Learn Romanian › destept
destept
smart, clever /deʃˈtept/
adjective#5226 most common
Also: intelligent, bright, sharp-witted
Example sentences
El este deștept.
He is smart.
Sora mea este foarte deșteaptă.
My sister is very smart.
Copiii aceștia sunt cei mai deștepți din școală.
These children are the smartest in the school.
Nu te mai preface așa deștept, doar te faci de râs.
Stop acting so smart, you're just making a fool of yourself.
Ai crezut că poți să mă păcălești, deșteptule?
Did you think you could fool me, smart aleck?
Planul deșteptului elev a impresionat comisia, deși nimeni nu se aștepta la o asemenea soluție ingenioasă.
The clever student's plan impressed the committee, though no one expected such an ingenious solution.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | deșteptul | deștepții |
| Genitive | deșteptului | deștepților |
| Accusative | deșteptul | deștepții |
| Vocative | deșteptule | deștepților |
Word family
a (se) deșteptato wake (someone) up, to rouse
deșteptareawakening
deșteptăciunecleverness, smartness
deșteptătoralarm clock (literally, the thing that wakes you)
Etymology
Deștept began as the past participle of the verb a deștepta, meaning "to wake someone up." Romanian dictionaries connect a deștepta to Latin roots tied to rousing someone from sleep or stupor, though the exact source form is debated among etymologists. Over time the sense shifted from physical wakefulness to mental sharpness, the same kind of metaphorical jump English makes with words like "sharp" or "bright." The plain meaning today is simply "clever, smart."
Learn Romanian the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,027 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,027 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free