Прийменники часу

Time expressions in Romanian line up partly with English "at, in, on":

Days need no preposition

English "on Monday" is just luni: Ne vedem vineri. - See you on Friday. Add the article and it becomes a habit: lunea - on Mondays, sâmbăta - on Saturdays: Sâmbăta merg la piață. - On Saturdays I go to the market.

The same trick gives the parts of the day and the seasons: the noun with its definite article works as an adverb. dimineața - in the morning, seara - in the evening, noaptea - at night, vara - in summer, iarna - in winter. Iarna mergem la schi la Poiana Brașov. - In winter we go skiing at Poiana Brașov.

"In an hour": peste

For time from now, the standard word is peste: Plecăm peste zece minute. - We're leaving in ten minutes. În zece minute is heard in speech too, but its core meaning is "within ten minutes", how long something takes: Am făcut ciorba în zece minute. - I made the soup in ten minutes.

Dates and holidays

Dates take pe and a plain number, with "first" as the one exception: 1 December, Romania's national day, is read întâi decembrie; 24 January is douăzeci și patru ianuarie. Other dates worth knowing: pe 1 martie, when people give a mărțișor, a red-and-white token for spring, and de Crăciun - at Christmas, de Paști - at Easter, where de marks the festive season.

Days and months are written with a small letter: luni, marți, miercuri, joi, vineri, sâmbătă, duminică; ianuarie, februarie, martie, aprilie, mai, iunie, iulie, august, septembrie, octombrie, noiembrie, decembrie.