Romanian Diacritics Explained: ș and ț, ă, and â vs î (Romanian Spell Check Guide)

CorrectNow Editorial Team · 5 min read

Romanian uses five letters with diacritics: ă, â, î, ș and ț. They represent distinct sounds, and leaving them out can turn one word into another. Fată, față and fata are three different words, and readers rely on the marks to tell them apart.

There are two specific problems worth knowing about. First, ș and ț are often typed with the wrong mark, a cedilla instead of a comma. Second, â and î sound the same, so you need the spelling rule to choose between them.

ș and ț take a comma below, not a cedilla

The correct Romanian letters are ș and ț, with a small comma below the letter, and their capitals Ș and Ț. Older fonts and keyboard layouts often produced ş and ţ instead, with a cedilla, which is the hook used in Turkish ş.

On screen the two can look almost identical, but they are different characters. Text with cedilla forms may not be found when someone searches with the correct letters, and it is not the standard form. When you set up a Romanian keyboard, choose the standard layout that produces the comma-below letters.

• Incorrect: Ştefan (with cedilla) – Correct: Ștefan (with comma below) (Use the comma-below letter Ș.)
• Incorrect: ţară (with cedilla) – Correct: țară (with comma below) (Use the comma-below letter ț.)

ă: the most frequent mark

The letter ă is very common, especially in word endings. It often marks the difference between the basic form of a feminine noun and the form with the definite article: mamă means mother, while mama means the mother.

Leaving out ă is one of the most frequent mistakes in quick typing, and in many cases it changes the grammar of the sentence.

The same pattern runs through many common nouns, so a missing ă can quietly change a sentence from a mother to the mother. Reading the ends of words slowly is the best way to catch it.

â or î: same sound, different position

Under the current rules of the Romanian Academy, â and î represent the same sound. The choice depends on where the sound occurs in the word.

Write î at the beginning of a word and at the end of a word: în, înainte, a urî, a coborî, a hotărî. Write â inside a word: mâine, pâine, câine. Words in the family of român are also written with â: România, românesc.

In words formed with a prefix, the î at the start of the base word is kept: neînțeles, reîncepe.

• Incorrect: Romania – Correct: România (â inside the word.)
• Incorrect: pîine – Correct: pâine (Inside the word, the current rules use â.)
• Incorrect: ân casă – Correct: în casă (At the start of a word, use î.)

sunt, not sînt

The same set of rules restored the spelling sunt for the forms of a fi: sunt, suntem, sunteți. The older form sînt still appears in some older publications, but sunt is the standard spelling today.

If you are editing an older text for publication today, update both â and î and the forms of sunt together, so the document follows one set of rules throughout.

When a missing mark changes the meaning

Some pairs of words differ only in their diacritics. Readers can sometimes work out the meaning from context, but in formal writing missing marks look careless and can be genuinely confusing.

• fată (girl), față (face), fata (the girl)
• peste (over) and pește (fish)
• sa (his or her, feminine) and să (the particle used before a verb, as in să plec)
• mamă (mother) and mama (the mother)

Proofreading Romanian text

A Romanian spell check is especially useful for text that was typed without diacritics or copied from an older document. CorrectNow checks Romanian spelling and grammar and explains each suggestion, so you can see why a mark was added. For legal or official documents, have a native speaker review the final text.

• Make sure your keyboard produces ș and ț with a comma below.
• Search the document for ş and ţ with a cedilla and replace them.
• Check every â and î: î at the start and end of words, â inside, and â in the român family.
• Read word endings carefully for missing ă.

Frequently asked questions

Is ş with a cedilla wrong in Romanian?

It is not the standard form. Correct Romanian uses ș and ț with a comma below. The cedilla forms come from older fonts and keyboard layouts.

When do I write â and when î?

Write î at the start and end of a word, and â inside it. Words in the român family, such as România, use â. Prefixed words keep the î of the base word, as in neînțeles.

Is it acceptable to write Romanian without diacritics?

In quick informal messages many people do. In formal, published or official writing, full diacritics are expected.

Can a spell checker add missing diacritics correctly?

It can suggest them, but some words, like fata and fată, are both correct depending on meaning. Confirm each suggestion in context.

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