The Many Meanings of 'de' — Romanian Grammar

is one of the busiest words in Romanian. It is a small preposition with a wide range of meanings, and it also glues together many longer prepositions. Learning its main uses unlocks a lot of everyday speech.

Possession and Connection

It links two nouns, much like English "of" or a noun used as a label:

o ceașcă de cafea
a cup of coffee
durerea de cap
the headache (literally: the pain of head)

Material and Cause

What something is made of: - a wooden table (a table of wood)
The cause of a feeling: - I'm shivering from cold

It Builds Other Prepositions

combines with other words into common compound prepositions:

- from
- off / from on
(from + ) - from / out of

Sunt din România.
I am from Romania.

Numbers Above 19

A neat rule: from 20 upward, a counted noun is joined to its number with :

cinci cărți
five books (no de)
douăzeci de cărți
twenty books (de required)

In Set Phrases

You also meet it in fixed questions and expressions, such as (why) and (in agreement / OK).

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Romanian course

87 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 4. A few of them, with the words “The Many Meanings of 'de'” is about in bold:

Am cumpărat o duzină de ouă și o ciocolată și pentru tine.
I bought a dozen eggs and a candy bar for you too.
Lesson 47
Nu te-am mai văzut de nouă ani!
I haven't seen you for nine years!
Lesson 175
Mergeți și vedeți bucătăria. Este atât de mică.
Go and check out (pl.) the kitchen. It is so small.
Lesson 322

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