Appendix:Romanian morphology

The Romanian language's many phonetic mutations may seem confusing at first, but it comes naturally with time and practice.

Vowel mutations

o/oa

When o is followed by one or more consonants, the o changes to oa if the next syllable will contain ă or e.

examples
before	change and addition	after
avion	forming plural, +e	avioane
frumos	forming feminine, +ă	frumoasă
orb	forming feminine plural, +e	oarbe
orb	forming feminine, +ă	oarbă

e/ea

When e is followed by one or more consonants, the e changes to ea if the next syllable will contain ă.

examples
before	change and addition	after
negru	forming feminine, +ă	neagră
românesc	forming feminine, +ă	românească
chem	conjugating verb, +ă	cheamă
plec	conjugating verb, +ă	pleacă

ă/e

When ă is followed by one or more consonants or a syllable containing ă, the ă changes to e if the next syllable will contain e or i.

examples
before	change and addition	after
capăt	forming plural, +e	capete
măr	forming plural, +i	meri
sâmbătă	forming plural, +e	sâmbete
văd	conjugating verb, +i	vezi*

*Note that there are two mutations in this word. See the section on the d/z mutation.

a/e

When a is followed by a syllable containing ă or e, the a changes to e if the next syllable will contain e, i or uri.

examples
before	change and addition	after
masă	forming plural, +e	mese
băiat	forming plural, +i	băieți
iarbă	forming plural, +uri	ierburi
iau	conjugating verb, +i	iei

a/ă

When a is followed by a syllable containing ă or e, the a changes to ă if the next syllable will contain e, i or uri.

examples
before	change and addition	after
țară	forming plural, +i	țări
entitate	forming plural, +i	entități
carne	forming plural, +uri	cărnuri
lucrare	forming plural, +ă	lucrări

ea/e

When ea is followed by one or more consonants or a syllable containing ă, the ea changes to e if the next syllable will contain e, i or uri.

examples
before	change and addition	after
armean	forming masculine plural, +i	armeni
armeancă	forming feminine plural, +e	armence
dimineață	forming plural, +i	dimineți
beau	conjugating verb, +i	bei

oa/o

When oa is followed by a syllable containing ă or e, the oa changes to o and the ă or e in the next syllable will change to i.

examples
before	change and addition	after
floare	forming plural, +i	flori
boală	forming plural, +i	boli
moale	forming adjectival plural, +i	moi
ascuțitoare	forming plural, +i	ascuțitori

ie/ia

When ie is followed by one or more consonants, the ie changes to ia if the next syllable will contain ă.

examples
before	change and addition	after
biet	forming feminine, +ă	biată
fiert	forming feminine, +ă	fiartă
iert	conjugating verb, +ă	iartă
pier	conjugating verb, +ă	piară

â/i

When â is followed by one or more consonants, the â changes to i if the next syllable will contain e or i.

examples
before	change and addition	after
cuvânt	forming plural, +e	cuvinte
vână	forming plural, +e	vine

Stress mutations

In these mutations, the stressed syllable and the actual letter change. They generally occur most often in verb conjugation.

a/ă

Stressed a changes to unstressed ă.

examples
before	after
eu cáut	noi căutăm
eu tác	voi tăceți

o/u

Stressed o changes to unstressed u.

examples
before	after
a rugá	eu rog
a jucá	eu joc

Consonant mutations

Consonant mutations are quite a bit easier than vowel mutations. Mutations occur when a consanant will be followed by certain vowels (usually e, i or î). Which vowel(s) will be indicated on the example charts.

s/ș mutations

add: i
before	change	after
urs	forming plural	urși
rus	forming plural	ruși
frumos	forming masculine plural	frumoși

st/șt

add: i
before	change	after
artist	forming plural	artiști
prost	forming plural	proști
eu asist	conjugating verb	tu asiști

str/ștr

add: i
before	change	after
ministru	forming plural	miniștri
albastru	forming masculine plural	albaștri
nostru	forming masculine plural	noștri

sc/șt

add: i or e
before	change	after
românesc	forming plural	românești
eu vorbesc	conjugating verb	el vorbește
eu cunosc	conjugating verb	tu cunoști

șc/șt

add: i or e
before	change	after
eu mușc	conjugating verb	tu muști
cușcă	forming plural	cuști
pușcă	forming plural	puști

t/ț

add: i or e
before	change	after
bărbat	forming plural	bărbați
frate	forming plural	frați
eu cânt	conjugating verb	tu cânți

d/z

add: i, â/î or ă
before	change	after
brad	forming plural	brazi
cad	conjugating verb	cazi
a deschide	conjugating verb	deschizând

z/j

add: i
before	change	after
obraz	forming plural	obraji
cneaz	forming plural	cneji
viteaz	forming masculine plural	viteji

Consonant drops

n

add: i
before	change	after
eu pun	conjugating verb	tu pui
eu vin	conjugating verb	tu vii
eu rămân	conjugating verb	tu rămâi

l

add: i
before	change	after
cal	forming plural	cai
gol	forming masculine plural	goi