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surprinde

to surprise /surˈprin.de/

verb#1024 most common

Also: to catch (someone) in the act, to capture (a moment, an image)

Example sentences

Mama mă surprinde cu un cadou.
Mom surprises me with a gift.
El ne surprinde mereu cu poveștile lui.
He always surprises us with his stories.
Am surprins-o citind scrisoarea mea.
I caught her reading my letter.
Poliția l-a surprins pe hoț în timp ce spărgea mașina.
The police caught the thief while he was breaking into the car.
Fotograful a reușit să surprindă zborul păsării într-o fracțiune de secundă.
The photographer managed to capture the bird's flight in a fraction of a second.
Romanul surprinde cu finețe conflictele interioare ale personajului principal, dezvăluind treptat complexitatea psihologică a acestuia.
The novel captures with subtlety the inner conflicts of the main character, gradually revealing his psychological complexity.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgsurprindsurprinseivoi surprinde
2sgsurprinzisurprinseșivei surprinde
3sgsurprindesurprinseva surprinde
1plsurprindemsurprinserămvom surprinde
2plsurprindețisurprinserățiveți surprinde
3plsurprindsurprinserăvor surprinde

Word family

prindeto catch, grab
surprinssurprised, caught
surprinderesurprise, the act of surprisingsurprinzătorsurprising

Etymology

The verb is built from the prefix "sur-" (over, upon, from Latin "super-") and "prinde" (to catch, seize), which descends from Latin "prendere," a shortened form of "prehendere." The same combination, prefix plus "to catch," produced French "surprendre," so Romanian and French arrived at parallel words from the same Latin materials. The core sense stayed close to the root: to catch someone off guard.

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