Learn Romanian › rau
rau
bad /ˈrəw/
adjective#399 most common
Also: evil, harm, ill (in health/mood)
Example sentences
El este rău.
He is bad.
Ea este rea.
She is bad.
Copiii sunt răi azi.
The children are naughty today.
Mă simt rău de dimineață.
I feel unwell in the morning.
Nu vreau să-i fac rău nimănui.
I don't want to do harm to anyone.
Obiceiurile rele sunt greu de schimbat.
Bad habits are hard to change.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | rău (m) / rea (f) | răi (m) / rele (f) |
| Genitive | rău (m) / rele (f) | răi (m) / rele (f) |
| Accusative | rău (m) / rea (f) | răi (m) / rele (f) |
| Vocative | rău (m) / rea (f) | răi (m) / rele (f) |
Word family
răuevil, harm (neuter abstract use)
răutatewickedness, malice
răuvoitormalicious, ill-wishing
a se înrăito grow mean or bitter
rea-credințăbad faith
Etymology
Rău descends from the Latin word reus, which originally meant 'defendant' or 'guilty party' in a legal sense. Over time in the spoken Latin of the region that became Romanian, the sense shifted from 'guilty' to the broader moral and general quality of 'bad' or 'evil'. This kind of narrowing from a legal term to an everyday adjective is unusual among Romance languages, most of which built their word for 'bad' from Latin malus instead.
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