Numbers 1-100 in Romanian

In Brief

Romanian numbers are built in clear patterns: 11–19 end in -sprezece, while 21–99 join the tens and units with și (“and”), as in treizeci și unu (“thirty-one”). The main grammatical details are that “one” and “two” have gender-sensitive forms—un/o and doi/două—and quantities from 20 upward normally use de before a noun: douăzeci de lei.

Overview

Numbers are an essential A1 topic. They appear in prices, ages, addresses, dates, times, phone numbers, measurements, and quantities. Once you know 1–10 and the words for the tens, most numbers up to 100 can be assembled rather than memorised separately.

A cardinal number is an ordinary counting number such as one, twelve, or fifty. Romanian cardinal numbers behave much like vocabulary words, but some also interact with grammatical gender. Gender is the noun category that Romanian labels masculine, feminine, or neuter. This matters particularly with 1 and 2: un băiat but o fată; doi băieți but două fete.

English speakers need to watch two habits. First, Romanian inserts și (“and”) between a multiple of ten and its final unit: English “thirty-one” is Romanian treizeci și unu. Second, English puts a number directly before a noun, whereas Romanian usually adds de after numbers from 20 upward: patruzeci de minute (“forty minutes”).

How It Works

The numbers 1–10

The forms in the first table are the basic forms used for counting. Forms used directly with nouns are explained immediately below.

Number	Romanian	Approximate structure or note
1	unu	standalone counting form
2	doi	masculine/basic counting form
3	trei	—
4	patru	—
5	cinci	—
6	șase	—
7	șapte	—
8	opt	—
9	nouă	Do not confuse it with nou (“new”).
10	zece	—

“One”: unu, un, and o

Use unu when counting or when the number stands on its own:

• unu, doi, trei — “one, two, three”
• Numărul unu — “number one”

Directly before a noun, “one” normally has the same forms as the Romanian indefinite article (the equivalent of English “a/an”):

Noun gender	Form	Example	Meaning
masculine	un	un băiat	one boy / a boy
feminine	o	o fată	one girl / a girl
neuter, singular	un	un hotel	one hotel / a hotel

Context tells you whether un/o means exactly “one” or simply “a”: Am un bilet can mean “I have a ticket” or “I have one ticket.” Stress or contrast can make the numerical meaning clearer.

“Two”: doi and două

The number 2 agrees with the noun’s gender. Agreement means that the form changes to match a grammatical feature of another word.

Noun type in the plural	Form	Example	Meaning
masculine	doi	doi băieți	two boys
feminine	două	două fete	two girls
neuter	două	două hoteluri	two hotels

Romanian neuter nouns act like masculine nouns in the singular and feminine nouns in the plural. Since “two” requires a plural noun, neuter nouns take două.

The teens: 11–19

Most teen numbers contain -sprezece, historically related to a structure meaning “over ten.” For modern learners, it is best to treat the forms as a family and learn their spelling and pronunciation together.

Number	Romanian
11	unsprezece
12	doisprezece / douăsprezece
13	treisprezece
14	paisprezece
15	cincisprezece
16	șaisprezece
17	șaptesprezece
18	optsprezece
19	nouăsprezece

The number 12 preserves the gender contrast: doisprezece băieți (“twelve boys”) but douăsprezece fete (“twelve girls”) and douăsprezece hoteluri (“twelve hotels”). Do not build the other teens by simply attaching sprezece to every basic digit: 14 is paisprezece, not patrusprezece, and 16 is șaisprezece, not șasesprezece.

The tens

Number	Romanian	Number	Romanian
20	douăzeci	60	șaizeci
30	treizeci	70	șaptezeci
40	patruzeci	80	optzeci
50	cincizeci	90	nouăzeci
100	o sută

The ending -zeci is connected with the plural of zece (“ten”). Several forms shorten or adjust the basic digit: șaizeci is 60 and optzeci is 80. Learn each tens word as one spelling; do not insert spaces inside it.

Building 21–99

For a number that is not an exact multiple of ten, use this pattern:

tens + și + unit

• 21: douăzeci și unu
• 34: treizeci și patru
• 58: cincizeci și opt
• 99: nouăzeci și nouă

Here și literally means “and.” It is required in the standard form, unlike English, which normally says “thirty-four” without “and.” Exact tens do not add it: 30 is simply treizeci, not treizeci și.

When a compound number ending in 1 or 2 refers to people or things, its ending can reflect gender. Common careful forms include douăzeci și unu de băieți and douăzeci și una de fete, as well as douăzeci și doi de băieți and douăzeci și două de fete. For the beginner stage, first master the counting forms; the agreement in longer compounds is easier once un/o and doi/două are automatic.

When to use de before a noun

With 1–19, put the number directly before the noun:

• trei cărți — three books
• zece minute — ten minutes
• nouăsprezece ani — nineteen years

From 20 upward, Romanian normally places de between the number and the noun:

• douăzeci de cărți — twenty books
• treizeci și cinci de minute — thirty-five minutes
• o sută de lei — one hundred lei

The same principle applies when the number has a final unit: douăzeci și unu de ani. The entire compound is above 19, so it takes de. In this construction, the noun is plural: douăzeci de studenți, o sută de pagini.

The basic boundary is therefore easy to remember:

Quantity	Pattern	Example
1–19	number + noun	optsprezece zile
20–100	number + de + noun	optzeci de zile

There are specialised exceptions involving symbols, abbreviations, and some conventional expressions, but this table is the reliable rule for ordinary A1 speech and writing.

Writing and saying numbers

Romanian normally writes compound number words as separate words around și: patruzeci și doi. The tens themselves are single words: patruzeci, cincizeci. Romanian spelling includes letters with diacritics (marks added to letters), and they matter: write două, șase, șapte, și, and nouă, not forms without their proper marks in careful writing.

In a phone number, code, room number, or similar sequence, speakers may read digits one by one. A quantity, however, is usually read as the full number. Thus 24 as a quantity is douăzeci și patru, while the digits 2–4 can be read doi, patru.

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Am un frate și o soră.	I have one brother and one sister.	un/o agree with the noun.
În parc sunt doi băieți și două fete.	There are two boys and two girls in the park.	doi/două show gender.
Hotelul are două etaje.	The hotel has two floors.	Neuter etaje takes două.
Cartea costă zece lei.	The book costs ten lei.	No de below 20.
Ea are unsprezece ani.	She is eleven years old.	Romanian literally uses “has eleven years.”
Avem doisprezece studenți și douăsprezece studente.	We have twelve male students and twelve female students.	Gender contrast with 12.
Mai sunt optsprezece minute.	There are eighteen minutes left.	Number directly before the noun.
Biletul costă douăzeci de lei.	The ticket costs twenty lei.	20 takes de.
Bunicul meu are șaptezeci de ani.	My grandfather is seventy years old.	de links 70 and ani.
Trenul pleacă la ora douăzeci și unu.	The train leaves at 21:00.	Clock-hour label; no following counted noun.
Sunt treizeci și cinci de persoane în sală.	There are thirty-five people in the room.	The complete number is followed by de.
Citesc patruzeci și una de pagini.	I am reading forty-one pages.	Feminine agreement in a compound number.
Numărul meu este optzeci și trei.	My number is eighty-three.	Standalone number.
Muzeul are o sută de ani.	The museum is one hundred years old.	100 is o sută and takes de.

Common Mistakes

Using the masculine form with every noun

• Wrong: doi fete
• Right: două fete
• Why: Feminine nouns, and neuter nouns in the plural, take două. Use doi with masculine plural nouns.

Using unu directly before a noun

• Wrong: unu băiat și unu fată
• Right: un băiat și o fată
• Why: Unu is the standalone counting form. Before a noun, use un with a masculine noun and o with a feminine noun.

Leaving out și in a compound number

• Wrong: treizeci unu
• Right: treizeci și unu
• Why: Romanian places și between the tens and the final unit. English does not provide a dependable model here.

Adding de below 20

• Wrong: cincisprezece de minute
• Right: cincisprezece minute
• Why: Ordinary quantities from 1 through 19 attach directly to the noun.

Omitting de from 20 upward

• Wrong: patruzeci persoane
• Right: patruzeci de persoane
• Why: Numbers from 20 upward normally require de before a counted noun, including compounds such as patruzeci și două de persoane.

Building irregular teens mechanically

• Wrong: patrusprezece, șasesprezece
• Right: paisprezece, șaisprezece
• Why: The teen family is regular in its overall pattern, but some stems are shortened. Memorise 11–19 as complete words.

Usage Notes

In prices, Romanian often puts the currency noun after the amount: cinci lei, douăzeci de lei. The currency name leu has the plural lei. Decimal prices may be expressed with virgulă (“comma”), reflecting the comma used as the decimal separator in Romanian writing.

To state age, Romanian uses the verb a avea (“to have”), not the verb “to be”: Am douăzeci de ani literally means “I have twenty years.” This makes the de rule especially visible in ages of 20 and above: Are nouăsprezece ani, but Are douăzeci de ani.

O sută is grammatically built with the feminine noun sută (“hundred”), which is why it begins with o. In everyday quantities, say o sută de euro or o sută de persoane. For exactly 100, do not translate English word order mechanically as un sută.

When numbers are used as labels rather than quantities—bus numbers, room numbers, page references, years—the relationship with surrounding words may differ from an ordinary “number + counted noun” phrase. At A1, apply the de rule to actual quantities and learn fixed label expressions as you meet them.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master every detail in this section yet, but these patterns explain forms you will encounter later.

Romanian gender agreement can extend into larger numbers ending in 1 or 2. The feminine standalone form of 1 is una, so careful speech distinguishes douăzeci și unu in a masculine context from douăzeci și una in a feminine context. Similarly, compare treizeci și doi de elevi with treizeci și două de eleve. Actual usage can vary according to whether the noun is stated, understood, or part of a conventional label, so imitate complete phrases rather than changing the final word in isolation.

The form de also continues beyond 100: două sute de oameni (“two hundred people”), o mie de pagini (“one thousand pages”). Larger numeral expressions introduce additional agreement patterns—sută/sute and mie/mii—which belong to a later lesson, but the linking role of de will already be familiar.

Ordinal numbers—“first,” “second,” “third”—are a separate system: primul/prima, al doilea/a doua, and so on. Do not assume that adding an ending to a cardinal number will produce the correct ordinal. Dates, clock time, and mathematical readings also have their own conventions built on the cardinal forms learned here.

Finally, in rapid speech number words may sound compressed, especially long forms containing -sprezece or repeated syllables. That does not change their standard spelling. Learning to pronounce them in small rhythmic parts—cinci-spre-zece, șaizeci și șapte—helps both listening and accuracy.

Practice Tips

1. Build numbers instead of memorising all 100. Learn 1–19 and the eight tens from 20 to 90. Then choose a tens word, add și, and add a unit: șaptezeci și patru.
2. Practise with paired nouns. Say un băiat/o fată, doi băieți/două fete, then repeat with common masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns. This makes gender agreement part of the number rather than an afterthought.
3. Train the de boundary. Make two short lists: opt cărți, nouăsprezece cărți versus douăzeci de cărți, cincizeci de cărți. Include 19 and 20 often, because that contrast makes the rule memorable.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Time, Days, and Months — use numbers to tell the time, give dates, and talk about calendars.