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Can someone clear this up: is masa both table and meal? If so are they directly interchangeable and is the only way to differentiate by context?
Can I say this means, "Do you have the meal?"
Thanks!
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Yes, "masă" can mean both table and meal and context is the only way to differentiate. This was a strange one for me too, and Romanian happens to be my first language. I am more familiar with "Tu ai luat masa?" as in "Have you eaten?" or "a lua masa" as in "to dine."
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It's a little difficult to explain the meaning, even for a native...Both meanings of "masă" are available in Romanian: table and meal...So, only the context can give the meaning of this Duo's question...
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Just my thoughts on this... if we take this as the literal translation of "Do you have the table?" then it doesn't strictly translate correctly into English. Personally, I'd prefer "Tu ai masă?" so saying "Do you have a table?" which works contextually in several English scenarios (such as being asked by friends if I have a table to sit at already in the pub, being asked if I have a table reservation, or a bartender asking someone if they have a table [number] so they can allocate the order to the table number). In the last instance, in keeping with the original term ”the table”, perhaps a more direction translation would be "Tu ai numărul de masa?" but I don't know if this has the same context in Romanian as it does in English.
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It is a puzzle to me, too, as an English speaker and one that is brushing up on Romanian
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I don't see any problem with the sentence--at least in English translation. It could refer to a rented or reserved table or a folding table to be set up somewhere temporarily. Likewise in these days of take-out meals, it would be a relatively common question about a meal, too.
