100+ Romanian Slang Words and Expressions You Need to Know

Table of Contents

• Common Everyday Slang
• Youth & Internet Slang
• Expressions & Idioms
• Food & Drink Related
• Social & Friendly Terms
• Work & Money Related
• Informal Exclamations
• Regional Variations
• Vulgar Slang
• Love & Relationships

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Understanding Romanian slang is essential for anyone wanting to connect with native speakers on a deeper level. While formal Romanian is taught in schools, everyday conversations are filled with colorful expressions, regional variations, and modern slang that reflect the country's rich cultural heritage and contemporary influences. This comprehensive guide introduces you to 100+ essential Romanian slang words and expressions that will help you sound more natural and understand the nuances of Romanian culture.

Common Everyday Slang

• Băi: Hey, dude (informal address). Băi, ce faci? (Hey, what are you doing?)
• Mă: Me/my (used as informal address). Mă, nu știu. (Dude, I don't know.)
• Frate/Fră: Brother, bro. Ce zici, frate? (What do you say, bro?)
• Soră/Soro: Sister, sis. Hai, soro, să mergem. (Come on, sis, let's go.)
• Tare: Cool, awesome, strong. E tare filmul ăsta. (This movie is awesome.)
• Mișto: Cool, nice, fun. A fost mișto petrecerea. (The party was cool.)
• Super: Great, awesome (borrowed from English). Super ideea ta! (Your idea is great!)
• Șmecher: Cool, smart, cunning. E un tip șmecher. (He's a cool/smart guy.)
• Gagiu/Gagică: Dude/chick. Gagiul ăla e simpatic. (That dude is nice.)
• Tip/Tipă: Guy/girl. Tipa aia e frumoasă. (That girl is beautiful.)
• Bani: Money. N-am bani de ieșit. (I don't have money to go out.)
• Casă/Căși: House, home. Vii la casa mea? (Are you coming to my place?)
• Mașină: Car. Mașina mea s-a stricat. (My car broke down.)
• Treabă: Thing, business, work. Ce treabă ai? (What's your business/What are you up to?)
• Chestie: Thing, stuff. Dă-mi chestia aia. (Give me that thing.)
• Neam: Family, relatives. Vine neamul la masă. (The family is coming for dinner.)
• Lume: People, folks. Multă lume la concert. (Lots of people at the concert.)
• Gata: Done, finished, enough. Gata cu munca! (Done with work!)
• Hai: Come on, let's go. Hai să plecăm. (Come on, let's leave.)

Youth & Internet Slang

• Salut: Hi, bye (very common). Salut, ce mai faci? (Hi, how are you doing?)
• Pa: Bye (casual). Pa, ne vedem mâine. (Bye, see you tomorrow.)
• Noroc: Good luck, cheers. Noroc cu examenul! (Good luck with the exam!)
• Pwp: See you later (pe whatsapp). Pwp, vorbim diseară. (Ttyl, we'll talk tonight.)
• Lol: LOL (borrowed from English). Lol, ce amuzant! (LOL, how funny!)
• Epic: Epic (borrowed from English). A fost epic concertul. (The concert was epic.)
• Fail: Fail (borrowed from English). Total fail prezentarea. (Total fail presentation.)
• Cool: Cool (borrowed from English). E foarte cool tipul. (The guy is very cool.)
• Random: Random (borrowed from English). E foarte random ce zici. (What you're saying is very random.)
• Hype: Hype, excitement (borrowed from English). E mult hype pentru film. (There's a lot of hype for the movie.)
• Cringe: Cringeworthy (borrowed from English). A fost cringe momentul. (The moment was cringe.)
• Vibe: Vibe, feeling (borrowed from English). Bun vibe la petrecere. (Good vibe at the party.)
• Flexez: To flex, show off (borrowed from English). Flexează cu mașina nouă. (He's flexing with his new car.)
• Mood: Mood (borrowed from English). Big mood ce zici. (Big mood what you're saying.)

Expressions & Idioms

• A da cu bâta-n baltă: To mess things up (literally "to hit the pond with a stick"). A dat cu bâta-n baltă la interviu. (He messed up the interview.)
• A fi cu capul în nori: To daydream (literally "to have head in clouds"). E mereu cu capul în nori. (He's always daydreaming.)
• A-i sări țandăra: To lose one's temper (literally "for the spark to jump"). I-a sărit țandăra când a auzit. (He lost his temper when he heard.)
• A trage chiulul: To skip school/work. Trage chiulul de o săptămână. (He's been skipping for a week.)
• A fi la pământ: To be broke/down. Sunt la pământ cu banii. (I'm broke.)
• A face pe dracu-n patru: To work very hard (literally "to make the devil in four"). Face pe dracu-n patru să termine. (He's working his ass off to finish.)
• A-și băga picioarele: To give up, not care. Și-a băgat picioarele în treabă. (He gave up on the matter.)
• A fi pe dinafară: To know by heart. Știe poezia pe dinafară. (He knows the poem by heart.)
• A lua țeapă: To get scammed. Am luat țeapă cu mașina. (I got scammed with the car.)
• A fi în largul său: To be in one's element. E în largul lui la petreceri. (He's in his element at parties.)
• A avea ghinion: To be unlucky. Am ghinion cu vremea. (I'm unlucky with the weather.)
• A fi cu nasul pe sus: To be snobbish (literally "with nose up"). E cu nasul pe sus de când s-a îmbogățit. (He's been snobbish since he got rich.)
• A merge ca pe roate: To go smoothly (literally "like on wheels"). Totul merge ca pe roate. (Everything is going smoothly.)

Food & Drink Related

• Mâncare: Food. Ce mâncare bună! (What good food!)
• Grătare: BBQ, grilling. Facem grătare în weekend. (We're having a BBQ this weekend.)
• Bere: Beer. Bem o bere? (Shall we have a beer?)
• Țuică/Pălincă: Traditional Romanian brandy. Țuica bunicii e tare. (Grandma's brandy is strong.)
• Vin: Wine. Vinul roșu e bun. (The red wine is good.)
• Cafea: Coffee. Bem o cafea? (Shall we have a coffee?)
• Mici: Small grilled meat rolls (national dish). Micii de la colț sunt buni. (The mici from the corner are good.)
• Ciorbă: Sour soup. Ciorba de burtă e tradițională. (Tripe soup is traditional.)
• Papanași: Traditional Romanian dessert. Papanașii sunt dulci. (Papanași are sweet.)
• Cozonac: Traditional sweet bread. Cozonacul de Paște e delicios. (Easter cozonac is delicious.)
• Sarmale: Stuffed cabbage rolls. Sarmalele bunicii sunt cele mai bune. (Grandma's sarmale are the best.)
• Slănină: Bacon/pork fat. Slănina cu ceapă e gustoasă. (Bacon with onion is tasty.)

Social & Friendly Terms

• Prieten/Prietenă: Friend. E prietenul meu din copilărie. (He's my childhood friend.)
• Amic/Amică: Close friend. Amicul meu cel mai bun. (My best friend.)
• Coleg/Colegă: Colleague, classmate. Colega mea de birou. (My office colleague.)
• Vecin/Vecină: Neighbor. Vecinul e foarte zgomotos. (The neighbor is very noisy.)
• Băiat/Fată: Boy/girl. Băiatul ăla e drăguț. (That boy is cute.)
• Om: Person, man. E un om de treabă. (He's a decent person.)
• Domn/Doamnă: Sir/Madam (polite). Domnul profesor e strict. (The professor is strict.)
• Bătrân/Bătrână: Old man/woman. Bătrânul de la parter. (The old man from the ground floor.)
• Copil: Child, kid. Copilul e foarte cuminte. (The child is very well-behaved.)
• Puști: Kid, young person. Puștiul ăla e deștept. (That kid is smart.)
• Gașcă: Gang, group of friends. Gașca din liceu. (The high school gang.)
• Echipă: Team. Echipa noastră e cea mai bună. (Our team is the best.)

Work & Money Related

• Serviciu: Job, work. Merg la serviciu. (I'm going to work.)
• Muncă: Work, labor. Munca e grea. (Work is hard.)
• Șef: Boss. Șeful e în concediu. (The boss is on vacation.)
• Coleg: Colleague. Colegii sunt simpatici. (The colleagues are nice.)
• Salariu: Salary. Salariul e mic. (The salary is small.)
• Bani: Money. Nu am bani destui. (I don't have enough money.)
• Leu/Lei: Romanian currency. Costă 50 de lei. (It costs 50 lei.)
• Euro: Euro. E scump în euro. (It's expensive in euros.)
• Firmă: Company. Lucrez la o firmă mare. (I work at a big company.)
• Birou: Office. Biroul e la etajul 3. (The office is on the 3rd floor.)
• Program: Schedule, program. Programul e flexibil. (The schedule is flexible.)
• Concediu: Vacation, leave. Sunt în concediu. (I'm on vacation.)

Informal Exclamations

• Mamă: Mom (exclamation of surprise). Mamă, ce mare e! (Mom, how big it is!)
• Doamne: Lord (mild exclamation). Doamne, ce cald e! (Lord, how hot it is!)
• Vai: Oh no, alas. Vai de mine! (Woe is me!)
• Uite: Look, see. Uite ce frumos! (Look how beautiful!)
• Păi: Well, so. Păi, nu știu ce să zic. (Well, I don't know what to say.)
• Mă: Well, you know (filler word). Mă, să vezi ce s-a întâmplat. (Well, you should see what happened.)
• Bre: Hey, dude (informal). Bre, ce faci? (Hey, what are you doing?)
• Măi: Hey (slightly rude). Măi, ascultă aici! (Hey, listen here!)
• Of: Ugh, sigh. Of, ce obosit sunt! (Ugh, how tired I am!)
• Eh: Eh, meh. Eh, nu-i mare lucru. (Eh, it's not a big deal.)

Regional Variations

Moldavia (Moldova)

• Mărg: I'm going (regional pronunciation). Mărg la magazin. (I'm going to the store.)
• Foame mare: Very hungry (regional expression). Am foame mare. (I'm very hungry.)

Transylvania (Transilvania)

• Servus: Hello/goodbye (from Hungarian/German influence). Servus, cum mai ești? (Hello, how are you?)
• Prost: Stupid (more commonly used in Transylvania). Nu fi prost! (Don't be stupid!)

Wallachia (Muntenia)

• Mă: Dude, man (very common in Bucharest). Mă, ce zici? (Dude, what do you say?)
• Frate: Brother, bro (Bucharest slang). Frate, ajută-mă. (Bro, help me.)

Oltenia

• Măi: Hey (common in Oltenia). Măi, vino aici! (Hey, come here!)
• Bade: Brother, uncle (regional term). Bade, cum o mai duci? (Brother, how are you doing?)

Vulgar Slang

• Dracu: Devil, damn. Dracu să-l ia! (Damn him!)
• Naiba: Hell, damn. Naiba să mă ia! (Damn me!)
• Pula: Dick (very vulgar). Pula mea! (My dick! - expression of surprise)
• Muie: Blowjob (very vulgar, used as insult). Muie lu' ăla! (F*ck that guy!)
• Căcat: Shit. Ce căcat e asta? (What shit is this?)
• Pizda: Cunt (very vulgar). Pizda mă-sii! (His mother's c*nt!)
• Futut: Fcked. Sunt futut. (I'm fcked.)
• Mort: Dead (used for emphasis). Sunt mort de oboseală. (I'm dead tired.)
• Nenorocit: Bastard, unlucky one. Nenorociții ăia m-au păcălit. (Those bastards fooled me.)
• Javră: Btch (literally female dog). Javra aia m-a mințit. (That btch lied to me.)
• Târfă: Whore, slut. Târfa aia e rea. (That whore is mean.)
• Căcăcios: Shitty person. E un căcăcios. (He's a shitty person.)

Love & Relationships

• Iubit/Iubită: Boyfriend/girlfriend, lover. Iubita mea e frumoasă. (My girlfriend is beautiful.)
• Dragoste: Love. E dragostea vieții mele. (She's the love of my life.)
• Pupic: Kiss (cute). Dă-mi un pupic. (Give me a kiss.)
• Sărutat: Kissed. Ne-am sărutat aseară. (We kissed last night.)
• Îmbrățișat: Hugged. M-a îmbrățișat tare. (He/she hugged me tight.)
• Îndrăgostit: In love. Sunt îndrăgostit de ea. (I'm in love with her.)
• Cuplu: Couple. Sunt un cuplu fericit. (They're a happy couple.)
• Căsătorit: Married. Sunt căsătoriți de 10 ani. (They've been married for 10 years.)
• Despărțit: Separated, broken up. S-au despărțit luna trecută. (They broke up last month.)
• Flirt: Flirt. Face flirt cu toată lumea. (He/she flirts with everyone.)
• Cochet: Flirty, coquettish. E foarte cochetă. (She's very flirty.)

Gaming & Internet Culture

• Gamer: Gamer (borrowed from English). Sunt gamer de mici. (I've been a gamer since I was little.)
• Joc: Game. Jocul ăsta e tare. (This game is cool.)
• Level: Level (borrowed from English). Ce level ai? (What level are you?)
• Boss: Boss (game boss). Bossul final e greu. (The final boss is hard.)
• Lag: Lag (connection issues). Am lag rău. (I have bad lag.)
• Ping: Ping (internet latency). Pingul e mare. (The ping is high.)
• Noob: Noob, newbie. Ești noob la jocul ăsta. (You're a noob at this game.)
• Pro: Pro, professional player. E pro la CS. (He's pro at CS.)
• Skill: Skill, ability. Are skill bun. (He has good skill.)
• Team: Team. Teamul nostru e tare. (Our team is strong.)

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This comprehensive guide provides you with essential Romanian slang that spans from everyday conversations to regional variations and modern internet culture. Romanian slang is particularly interesting because it blends Latin roots with Slavic influences, Turkish borrowings from Ottoman times, and modern English terms from globalization. The best way to master these expressions is through practice with native speakers and consuming Romanian media like movies, music, and social media content.