Alright, so I went down a bit of a rabbit hole the other day trying to figure out how to say “good” in Romanian. It wasn’t for any big reason, really. I think I heard someone speaking it, sounded kinda cool, and my brain just went, “Hey, wonder what ‘good’ is?” You know how it goes.
So, I did what anyone does, just started searching online. First thing I bumped into was stuff like bun and bună. Okay, makes sense, like “good” can change depending on the noun, I guess? Like in some other languages. That seemed simple enough if I just wanted to say something is “good”.
Figuring out the greetings part
But then I thought, usually when people ask “how to say good”, they often mean greetings, right? Like “good morning” or “good day”. So I dug a bit deeper into that.
That’s when I hit bună ziua. Found out this one literally means “good day”. Seems like the go-to formal greeting. People use it when you walk into a shop, or meet someone older, or just wanna be polite. You know, the standard stuff. Apparently, you use it from morning till evening, so it covers a lot of ground. Useful.
I also saw salut mentioned. This one’s more like a casual “hi” or “hello”. The info I found said it’s mostly younger folks using it, super informal. So, probably not what you shout at your friend’s grandma unless you know her really well.
- Found bună ziua: Means “good day”, kinda formal, safe bet in most places.
- Found salut: Means “hi”, very casual, use with friends.
- Learned about bun/bună: The actual word for “good”, changes form.
Putting it into practice (sort of)
Honestly, it was a bit confusing at first, remembering when to use what. Is it morning? Is it evening? Should I be formal? I also stumbled upon bună dimineața (good morning) and bună seara (good evening). More options!
What stuck with me, though, was reading that in some Romanian villages, it’s normal for people to just greet everyone they pass on the street with something like bună ziua. Doesn’t matter if they know them or not. That sounds pretty nice, actually. Very different from where I live.
So, have I used it? I tried mumbling bună ziua to myself a few times. Haven’t had a real chance yet. But if I ever need it, I feel like I’ve got the basics down now. It started as just a random thought, and I ended up learning a few handy phrases and a bit about the culture too. Not a bad way to spend half an hour poking around online.
