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Romanian Courses » Level A0 » A0.5 How to express basic needs in Romanian
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A0.5 How to Express Core Physical Sensations and Needs in Romanian

Whether you're hungry, thirsty, cold, or sleepy, knowing how to say it in Romanian can really come in handy—especially when you're traveling or just starting out with the language.

In Romanian, you don’t say “I’m hungry” the way you do in English. Instead, you say Mi-e foame —which literally means To me is hunger. It sounds strange at first, but it’s one of the most natural and common ways Romanians talk about basic needs.

This byte-size lesson teaches you the key practical phrases Romanian phrases for expressing essential needs. Perfect for beginners!

Core Physical Sensations: Hunger, Thirst, Cold, Warmth

English Romanian
translation		 Audio Phonetic
Transcription

I'm hungry

Literally: To me-is hunger

Mi-e foame
/mje 'fo̯a.me/

I'm thirsty

Literally: To me-is thirst

Mi-e sete
/mje 'se.te/

I'm hot

Literally: To me-is warm

Mi-e cald
/mje cald/

I'm cold

Literally: To me-is cold

Mi-e frig
/mje frig/

I'm sleepy

Mi-e somn
/mje somn/

1
2 Listening
2.1
2.2
3 Translate
3.1
3.2


For a deeper understanding on how to use the Mi-e expression please check the comprehensive lesson and the complete guide on Mi-e in Romanian.

5 comments

Submitted by amit.ofer_10423 on Tue, 06/05/2025 - 11:09

ססס

ססס

Submitted by sarahlichtenber... on Tue, 03/02/2026 - 21:47

YAY

This website makes it so easy to learn romanian. I LOVE IT!!

Submitted by admin on Sun, 08/02/2026 - 22:01

Thank you for your comment. I

Thank you for your comment. I am happy that you find my Romanian lessons useful.Happy to help!

Submitted by damirbulgaru_11598 on Tue, 21/07/2026 - 12:32

Thank you so much for this

Thank you so much for this free wbesite, i am a 14 year old living in England and Im going to Moldova next month to see family, I have never fully lkearnt the language and always struggled to find resources for learning Romanian, thank you so much again for making this website free of charge, you really dont know how much this means to me

Submitted by admin on Wed, 22/07/2026 - 01:28

Enjoy your time in Moldova,

Enjoy your time in Moldova, it's a nice country/region with great people!
Moldavians are speaking with quite a strong accent and sometimes use regional words, but they will for sure appreciate the fact that you have made the effort to try to understand and speak.
I'm happy that I could be a bit of help.

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