Martial Arts

1. Pot să particip la un singur antrenament astăzi?

   Can I join just one training session today?

   Usage

   Romanian martial arts gyms (sală de arte marțiale) normally run on monthly memberships, but many will take a one-off visitor or offer a trial session (antrenament de probă). Boxing, kickboxing, MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu gyms are plentiful in Bucharest and Cluj. This is the line to open with

   Grammar Note

   Romanian rarely links modal verbs to an infinitive, using "a putea + să + subjunctive" instead, as in "pot să particip". This is a shared feature of the Balkan language area

2. Pot să mă uit la antrenament înainte să mă înscriu?

   May I watch a training session before I sign up?

   Usage

   Almost nobody refuses a spectator. Romanian gyms are busiest from 18:00 to 21:00 on weekdays, the best time to read the atmosphere. Never step on the mat (saltea) in shoes at a judo or jiu-jitsu club; visitors watch from along the wall. Many clubs are housed in the large socialist-era sports halls (sală de sport)

   Grammar Note

   "A se uita" is reflexive and always takes the preposition "la" ("mă uit la ceva"). "Înainte să + subjunctive" means "before doing X"

3. Închiriați mănuși și apărători de tibie?

   Do you rent gloves and shin guards?

   Usage

   Gloves are "mănuși", shin guards "apărători de tibie" and hand wraps "bandaje". Romanian gyms usually lend gloves but sell rather than rent wraps and mouthguards (proteză dentară) for hygiene reasons. A judo uniform is a "kimono" and the belt a "centură". For a no-gi jiu-jitsu class you only need a rash guard and shorts

   Grammar Note

   "Mănușă" pluralises to "mănuși" with a vowel alternation in the ending, and "apărătoare" (protector) becomes "apărători". "A închiria" covers both renting out and renting in

4. Sunt începător, nu am mai făcut box până acum.

   I am a beginner; I have never done boxing before.

   Usage

   Tell both the desk and the coach (antrenor) on duty and you will be put on a fundamentals track. Romania has a strong boxing and wrestling (lupte) tradition with a long list of Olympic medallists. A female speaker says "începătoare". Swap "box" for "judo", "kickboxing", "jiu-jitsu brazilian" or "lupte"

   Grammar Note

   In a negative clause "mai" means "any more / ever before", so "nu am mai făcut" reads as "I have never done it". This differs from affirmative "mai", which means "more"

5. Putem să mergem mai ușor, vă rog?

   Could we take it easier, please?

   Usage

   Say this to your partner before you start sparring. "A merge mai ușor" means to take it more gently; "mai încet" (slower) and "fără să lovim tare" (without hitting hard) work the same way. To ask for the opposite, say "putem să mergem mai tare"

   Grammar Note

   Comparatives are formed simply by placing "mai" before the adjective or adverb ("ușor" to "mai ușor"). "Vă rog" literally means "I ask you" and is the standard polite request marker

6. Am genunchiul accidentat, prefer să evit loviturile de picior.

   My knee is injured, so I would rather avoid the kicks.

   Usage

   Say this before training starts. On a single visit, speaking up is the only way to flag an injury — otherwise the coach assumes you can do everything. Substitute "umărul" (shoulder), "spatele" (back), "glezna" (ankle) or "încheietura" (wrist). For judo or wrestling, replace "loviturile de picior" with "aruncările" (throws)

   Grammar Note

   Romanian attaches the definite article to the end of the noun ("genunchi" to "genunchiul", "lovituri" to "loviturile"). "A prefera" is likewise followed by "să" plus the subjunctive rather than an infinitive

7. Cât costă abonamentul lunar?

   How much is the monthly membership?

   Usage

   A Romanian combat sports gym typically runs 150-350 lei a month, more at the larger Bucharest clubs, and prices are often split between a twice-weekly and an unlimited option. There is usually no joining fee, though some clubs require federation registration (legitimație), so ask

   Grammar Note

   "Abonament" takes the definite article "-ul", giving "abonamentul". "Lunar" derives from "lună" (month) and can be swapped for "săptămânal" (weekly) or "anual" (annual)

8. Cât costă o ședință? Aveți abonament de zece ședințe?

   How much is one session? Do you have a ten-session pass?

   Usage

   A single session typically costs 30-60 lei. If you are staying a week or more, asking about a ten-session pass (abonament de zece ședințe) brings the per-session price down; check its validity period (valabilitate) too. Some Romanian gyms are still cash-only, so it is worth asking whether they take cards

   Grammar Note

   "Ședință" broadly means a session or sitting and pluralises to "ședințe". After a numeral, the noun stands in the bare plural with no article: "zece ședințe"

9. Aveți o grupă doar pentru femei?

   Do you have a women-only group?

   Usage

   Women-only self-defence classes (autoapărare pentru femei) are increasingly common at gyms in Bucharest and Cluj, and many kickboxing gyms run a separate women's group. For a mixed class, asking whether there is a female coach (antrenoare) helps you decide

   Grammar Note

   "Femeie" has the irregular plural "femei". "Doar pentru + noun" builds "X-only", as in "doar pentru copii" (children only)

10. Unde pot vedea programul antrenamentelor?

    Where can I see the training timetable?

    Usage

    Romanian gyms concentrate on 07:00-09:00 and 18:00-21:00, with few midday classes. The timetable is usually on the wall by the desk or on the gym's Facebook page — Facebook remains the main channel for announcements in Romania. Hours shift around Orthodox holidays and in August, so check on the day

    Grammar Note

    Romanian marks the genitive with an ending rather than a preposition: "antrenamente" plus the genitive plural article "-lor" gives "antrenamentelor". There is no equivalent of English "of" or French "de" here

11. Îmi arătați cum se pun bandajele?

    Could you show me how the hand wraps go on?

    Usage

    Gloving up without wraps (bandaje) risks your knuckles and wrist. A coach will usually wrap you the first time but expects you to manage afterwards, so learn on day one. To ask about tying a judo belt instead, say "cum se leagă centura"

    Grammar Note

    "Îmi" is the weak dative pronoun "to me" and precedes the verb. "Se pun" uses the impersonal "se" for a passive sense — how they are put on — with the verb agreeing in the plural with "bandajele"

12. După câte antrenamente pot face sparring?

    After how many sessions can I do sparring?

    Usage

    Sparring carries injury risk and is gated behind the coach's approval. Around ten sessions, once your stance and defence hold up, is the usual answer, and many visitors never get past pads and bag work. "Sparring" stays in English, while judo calls it "randori". Let the coach decide rather than pressing

    Grammar Note

    The interrogative "cât" agrees with the noun, becoming "câte" before the neuter plural "antrenamente". "A putea" is one of the rare Romanian verbs that can take a bare infinitive without "să", allowing "pot face"

13. Aveți vestiar și duș?

    Do you have a changing room and a shower?

    Usage

    Romanian gyms generally have a changing room (vestiar) and showers, though hot water is not guaranteed in older buildings. Bring your own towel (prosop) and flip-flops (șlapi). At a judo or jiu-jitsu club you train barefoot on the mat and put sandals on the moment you step off

    Grammar Note

    Asking whether a facility exists uses the bare singular without an article: "aveți vestiar". "Duș" is borrowed from French "douche" — Romanian took in a great many French words in the nineteenth century

14. Unde pot vedea o competiție de trântă?

    Where can I watch a trântă wrestling competition?

    Usage

    Trântă is Romania's traditional grappling wrestling, won by putting your opponent on the ground. It is most often held at village festivals and harvest celebrations in Moldavia and Bukovina, so the dates follow the local calendar of events. Modern competitive wrestling is distinguished as "lupte greco-romane" (Greco-Roman) and "lupte libere" (freestyle), disciplines in which Romania has a long Olympic medal record

    Grammar Note

    "Trântă" is a noun formed from the verb "a trânti" (to throw down). "Competiție de + sport" builds "a competition of X", as in "competiție de box" or "competiție de judo"

15. Ține garda sus și uită-te în ochii adversarului!

    Keep your guard up and look your opponent in the eyes!

    Usage

    Said by the coach. The most frequent cue during pad work and sparring; "Garda sus!" alone does the job. Romanian coaches bark short imperatives, with no rudeness intended. Beginners drop the guard and look away as they strike, so these are the first two habits corrected

    Grammar Note

    In an affirmative command the pronoun attaches after the verb with a hyphen ("uită-te"); in a negative one it moves in front, giving "nu te uita". "Adversarului" carries the genitive definite ending "-ului"

16. Lovește tare, nu te abține!

    Hit hard, do not hold back!

    Usage

    Said by the coach. The standard call for full power on the pads or the heavy bag (sac de box), and also permission to hit at full force. It is never said during partner sparring. In kickboxing you will also hear "Lovește cu piciorul!" (kick)

    Grammar Note

    A negative command uses "nu" plus the infinitive, with the pronoun after "nu", giving "nu te abține" — the mirror image of the affirmative "abține-te". "Tare" doubles as an adverb without changing form

17. Pauză de cinci minute, beți apă.

    Five-minute break, drink some water.

    Usage

    Said by the coach between rounds. Romanian summers pass 35 degrees and older sports halls have no air conditioning, so drinking is not optional. Bring your own bottle (sticlă de apă). During the break you wait at the edge of the mat or outside the ring

    Grammar Note

    "Pauză de cinci minute" works as a complete instruction with no verb. "Beți" is the second-person plural imperative, used for the class as a whole; to one person you would say "bea"

18. Pentru azi ne oprim aici. Bravo, ați muncit bine!

    We will stop here for today. Well done, you worked hard!

    Usage

    Said by the coach to close the session. Judo and jiu-jitsu clubs line up on the mat and bow; striking gyms usually end with a round of fist bumps or handshakes. The natural reply is "Mulțumesc, antrenor!", and tipping is not done

    Grammar Note

    "Azi" is the clipped form of "astăzi" and is the usual word in speech. "Ați muncit" is the second-person plural compound past, formed from the auxiliary "a avea" plus the participle

Browse all TravelPhrases languages