At the restaurant - Romanian vocabulary

A1.13 At the restaurant in Romania

Let's say that you arrive in Romania, you are hungry and you want to eat. In many restaurants in Bucharest you will be able to order speaking English, but the waiter may be less fluent in English so to avoid misunderstandings we are going to fully prepare you to handle ordering and eating in a Romanian restaurant.

We propose a study plan made up of several lessons teaching you to:

So let's start with a dialogue on booking a table at a restaurant in Bucharest:

How to book a table at a restaurant in Romanian

English	Romanian translation	Phonetic Transcription
"La Mama" restaurant, how can I help you?	Restaurantul "La Mama", cu ce vă pot ajuta?	/res.ta.u'ran.tul la 'ma.ma ku t͡ʃe və pot a.ʒu'ta/
Hello, I would like to make a reservation You are literally saying: Good day, I would like/wish/want to make a reservation	Bună ziua, aș dori să fac o rezervare.	/'bunə 'zi.wa aʃ do'ri sə fak o re.zer'va.re/
For today?	Pentru azi?	/'pen.tru azʲ/
Yes, for this evening	Da, pentru diseară	/da 'pen.tru di'se̯a.rə/
What time?	La ce oră?	/la ʧe 'o.rə/
At eight o'clock Literally: at twenty o'clock	La ora douăzeci	/la ora do.wə'zeʧʲ/
For how many people? (you are literally saying: For how many persons?)	Pentru câte persoane?	/'pen.tru 'kɨ.te per'so̯a.ne/
For four people (you are literally saying "For four persons")	Pentru patru persoane	/pen.tru 'pa.tru per'so̯a.ne/
Under which name?	Pe ce nume?	/pe t͡ʃe 'nu.me/
George Păunescu	George Păunescu	/'d͡ʒe̯or.d͡ʒe pə.u'nes.ku/
Thank you Mister Păunescu and we're waiting for you this evening at twenty (8pm) o'clock.	Vă mulţumim domnule Păunescu și vă asteptăm diseară la ora douăzeci.	/və mul.t͡su'mim 'dom.nu.le pə.u'nes.ku ʃi və aʃ.tep'təm di'se̯a.rə la 'o.ra do.wə'zeʧʲ/

2 Listening

2.1

2.2

3 Translate

3.1

3.2

The above Romanian conversation can be reused in many other situations such as while booking a hotel room in Romania, or booking your flight over the phone.

English	Romanian translation	Phonetic Transcription
For tomorrow	Pentru mâine	/'pen.tru 'mɨj.ne/
For Wednesday, 24 April	Pentru miercuri douăzeci și patru aprilie	/'pen.tru 'mjer.kurʲ do.wə'zeʧʲ ʃi 'pa.tru a'pri.li.e/
two people	două persoane	/'do.wə per'so̯a.ne/
on the terrace	pe terasă	/pe te'ra.sə/
non-smoking	la nefumători	/la ne.fu.mə'torʲ/
in smokers	la fumători	/la fu.mə'torʲ/
We're sorry, there are no more free tables for this evening	Ne pare rău, nu mai avem locuri libere pentru diseară	/ne 'pa.re rəw nu maj a'vem 'lo.kurʲ 'li.be.re 'pen.tru di'se̯a.rə/

What to say when you enter in a Romanian restaurant?

English	Romanian translation	Phonetic Transcription
Hello, do you have a reservation?	Bună ziua, aveţi rezervare?	/'bunə 'zi.wa a'vet͡sʲ re.zer'va.re/
I booked a table under the name George Păunescu	Am rezervat o masă pe numele George Păunescu	/am re.zer'vat o 'ma.sə pe 'nu.me.le 'd͡ʒe̯or.d͡ʒe pə'u.nes.ku/
I would like a table next to the window	Aş dori o masă lângă fereastră	/aʃ do'ri o 'ma.sə lɨngə fe're̯as.trə/