Learn Romanian › cel
cel
that (the reinforcing word used with superlatives and ordinals, roughly "the") /ˈtʃel/
adjective#61 most common
Also: the one (who/which), the (in "cel mai" = "the most")
Example sentences
Cel mai bun prieten al meu se numește Andrei.
My best friend is called Andrei.
Ea a ales cea mai mare bucată de tort.
She chose the biggest piece of cake.
Cei mai mulți studenți au promovat examenul.
Most of the students passed the exam.
Cele mai frumoase plaje sunt în sudul țării.
The most beautiful beaches are in the south of the country.
Cel care muncește din greu reușește în viață.
The one who works hard succeeds in life.
Dintre toate propunerile, cea susținută de directorul general a fost adoptată în unanimitate.
Of all the proposals, the one supported by the CEO was adopted unanimously.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | cel (m) / cea (f) | cei (m) / cele (f) |
| Genitive | celui (m) / celei (f) | celor |
| Accusative | cel (m) / cea (f) | cei (m) / cele (f) |
| Vocative | None | None |
Word family
Etymology
Cel comes from spoken Latin, where the plain demonstrative ille ("that") was reinforced with the pointing particle ecce ("look, here/there"), giving a form like eccu(m) ille. This reinforced demonstrative broke down across the Romance languages into separate words for "that" and "the one". In Romanian it settled into the short form cel, used mainly to attach a following adjective, superlative, or ordinal to a noun.
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Start free