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spune

to say / to tell /ˈspu.ne/

verb#29 most common

Also: to speak, to state, he/she says

Example sentences

Ce spune el?
What does he say?
El îmi spune numele lui.
He tells me his name.
Mama îmi spune să mă spăl pe mâini.
Mom tells me to wash my hands.
Spune-mi adevărul, te rog.
Tell me the truth, please.
Nu știu ce să-i spun.
I don't know what to tell him.
Se spune că vremea se va schimba curând.
It is said that the weather will change soon.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgspunspuseivoi spune
2sgspuispuseșivei spune
3sgspunespuseva spune
1plspunemspuserămvom spune
2plspunețispuserățiveți spune
3plspunspuserăvor spune

Word family

a puneto put
spuswhat was said, an utterance
nespusunspoken, indescribable
a presupuneto suppose
a expuneto expose, to display

Etymology

Spune comes from the Latin verb exponere, built from ex- ("out") and ponere ("to put"). In classical Latin it meant "to set forth" or "to explain". Romanian narrowed that sense to the everyday act of saying or telling, while sister languages kept the older, more formal meaning. This makes Romanian unusual among Romance languages, since most of them use a descendant of Latin dicere for the basic verb "to say".

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More Romanian words

puteato be able to, canpentruforbinewellmeumy / minecaas / likeluihis (also: to him, him — the oblique form of 'el')darbuttrebuito have to (must, to be necessary)