Core Romanian question words

Romanian uses a small set of question words to ask for open information: Cine vine la curs? (Who is coming to class?) and Unde este Ana? (Where is Ana?) This lesson gives the neutral contemporary Standard Romanian forms for everyday A1 questions. For the broader basic Romanian word order and later case forms, use the linked follow-up lessons.

What does each core question word ask?

Choose the word that matches the information you want: cine asks about a person, ce about a thing or action, unde about place, când about time, cum about manner or state, de ce about a reason, and cât about quantity.

Where does the question word go?

In a neutral direct question, the question word or phrase usually comes first, followed by the finite verb. The subject can come after the verb or later in the sentence: Cine vine? (Who is coming?) and Ce cumpără Maria? (What is Maria buying?) Romanian can change the order to highlight a particular piece of information, but the initial pattern is the clearest A1 default.

Which prepositions stay with the question word?

Keep an essential preposition before the question word. The preposition tells you the relation being asked about, so it is part of the question phrase, not an optional English-style extra. These basic patterns connect with core Romanian prepositions.

For an ordinary direct object referring to a thing, use ce without pe: Ce vezi? (What do you see?) For a person, pe cine is the useful A1 pattern: Pe cine aștepți? (Whom are you waiting for?) The full rules for direct-object marking and pronoun forms are outside this bounded introduction.

How do ce and cât work before a noun?

Use ce unchanged before a singular or plural noun. Use the cât paradigm for quantity and make it agree with the noun: cât or câtă in the singular, and câți or câte in the plural. The noun after these question words normally has no article.

When cât stands alone, the form depends on the quantity being recovered: Cât costă? (How much does it cost?), Câți vin? (How many are coming?; people in a masculine or mixed group), and Câte sunt? (How many are there?; feminine or neuter plural items).

How are open questions different from yes-no questions?

A question word asks for one missing kind of information. A yes-no question asks whether the whole statement is true and uses no question word: Vii mâine? (Are you coming tomorrow?) contrasts with Când vii? (When are you coming?). Likewise, Ana este acasă? (Is Ana at home?) asks for yes or no, while Unde este Ana? (Where is Ana?) asks for a place. In writing, both types end with a question mark. The dedicated yes-no questions lesson develops that second pattern.

What are the main A1 traps?

• Use cine for a person and ce for a thing or action in basic questions: Cine este profesorul? (Who is the teacher?) but Ce este pe masă? (What is on the table?)
• Keep de ce as two words for why. A common answer can begin with pentru că: De ce înveți? (Why are you studying?) — Pentru că îmi place. (Because I like it.)
• Do not leave out the preposition in a fixed question phrase: use Cu cine vorbești? (Who are you talking with?) and De unde vii? (Where are you from?)
• Make cât agree with the noun: câtă apă, câți studenți, and câte cărți, not one unchanged form for every noun.
• Do not turn a yes-no question into an open question by adding a random question word. Compare Pleci mâine? (Are you leaving tomorrow?) with Când pleci? (When are you leaving?)

For more place and time vocabulary, see adverbs of place and direction and adverbs of time and frequency. The separate interrogative pronouns and determiners article takes up care, fuller case paradigms, and more advanced pronoun behavior.