Romanian is a Romance language with 24 million native speakers, descended directly from Vulgar Latin and written in Latin script since 1860 when the Cyrillic alphabet was officially abandoned. The language occupies a unique position as the easternmost Romance language, surrounded by Slavic-speaking countries and Hungarian-speaking populations, which has resulted in approximately 20 percent of its vocabulary deriving from Slavic sources while retaining Latin grammar and core vocabulary. Romanian maintains five grammatical cases, unlike most other Romance languages, and preserves three grammatical genders. The standard form taught in schools and used in media is based on the southern dialect of Muntenia, where Bucharest sits, though pronunciation and vocabulary variations exist across Transylvania, Moldavia, and Banat. Travelers who speak Spanish, Italian, French, or Portuguese will recognize approximately 77 percent of Romanian vocabulary from shared Latin roots, though pronunciation differs substantially.
English functions as the primary foreign language among Romanians born after 1985, with 31 percent of the total population claiming working proficiency according to the 2021 European Commission's Eurobarometer survey. In Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, and Brașov, approximately 45 to 50 percent of residents under age 40 can conduct basic transactions in English, while this drops to 15 to 20 percent in rural areas and among populations over 55. The hospitality sector shows higher English competency, with an estimated 70 percent of hotel staff, tour guides, and restaurant workers in major tourist destinations able to communicate in English at a conversational level. University cities including Iași, Sibiu, and Oradea demonstrate stronger English skills than industrial centers like Galați, Brăila, or Ploiești, where manufacturing employment dominates and international tourism remains minimal. International chain hotels, restaurants advertising to tourists, and businesses near major attractions like Bran Castle or Peleș Castle typically employ English-speaking staff, but neighborhood restaurants, small pensions, and local shops outside tourist circuits operate exclusively in Romanian.
French held the position of Romania's primary foreign language from the late 1800s through the 1970s, deeply embedded in the educated classes who called Bucharest "Little Paris" and modeled the Romanian Athenaeum on Parisian architecture. This linguistic legacy persists among Romanians born before 1975, with approximately 17 percent of the total population retaining French language skills according to 2019 government education statistics. In Bucharest, Iași, and Craiova, French maintains stronger presence than elsewhere, visible in French cultural institutes, French-language secondary schools, and signage at historical sites. Travelers with French but no Romanian will find more comprehension among taxi drivers, museum staff, and shop owners over age 50 than among younger populations who shifted to English instruction in schools after 1990. The French Institute operates branches in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, and Iași, and approximately 50,000 Romanian students currently study in French-language educational tracks, concentrated in urban centers. French vocabulary appears in Romanian for cultural concepts, with words like "bacalaureat" for the high school graduation exam and "merci" occasionally used alongside the Romanian "mulțumesc" for thank you.
Hungarian is the primary language for 6.1 percent of Romania's population, concentrated in Transylvania's counties of Harghita, Covasna, and Mureș, where Hungarian speakers form local majorities. In Târgu Mureș, Hungarian and Romanian appear on equal footing in public signage, government offices, and commercial establishments, with 40 percent of the city's population claiming Hungarian as their first language according to the 2021 census. Miercurea Ciuc, the capital of Harghita County, operates predominantly in Hungarian, with approximately 80 percent of residents speaking Hungarian as their primary language, and travelers will encounter Hungarian on restaurant menus, hotel reception desks, and municipal information. Sfântu Gheorghe in Covasna County shows similar patterns, with Hungarian used more frequently than Romanian in daily commerce. The cities of Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Satu Mare, and Baia Mare maintain significant Hungarian-speaking minorities ranging from 15 to 25 percent of their populations, visible in bilingual church services, Hungarian-language theaters, and educational institutions. In areas where Hungarian communities dominate, travelers who speak Hungarian will navigate more easily than those relying on English, as older populations in rural Székely Land villages may speak only Hungarian and Romanian with limited exposure to other languages.
German persists in specific communities where Saxon populations historically settled, though ethnic German numbers declined from 750,000 in 1930 to approximately 36,000 in the 2021 census following mass emigration to Germany between 1945 and 1990. Sibiu and Brașov retain visible German heritage in architecture, street names, and cultural institutions, with German still appearing on historical building plaques and in tourism materials targeting German visitors who constitute one of Romania's largest tourist demographics. Timișoara's Banat Swabian community maintains German language use in cultural associations and Catholic church services, though daily commerce occurs in Romanian. Sighișoara's Saxon heritage shows in preserved German inscriptions and occasional German-speaking tour guides catering to the approximately 2 million German tourists who visit Romania annually. Knowledge of German among Romanians remains limited to approximately 7 percent of the population, concentrated in Transylvania's former Saxon territories and among those working in tourism sectors serving German-speaking visitors. German appears more useful than English in rural Transylvanian villages with remaining Saxon populations, but these communities are small and scattered, with most younger residents having emigrated.
Language patterns in Bucharest differ from the rest of Romania due to the capital's concentration of international business, diplomatic missions, and tourism infrastructure. Approximately 55 percent of Bucharest residents under 40 claim functional English, higher than the national average, and international restaurants, hotels rated three stars or above, and businesses in the Old Town (Lipscani district) operate with English as a working language. The Palace of Parliament offers tours in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian, reflecting the capital's multilingual tourism infrastructure. Metro stations display announcements in Romanian and English, while bus and tram systems use Romanian only. Bucharest's universities attract approximately 30,000 international students annually, creating neighborhoods around Universitate and Piața Romană where English functions in cafes, bookshops, and student-oriented businesses. Banks in Bucharest's central districts typically staff English-speaking tellers, but branches in peripheral neighborhoods like Drumul Taberei or Titan operate exclusively in Romanian. The Otopeni International Airport employs multilingual staff, but beyond the terminal, taxi drivers and airport hotel workers vary significantly in English ability, with approximately 40 percent able to conduct basic transactions.
Rural language capabilities differ sharply from urban centers, with English proficiency dropping to 10 to 15 percent in villages and small towns across Maramureș, Moldavia, and southern Romania. In the Danube Delta, tourist operations in Tulcea employ English-speaking guides, but villages like Crișan, Mila 23, and Sfântu Gheorghe function entirely in Romanian with occasional Ukrainian speakers among fishing communities. The Apuseni Mountains region, including villages near Scărișoara Ice Cave and the Turda Gorge, receives Romanian domestic tourists primarily, and accommodation owners typically speak only Romanian with rare exceptions in established guesthouses listed in international guidebooks. Maramureș villages famous for wooden churches and traditional culture, such as Săpânța with its Merry Cemetery, operate in Romanian with Hungarian spoken in certain areas near the Ukrainian border, but English remains uncommon outside of organized tours booked through agencies in Baia Mare or Sighișoara. Travelers without Romanian language skills face significant challenges in rural areas when attempting to arrange accommodation, purchase supplies, or request directions without pre-arranged guides or written translations.