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Interested in learning Romanian? This Romance language is ranked by the US Foreign Service Institute (FSI) as a Category I language. This means it’s one of the easiest languages to learn if you’re a native English speaker!
Reading books is a great way to learn languages and such is the case with Romanian. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good books to learn Romanian.
But don’t be dismayed. They may be few and far in between but we’ve found great options that are helpful in building your Romanian vocabulary, learning grammar, or even brushing up on existing knowledge.
Why learn Romanian?
There are about 34 million people worldwide who can speak Romanian, with a majority of them living in Romania and Moldova. I know, that doesn’t sound like a lot when compared to people who speak Spanish, French, Chinese, or Japanese.
This shouldn’t discourage you though. Apart from it being an easy language to learn, studying Romanian comes with so many benefits. Here are just a few:
- Converse with not just Romanians and Moldovans but also Romanian speakers in Hungary, Ukraine, and even in the United States.
- Get access to the wonderful Romanian culture. From literature to music to food, it’s much more enjoyable when you know the language.
- Prepare for other Romance languages. If you want to learn French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or Latin, knowing Romanian will give you a leg up.
- It helps you learn Slavic languages. Romanian is influenced by Slavic languages such as Russian, Serbian, and Croatian, thanks to its proximity to these countries.
These should be enough motivation, right? If you’re ready to start this learning adventure, make sure you’re armed with any of these books to learn Romanian.
The best books to learn Romanian
1. Complete Romanian Beginner to Intermediate Course
This book offers a complete course in Romanian that will take you from a beginner to an intermediate level. It is broken down into units that are based on themes, and the focus is on communication. You will learn to introduce yourself, use the phone, talk about work, and more.
Complete Romanian gives one-, five-, and ten-minute introductions to key principles, which are helpful if you’re short on time. The grammar is presented in simple building blocks, and you will learn the vocabulary you need for a solid foundation.
You can test yourself as you learn, and it comes with a CD that allows you to listen to the language so that you can learn it better. After completing the book, you should be able to interact spontaneously with native speakers.
Key features:
- Everything you need to go from beginner to speaker
- Grammar and vocabulary exercises
- CD for added listening practice
2. Colloquial Romanian
For those seeking comprehensive books to learn Romanian, Colloquial Romanian is a top-tier choice for beginners. Written by experienced teachers, this course offers a step-by-step approach to both spoken and written Romanian, requiring no prior language knowledge.
The book uses lively dialogues that reflect contemporary Romanian life, ensuring you learn practical language in context. Key features include clear grammar explanations, a variety of stimulating exercises with an answer key, and extensive glossaries.
Also, free MP3 audio recorded by native speakers is available to download. This should help you develop essential listening and pronunciation skills alongside the textbook content.
Key features:
- A structured, step-by-step path from zero knowledge
- Practical and engaging conversations reflecting modern Romanian culture
- Plenty of stimulating practice with a full answer key for self-correction
3. Romanian Practical Dictionary
For those looking for a solid reference, this Romanian-English/English-Romanian dictionary is essential.
Published by Hippocrene Books, it’s touted as one of the most comprehensive two-way dictionaries available, containing over 20,000 entries. This isn’t just basic vocabulary; it includes modern, up-to-date terminology covering business, technical, and political fields.
Each entry clearly lists the part of speech and offers helpful grammatical usage labels, making it an invaluable tool for students and serious learners who need to understand nuanced context and accurate word usage.
Key features:
- Features over 20,000 words and phrases in both directions
- Entries feature clear parts of speech and usage labels
- Essential for intermediate to advanced learners and translators
4. Discover Romanian
- Used Book in Good Condition
Discover Romanian provides a complete introduction to Romanian. It focuses on communication, and teaches you grammar, vocabulary, and the four major language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It is one of the most comprehensive books to learn Romanian out there.
One of the best books to learn Romanian, this one has a lot of dialogue and reading exercises that build on your grammar and vocabulary so that you can immerse yourself in what you have learned. There is also a pronunciation lesson in the glossary, which is helpful because you learn which syllables to stress.
Some people buy the workbook to accompany this text so that they can practice more.
Key features:
- Comprehensive book to learn Romanian
- Builds on grammar and vocabulary
- Pronunciation guide in the glossary
5. Romanian Frequency Dictionary
Romanian Frequency Dictionary is a great book for learning the core vocabulary of Romanian. It has practical words that you need to know to write and speak the language. It is designed for beginner to intermediate students who are striving for fluency.
Each of the entries in the book has English translations, Romanian to English example sentences, IPA phonetic spelling to help you pronounce the words correctly, and detailed part of speech information.
You will learn the words by their frequency in the language. The fact is that there are 2,500 words that account for 92% of all spoken Romanian.
This is one of the best books to learn Romanian if you want to build practical vocabulary. You can use it alone or along with an app or a workbook to build up your vocabulary and become fluent in the language.
Key features:
- Teaches you the most frequently used words in Romanian
- Gives you phonetic spelling to help you learn how to pronounce words
- Gives examples in Romanian and English
6. Learn Romanian with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Romanian to English
Stories are an effective way of teaching anything. Containing great stories that will entertain you, this is one of the most engaging books to learn Romanian. It includes Romanian versions of some of the best Grimm stories. Plus, the interlinear English translation helps you understand what you are reading.
This book includes 90 pages of short stories that are meant to educate and entertain at the same time. By reading and re-reading, you’ll familiarize yourself with Romanian words without boring yourself with grammar and vocabulary drills. This is a great way to learn without it feeling like a chore.
Key features:
- Learn Romanian by reading interesting stories
- English translation included
- Includes more than 15,000 Romanian words
7. Learn Romanian
Learn Romanian follows the Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule for learning, which states that only 20% of what you learn contributes to 80% of your improvement. In language learning, this 20% often refers to the most frequently used words.
Following this rule, this book focuses on the core words and sentence structures that you need to know to start speaking Romanian. It includes the 2,000 most important Romanian words and phrases in order of frequency of use.
Designed for both beginners and intermediate learners, it is recommended that you spend 15 to 20 minutes each day on this book. You can progress quickly by going through it daily.
The book is split into sections with 25 vocabulary words, so you should progress in order. Master each level before moving on.
Key features:
- Focuses on core words and sentence structures to build fluency
- Sections of 25 words at a time
- Includes 2,000 most important Romanian words in order of frequency
8. First Romanian Reader for Beginners
This bilingual reader is one of the best books to learn Romanian if you’re after building vocabulary and amusing stories. Made for beginners and intermediate learners, this book contains parallel Romanian and English texts.
This book teaches Romanian through funny and sometimes silly stories that make learning fun. The stories gradually introduce new vocabulary while using the previously introduced words multiple times to build recall. This learning method is called ALARM or Approved Learning Automatic Remembering Method.
Owing to its casual tone, this book is ideal for acquiring conversational skills. The publisher’s site also has downloadable audio tracks to guide your pronunciation.
Key features:
- 29 chapters introducing 30 new words each
- Engaging way to learn Romanian
- Audio tracks available online
9. Romanian Made Nice & Easy
Romanian Made Nice & Easy may be a small book but it gives you enough of the language to understand and be understood. It’s stuffed with hundreds of useful words and phrases for travelers and learners.
This book was designed for government personnel who are often assigned to foreign countries at a moment’s notice. This makes the book easy to follow and beginner-friendly.
You’ll find easy-to-read phonetics for hassle-free pronunciation, accent and stress markers, as well as cultural insights that give more context to what you’re learning. Overall, a good starter book!
Key features:
- Contains easy-to-follow guidelines on reading and writing Romanian
- Great way to learn essential vocabulary
- Phonetics helps with pronunciation
10. Romanian: An Essential Grammar
Part of the Routledge Essential Grammars series, Romanian: An Essential Grammar is a concise, user-friendly guide to Romanian grammar.
If studying Romanian grammar feels daunting for you, this book comes highly recommended as it does a good job of explaining each concept as clearly as possible. The book also provides a lot of examples of relevant Romanian usage as well as examples in English.
To test your understanding, the book has a section with exercises and an answer key that you can refer to. You also get a list of useful verbs, grammatical terms, a bibliography, and an appendix of useful reference websites should you want to dive deeper.
Key features:
- Suitable for both classroom use and self-learning
- Extensive grammar explanations
- Lots of useful supplementary resources and exercises
11. My First Romanian Book
For parents looking for engaging books to learn Romanian with their kids, My First Romanian Book is a colorful start.
This picture book, ideal for children aged 0-5, makes language learning a fun family activity. It features over 200 common words across different topics, all accompanied by bright, vivid illustrations designed to keep young learners interested.
The best part? The text is completely bilingual (English and Romanian), which means even parents who don’t speak Romanian can confidently read the words and enjoy the learning journey together. It’s a simple, visual, and highly effective way to introduce early Romanian vocabulary.
Key features:
- Ideal for children aged 0-5 for early language exposure
- Covers over 200 essential, everyday Romanian words
- Bright and colorful visuals to engage young readers
Conclusion
Whether you want to use a book for a complete learning experience, or you plan to use it along with a Romanian learning app, the choices on this list are designed to help you learn Romanian quickly and effectively.
All of these are just a click away so there’s no stopping you from starting this learning journey. Happy reading!