The Romanian Alphabet: 31 Letters and How to Pronounce Them
The Romanian alphabet is the first thing I teach every new student, and the good news is that it is one of the easiest parts of the language. After six years of teaching Romanian to over 260 students from 44 countries, I can promise you this: once you learn the alphabet and a handful of pronunciation rules, you can read almost any Romanian word out loud correctly, even ones you have never seen. That is because Romanian is phonetic. In this guide I walk you through all 31 letters, the 5 special characters that trip people up, and exactly how each one sounds, with free video lessons.
Quick Answer
The Romanian alphabet has 31 letters: the 26 Latin letters you already know, plus 5 special ones, Ă, Â, Î, Ș and Ț. Romanian is a phonetic language, so what you see is what you say. Master the 5 special letters and a few consonant rules, and you can pronounce nearly any Romanian word.
The 31 Letters of the Romanian Alphabet
Here are all 31 letters, in order:
A, Ă, Â, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, Î, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, Ș, T, Ț, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Most letters sound just like they do in English. Four of them, K, Q, W and Y, only appear in borrowed or foreign words, so you will rarely use them. The letters that make Romanian look different are the five with diacritics, and they are the ones worth your attention.
The 5 Special Letters of the Romanian Alphabet
These five characters are the heart of Romanian spelling. Learn them and you are most of the way there. This video is where I always start my students, because these vowels are the ones English speakers find hardest:
- Ă ă sounds like the “a” in the English word “sofa” or “about”. A soft, neutral “uh”. Example: casă (house).
- Â â is a sound English does not have. Think of a tense “uh” made further back in the mouth, close to the “i” in the Russian name “Ivan”. Example: român (Romanian).
- Î î is the exact same sound as Â. The only difference is spelling: you write Î at the start or end of a word, and  in the middle. Example: înainte (before).
- Ș ș sounds like the English “sh” in “ship”. Example: și (and).
- Ț ț sounds like the “ts” in “cats”. Example: țară (country).
Vowels in the Romanian Alphabet
The Romanian alphabet has 7 vowel letters. Five will feel familiar, two are new:
- A like “ah” in “father”
- E like “eh” in “bed”
- I like “ee” in “see”
- O like “oh” in “more”
- U like “oo” in “food”
- Ă the neutral “uh” (see above)
- Â / Î the tense back “uhm” (see above)
Unlike English, Romanian vowels are consistent. An “A” is always “ah”, never the many sounds it takes in English words like “cat”, “cake” and “call”. This consistency is exactly why Romanian is easier to read than it looks. If you want the full picture on difficulty, I wrote an honest breakdown of whether Romanian is hard to learn.
Romanian Pronunciation: The Consonant Rules That Matter
Only a few consonants behave differently from English, and they follow clear rules. This video covers the essential ones:
- C is “k” (like casă), but C before E or I becomes “ch” as in “cheese”. So cine sounds like “CHEE-neh”.
- G is a hard “g” (like gară), but G before E or I becomes “j” as in “jam”. So ger sounds like “jer”.
- CH is always “k” and GH is always a hard “g”. They exist to keep the hard sound before E and I. So chem is “kem”, ghid is “gid”.
- J sounds like the “s” in “measure” (the French “j”). Example: joc (game).
- R is rolled, tapped with the tongue, like in Spanish or Italian. It takes practice, so I made a dedicated video on the Romanian R.
- Every other consonant sounds essentially like English.
How the Romanian Alphabet Compares to English
The biggest difference is not the letters, it is the reliability. In English, “ough” can be read six different ways. In Romanian, each letter has one sound, almost always. Once you internalize the five special letters and the C, G, CH, GH rules above, you can read a Romanian menu, a street sign, or a children’s book out loud on day one. Reading and listening at the same time makes this stick even faster, which is why I recommend practising with Romanian podcast transcripts.
Tips to Master Romanian Pronunciation
- Learn the 5 special letters first. They unlock correct reading. Everything else is close to English.
- Read out loud from day one. Because Romanian is phonetic, reading aloud trains pronunciation directly.
- Watch and repeat. Shadow a native speaker in short clips. Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week.
- Do not chase perfect  and Πearly. They are the hardest sounds. Get them roughly right and refine over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many letters are in the Romanian alphabet?
The Romanian alphabet has 31 letters: the 26 Latin letters plus Ă, Â, Î, Ș and Ț. Four of the Latin letters (K, Q, W, Y) appear only in foreign or borrowed words.
What is the difference between  and Î?
None in sound, they are pronounced exactly the same. The difference is spelling: Πis written at the beginning or end of a word, and  in the middle.
Is Romanian pronunciation hard for English speakers?
Not really. Romanian is phonetic, so once you know the alphabet and a few consonant rules, you can pronounce almost anything. The only genuinely new sounds are Ă and Â/Î. Read my full take on how hard Romanian is to learn.
Does Romanian use the Cyrillic alphabet?
No. Modern Romanian uses the Latin alphabet, the same base as English, with the five extra letters above. Cyrillic was used historically and is still used for Moldovan in Transnistria, but standard Romanian is Latin.
Start Reading Romanian Today
Learn the five special letters, watch the videos above once or twice, and read a few simple words out loud. You will be surprised how quickly Romanian text starts making sense. When you are ready for a structured path, see my complete guide on how to learn Romanian online, or book a free 30-minute lesson and I will get your pronunciation started properly.
Keep Learning Romanian
- Learn Romanian with podcast transcripts
- The Learn Romanian Podcast, free episodes for all levels
- Is Romanian hard to learn? An honest answer
- How long does it take to learn Romanian?
