Common Irregular Verbs in Romanian

Overview

Every language has a handful of verbs that refuse to follow the rules — and they tend to be the ones you need most. Romanian is no exception. The verbs a face (to do/make), a merge (to go), a veni (to come), a ști (to know), a da (to give), and a lua (to take) are among the highest-frequency verbs in the language, and all of them are irregular in the present tense.

Because these verbs appear in almost every conversation, memorizing their forms is one of the most practical things you can do at the A1 level. The irregularity is mostly in the present tense stems — some undergo vowel changes, others have unique endings. The good news is that once you learn these forms, you will recognize them everywhere: in signs, menus, instructions, and everyday speech.

Romanian is a pro-drop language, so you will often hear or read these verbs without a subject pronoun. The verb form itself tells you who is performing the action. This makes it even more important to know each conjugation by heart.

How It Works

A Face (To Do / To Make)

Person	Form
eu	fac
tu	faci
el/ea	face
noi	facem
voi	faceți
ei/ele	fac

Note: 1st singular and 3rd plural share the form fac.

A Merge (To Go)

Person	Form
eu	merg
tu	mergi
el/ea	merge
noi	mergem
voi	mergeți
ei/ele	merg

A Veni (To Come)

Person	Form
eu	vin
tu	vii
el/ea	vine
noi	venim
voi	veniți
ei/ele	vin

Note the doubled i in vii (2nd sg.).

A Ști (To Know)

Person	Form
eu	știu
tu	știi
el/ea	știe
noi	știm
voi	știți
ei/ele	știu

A Da (To Give)

Person	Form
eu	dau
tu	dai
el/ea	dă
noi	dăm
voi	dați
ei/ele	dau

A Lua (To Take)

Person	Form
eu	iau
tu	iei
el/ea	ia
noi	luăm
voi	luați
ei/ele	iau

Note the dramatic stem change: singular forms use ia- while plural noi/voi forms use lu-.

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Ce faci?	What are you doing? / How are you?	Very common greeting
Fac curat în casă.	I'm cleaning the house.	Literally "I make clean"
Merg la școală.	I'm going to school.	Daily routine
Mergeți la dreapta.	Go to the right.	Giving directions
Vin mâine.	I'm coming tomorrow.	Future plan expressed with present
De unde vii?	Where are you coming from?	Note the double i
Știu răspunsul.	I know the answer.	Factual knowledge
Nu știu.	I don't know.	Very common phrase
Îmi dai un pahar de apă?	Can you give me a glass of water?	Polite request
Dă-mi telefonul!	Give me the phone!	Imperative form
Iau autobuzul.	I take the bus.	Transportation
Ia-o de aici.	Take it from here.	3rd sg. form with pronoun
Facem un tort.	We're making a cake.	Cooking context
Merg pe jos.	I'm going on foot.	Walking
Veniți la petrecere?	Are you (all) coming to the party?	Invitation

Common Mistakes

Regularizing a lua in the singular

• Wrong: Eu luau. or Tu luei.
• Right: Eu iau. Tu iei.
• Why: The singular forms of a lua use the stem ia-, not lua-. This stem change is unique and must be memorized.

Confusing a merge with English "to merge"

• Wrong: Assuming a merge means to combine or merge.
• Right: A merge means "to go" or "to walk."
• Why: This is a false friend. The Romanian verb comes from Latin mergere (to dip/go), which evolved differently than the English word.

Forgetting the doubled i in a veni and a ști

• Wrong: Tu vi. Tu ști.
• Right: Tu vii. Tu știi.
• Why: The 2nd person singular of a veni is vii and of a ști is știi — the double i is phonetically and orthographically important.

Using a ști for knowing people

• Wrong: Știu pe Maria. (meaning "I know Maria")
• Right: O cunosc pe Maria.
• Why: A ști is for facts and information. For knowing people, use a cunoaște.

Usage Notes

Ce faci? is one of the most common greetings in Romanian, equivalent to "How are you?" rather than its literal meaning "What are you doing?" The expected response is Bine, mersi (Fine, thanks) or Bine, tu? (Fine, you?).

A merge covers both "to go" and "to walk." To specify walking, Romanians say a merge pe jos (to go on foot). For driving, a merge cu mașina (to go by car).

In informal spoken Romanian, a da appears in many idiomatic expressions: a da de mâncare (to feed), a da un telefon (to make a phone call), a o da la întors (to turn back).

Practice Tips

• Pair them in dialogues: Many of these verbs naturally pair up. Practice mini-dialogues: Unde mergi? — Merg la magazin. Vii cu mine? — Da, vin.
• Master Ce faci? first: Since it doubles as a greeting and a real question, a face gives you immediate daily use.
• Create a verb card for each: Write all six forms on one side and example sentences on the other. Focus on one verb per day for a week.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Verb Conjugation Groups — understanding regular patterns helps you see what makes these verbs irregular
• Next steps: Modal Constructions — combine these verbs with modals like pot and vreau