Romanian nouns often change form in the plural. For example, un băiat becomes doi băieți (two boys), and o casă becomes două case (two houses). The plural can change the end of the word, the stem, or both.
How do you form a Romanian noun plural?
Learn each noun with its singular article and plural form. Its gender points to common endings such as -i, -e, and -uri, but it does not determine one unique plural.
| Noun type | Common plural clue | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Often ends in -i | un băiat, doi băieți (one boy, two boys); un om, doi oameni (one person, two people) |
| Feminine | Often ends in -e or -i | o casă, două case (one house, two houses); o carte, două cărți (one book, two books) |
| Neuter | Often ends in -e or -uri | un scaun, două scaune (one chair, two chairs); un hotel, două hoteluri (one hotel, two hotels) |
The endings in the table are common patterns, not one rule that applies to every noun. A noun’s stem can also change, so record each count noun—a noun that can be counted—as a full pair: un om, doi oameni; o zi, două zile; un copil, doi copii.
Why does the plural help with gender?
Use the one-two pattern taught in Romanian noun gender. Compare the one and two phrases in each row. Neuter is the pattern that combines singular un with plural două.
| Gender | One | Two | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | un băiat | doi băieți | Masculine has un and doi. |
| Feminine | o fată | două fete | Feminine has o and două. |
| Neuter | un oraș | două orașe | Neuter has un in the singular but două in the plural. |
How do you use plural nouns after numbers?
- Use doi with masculine nouns: Am doi frați. (I have two brothers.)
- Use două with feminine and neuter nouns: Am două cărți. (I have two books.) Am două scaune. (I have two chairs.)
- Use the plural noun after numbers greater than one: trei studenți (three students), patru case (four houses).
Mistakes to avoid
A Romanian plural phrase depends on the noun’s gender pattern and written plural form. Do not choose doi or două from the English meaning alone. The Romanian noun pattern controls the choice. Scaun is neuter, so say două scaune, not doi scaune. Keep the diacritics in written plural forms: băieți, cărți, orașe.
What does două case mean?
- two houses
- one house
- two boys
- the houses
Case is the plural of casă, and două means two with feminine or neuter nouns.
Choose the plural pair for un băiat.
- două băieți
- doi băiat
- doi băieți
- două băiate
Băiat is masculine, so its plural uses doi. The noun’s plural form is băieți: doi băieți.
Complete: Am ___ cărți. (I have two books.)
- doi
- două
- un
- o
Carte is feminine, so with two you use două: două cărți.
Which sentence is correct?
- Am doi scaune.
- Am două scaun.
- Am doi scaunuri.
- Am două scaune.
Scaun is neuter, so it uses un in the singular but două in the plural. Its plural form is scaune.
What is the safest way to learn a new Romanian count noun?
- Add -i to every noun
- Learn it with the singular article and plural form
- Use doi with every plural noun
- Ignore the plural until B1
Romanian has common plural patterns, but no pattern determines every noun’s plural. Learn the singular article and plural form together.