Learn Romanian › chinui

chinui

to torment /ki.nuˈi/

verb#3978 most common

Also: to torture, to struggle, to strain (reflexive: a se chinui), to wear out

Example sentences

Nu mă chinui!
Don't torment me!
El se chinuiește să învețe engleza.
He struggles to learn English.
Mă chinuiesc de dimineață cu tema asta.
I've been struggling with this homework since morning.
Copiii au chinuit animalul fără milă.
The children tormented the animal without mercy.
Se chinuia de ani de zile cu o boală pe care doctorii n-o puteau diagnostica.
She had been suffering for years with an illness the doctors could not diagnose.
Deși se chinuise toată viața să-și găsească locul în lume, abia la bătrânețe a înțeles că liniștea vine din interior.
Although he had struggled his whole life to find his place in the world, only in old age did he understand that peace comes from within.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgchinuiescchinuiivoi chinui
2sgchinuieștichinuișivei chinui
3sgchinuieștechinuiva chinui
1plchinuimchinuirămvom chinui
2plchinuițichinuirățiveți chinui
3plchinuiescchinuirăvor chinui

Word family

chintorment, agony
chinuittormented, tortured, worn out
chinuitortormenting, agonizing
chinuirethe act of tormenting
chinuialăhassle, ordeal (colloquial)

Etymology

The verb comes from the noun chin, torment or agony, which Romanian took from a Slavic word for order or rank that also carried the sense of judicial procedure and punishment. Once borrowed, the noun narrowed to mean suffering or torture. The verb chinui was then built by adding the native verb-forming suffix -ui to that noun.

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