How to greet someone in Romanian

In this lesson you will learn how to:

• Greet informally someone in Romanian

• Hi, Hello, Hello (on the phone)

• Greet formally someone in Romanian

• Good morning
• Good day
• Good evening
• Good night

• Old Style Romanian greeting
• Romanian greeting etiquette
• Romanian birthday, Easter and Christmas greetings

English	Romanian translation	Audio	Phonetic Transcription
Hi	Salut		/sa'lut/
Hello (second way) please see remark below the table You are literally saying: good	Bună		/'bu.nə/
Hello (on the phone)	Alo		/a'lo/

Is there a difference between "salut" and "bună"?

"Salut" and "Bună" are used in informal cases whereas in formal encounters "Bună dimineaţa / Bună ziua / Bună seara" is more appropiate.
There is no real difference between "salut" and "bună".

English	Romanian translation	Audio	Phonetic Transcription
Good morning	Bună dimineața		/'bu.nə di.mi'ne̯a.t͡sa/
Good day This is the most common formal greeting.	Bună ziua		/'bunə 'zi.wa/
Good evening	Bună seara		/'bu.nə 'se̯a.ra/
Good night	Noapte bună		/'no̯ap.te 'bu.nə/
Goodbye can be used in both a formal and informal situation	La revedere		/la re.ve'de.re/
Bye	Pa		/pa/

When and how to use the time of the day greetings in Romanian

• Bună dimineața (Good morning) is to be used from dawn until noon.
• From noon until dusk you can safely say Bună ziua (Good day).
• When it starts to get darker outside, e.g. around 20-21 o’clock one would say Bună seara (Good evening).
• Noapte bună (Good night) is mainly to be used when the day ends for you, e.g. when you decide to go home to sleep. It is meant as a closure greeting, and that for you the activities of that day are over.

The easiest way or if in doubt just say “Bună ziua” (Good day).

How does one say Good afternoon in Romanian?

Romanians do not say Good afternoon. They actually use Bună ziua (Good day) from lunch time until the evening.

Old style Romanian greeting

Sărut mâna is mainly used to address old persons. It is a familial, colloquial, traditional way of greeting a Romanian, that shows affection and respect. However nowadays it is less and less used. You can address it both to a woman or a man. It was/is used mainly by children, however it is perfectly fine for a 40 year old son to greet his 70 year old Romanian father by saying Sărut mâna.

It literally means “[I] Kiss [your] hand”. Don’t worry if you’ll ever decide to impress your Romanian partner’s grandmother by saying it, you don’t have to literally kiss her hand. It frequently happens that in spoken Romanian the final "t" in "Sărut" would be omitted and both words would be be spoken as one, without a perceptible break in between the words.

Romanian greeting culture

Cheek kissing in Romania

In Romania it is common to kiss once on each cheek. Thus the answer to the question How many times do Romanians kiss is two. Cheek kissing is commonly used between family members or close friends. It is used more by women, however it is quite common for men family members to kiss on the cheeks.

Handshake in Romania

The handshake is largely accepted between men and women in Romania. As explain above when it is more appropriate to kiss on the cheeks, there is no need for a handshake.

Birthday, Easter, Christmas and other Romanian greetings

Would you like to know how to say Happy Birthday in Romanian or to greet someone on Easter or Christmas? Check out our lesson on all occasions greetings in Romanian