Romanian letters ă, â, î, ș and ț: a simple guide
The Romanian alphabet has 31 letters: the 26 you already know, plus ă, â, î, ș and ț. They look unusual, but each has one clear sound, and Romanian is spelled almost exactly as it is spoken.
Ă ă: the "a" in "about"
A short, relaxed vowel, like the first sound in English about or the last one in sofa.
- casă (house), mamă (mother), bună (hello)
 â and Î î: one sound, two letters
These two letters make exactly the same sound. English doesn't have it: try saying "ee" while pulling your tongue back towards the middle of your mouth, without rounding your lips.
The difference is only in spelling:
- î at the beginning or end of a word: început (beginning), a coborî (to go down)
- â inside a word: român (Romanian), câine (dog), mâine (tomorrow)
- a word that starts with î keeps it after a prefix: neînțeles (misunderstood)
Ș ș: "sh"
Like sh in ship.
- școală (school), și (and), oraș (town)
Ț ț: "ts"
Like ts at the end of cats, but it can also start a word.
- țară (country), mulțumesc (thank you), pițigoi (great tit, the bird)
Comma, not cedilla
The correct letters have a small comma underneath: ș ț. You'll often see ş ţ with a cedilla instead. That's a leftover from older computers and fonts. It's readable, but the comma version is the right one.
How to type them
- Phone: press and hold a, i, s or t on the keyboard, or add the Romanian keyboard.
- Windows and Mac: add the keyboard called Romanian (Standard) in the language settings.
Quick practice
Read these aloud: Bună! Mă numesc Ana. Sunt din România și învăț engleza. Mulțumesc!
Hello! My name is Ana. I'm from Romania and I'm learning English. Thank you!