both its singular and plural, then use the pair of numeral forms to identify its gender pattern.
- Find or learn the singular and plural: caiet, caiete (notebook, notebooks).
- Choose the singular form: un caiet shows the masculine-pattern singular used by a neuter noun.
- Choose the plural form: două caiete shows the feminine-pattern plural used by a neuter noun.
A neuter noun uses a mixed pattern: it takes un in the singular but două in the plural. The same shift appears in agreeing adjectives: un caiet nou (a new notebook), but două caiete noi (two new notebooks). Another common pair is un oraș, două orașe (one city, two cities). For more noun-gender background, see Romanian noun gender.
The numeral pairs above are neutral contemporary Standard Romanian forms for ordinary count nouns. Each noun has its own plural form, so similar-looking nouns can belong to different genders. Check the full pair rather than guessing from the ending alone; Romanian noun plurals gives the main plural patterns.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not use doi with every plural noun: două cărți (two books) and două scaune (two chairs) both use două.
- Do not use două with a masculine plural: say doi băieți (two boys), not două băieți.
- Do not treat a neuter noun as masculine in both numbers: say un hotel, două hoteluri (one hotel, two hotels).
- Do not put unu or una before a noun in the basic pattern: use un or o instead.
Which phrase means "two chairs"?
- doi scaune
- două scaune
- două scaun
- un scaune
Scaun is neuter, so its plural pair is un scaun, două scaune. Neuter nouns use două in the plural.
Complete the phrase: ___ băieți (two boys)
- două
- un
- doi
- o
Băiat is masculine, and its plural is băieți. The masculine form of two is therefore doi.
Complete: ___ scaune sunt în cameră. (There are two chairs in the room.)
- Două
- Doi
- Un
- O
Scaune is the plural of neuter scaun. Neuter nouns take două in the plural.
Which form completes this answer about feminine plural nouns? Câte cărți ai? - ___. (How many books do you have? - One.)
- un
- unu
- o
- una
When one is used independently with a feminine noun understood from context, use una. Before a noun, the form would be o: o carte.
Which sentence is correct?
- Am doi caiete.
- Am două caiet.
- Am două caiete.
- Am o caiete.
Caiet is neuter: the correct pair is un caiet, două caiete. Therefore the sentence needs both două and the plural caiete.