A Romanian neuter noun behaves like masculine in the singular and like feminine in the plural. Compare un hotel, două hoteluri (one hotel, two hotels): the noun is neuter, but the words around it follow a different pattern in each number.
How do you form a neuter noun plural?
Learn the noun with its singular article and plural form, then use the final letters as clues: neuter plurals commonly end in -uri, -e, or -ii, but the noun chooses its own pattern.
| Singular shape | Common plural pattern | Example pair |
|---|---|---|
| Final consonant | Add -uri | un hotel, două hoteluri (one hotel, two hotels) |
| Final consonant | Add -e | un scaun, două scaune (one chair, two chairs); un program, două programe (one program, two programs) |
| Final -u | Replace -u with -uri | un lucru, două lucruri (one thing, two things) |
| Final -u | Replace -u with -e | un muzeu, două muzee (one museum, two museums); un teatru, două teatre (one theatre, two theatres) |
| Final -iu | Replace -iu with -ii | un fotoliu, două fotolii (one armchair, two armchairs); un exercițiu, două exerciții (one exercise, two exercises) |
| Final -e | Often unchanged | un nume, două nume (one name, two names) |
The plural can also change more than the final letters. For example, un cap becomes două capete, while un oraș becomes două orașe. The table gives useful patterns for recognition and learning; it is not a rule for inventing a plural that you have never checked.
How does a neuter noun show gender?
Use the singular and plural together: un in the singular and două in the plural are the quickest learner test for a neuter count noun.
| Number | Article or numeral | Agreement example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Masculine pattern: un | un scaun bun (a good chair) |
| Plural | Feminine pattern: două | două scaune bune (two good chairs) |
- The same shift appears with adjectives: un program nou (a new program), but două programe noi (two new programs).
- The basic plural after două, trei, or multe is not automatically definite: două hoteluri means two hotels, while hotelurile means the hotels.
- This one-two test belongs with the wider Romanian noun gender pattern: masculine nouns use un–doi, while feminine nouns use o–două.
Which neuter plural should you memorize?
Memorize each count noun as a pair with its articles, because similar singular endings can have different plurals. The general Romanian noun plural clues help you guess, but they do not replace the dictionary form.
- Some frequent nouns have a special stem change: un cap, două capete (one head, two heads) and un ou, două ouă (one egg, two eggs).
- A plural ending does not prove gender by itself. Both neuter and feminine nouns can end in -e or -uri, so compare the singular article too.
- For a definite noun, apply the Romanian definite article to the plural form: două scaune, but scaunele (the chairs).
Register and variation
The forms in this article are neutral contemporary Standard Romanian. DOOM3 may mark other words as familiar, regional, or old, but none of those labels is needed for the core pairs here. When a borrowed noun has more than one accepted plural or a meaning-specific gender, check the individual DOOM3 entry instead of treating a conversational or regional form as the default.
Mistakes to avoid
Do not say doi hoteluri just because hotel looks masculine in the singular. The noun is neuter, so the standard pair is un hotel, două hoteluri. Also keep the diacritics in forms such as orașe, exerciții, and ouă, and do not add a definite ending after an ordinary number.
Which pair shows a Romanian neuter noun?
- un hotel, două hoteluri
- un băiat, doi băieți
- o casă, două case
- o fată, două fete
A neuter noun uses the masculine singular pattern un and the feminine plural pattern două: un hotel, două hoteluri.
Choose the plural of un muzeu.
- două muzeuri
- două muzee
- doi muzei
- două muzeu
This neuter noun replaces final -u with -e: un muzeu, două muzee.
Complete: Avem două ___. (We have two exercises.)
- exercițiu
- exerciții
- exercițiele
- exerciurii
The plural of exercițiu is exerciții. After două, use the basic plural, not a definite form.
Which sentence is correct in neutral Standard Romanian?
- Am doi scaune în cameră.
- Am două scaun în cameră.
- Am două scaune în cameră.
- Am doi scaunuri în cameră.
Scaun is neuter: its pair is un scaun, două scaune, so the correct sentence is Am două scaune în cameră.
Which form means "the names" rather than "two names"?
- două nume
- numele
- doi nume
- nume două
Nume is the basic plural after două, while numele has the attached definite article and means the names.