"a loaf of bread"
Translation:o bucată de pâine
34 Comments
So pâine is just like the mass/general term, and using "o" makes it refer to a loaf?
Here's my thought. In this case the "o" just serves to make it "a loaf of bread" rather than just "loaf of bread". The fact that it's "loaf" is just informal. In english, when we say garlic, we usually are referring to a clove of garlic. In this case, when they say "paine", you could translate it either as the general term "bread", or in context assume they are talking about "a loaf of bread". It all depends on when it's used.
how it works: eu vreau o pâine = i want a loaf of bread eu vreau o felie de pâine = i want a slice of bread eu vreau câteva feli de pâine = i want a few slices of bread eu vreau niște pâine = i want some bread
21
That would be "câteva felii de pâine" -- double "i" for "felii" because it is a plural noun.
felie -- singular
felii -- plural
feliile- plural + definite article (the slices)
I want a few slices of bread = Vreau câteva felii de pâine.
- 1272
A loaf of bread means "o franzelă" în România. "O pâine" is an informal use, literally meaning "one bread" or "a bread".
Usually in English, "a bread" refers to a type of bread, like flatbread, sandwich bread, brioche &c. That's why they've added "a loaf of" in the English translation, to match the meaning of the Romanian sentence.
[2019/04/18]
Weirdly, I do not learn "bucata" and "de" in advance, how can I know the spelling of them?
Stella355914 You may paste "o bucată de pâine" in Google Translate (from Romanian) and then you may use the speller... Unfortunately we cannot add new words at the beginninig of this course...
- 21
"O bucată de pâine" means "a piece of bread". "A loaf of bread" would be "o franzelă" in Romanian. "Franzelă" is a feminine noun, hence the use of the indefinite article "o" before it.
- 553
No. That means "a slice of bread". Slices and loaves are not the same, obviously.
Exactly! I was thinking the exact same thing. Thanks for pointing that out.
- 311
Is pâine masculine or feminine? I've seen both o and un for it. Are both correct?
- 1272
Pâine is feminine. One (loaf of) bread = O pâine, Two (loaves of) bread = Două pâini. "Un pâine" is not correct. The word for "dog" is very similar and is masculine: "un câine".
So, is bucata de paine interchangeable with painea (sorry can't remember how the word was spelled) or are there certain times when you would use both? I've seen both versions translated as a loaf of bread.
- 21
"O bucată de pâine" = a piece of bread
pâine = bread
pâinea = the bread
a loaf of bread = o franzelă
They are not interchangeable, because "bucata de pâine" is "some of the bread" and "pâinea" is usually "the whole bread".
