la
/la/
The Romanian preposition for "at" is la.
la is used to indicate being in or very near a particular place. It is the standard preposition for names of institutions, businesses or workplaces, such as la școală (at/to school). In conversational Romanian, the phrase la mine is commonly used to mean "at my place".
Meaning: in or very near a particular place (prep)
Which one should you use?
While la expresses being "at" a location, it is also the standard preposition used to express movement "to" a location.
How does it change in a sentence?
The preposition la is invariable, meaning it does not change its form based on the gender or number of the noun that follows it.
How do you pronounce it?
/la/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using în (in) to indicate being at a functional location like a shop or a workplace. Instead, use la.
Did you know?
- The word la has roots in the Latin word illac, which provides its structural foundation in the Romanian language.
- If you want to say you are 'at my house' or 'at my place', you say la mine, which literally translates to 'at me'.
- Using the preposition în instead of la when describing functional locations like a school can change the meaning from 'attending' to 'physically inside the building'.
Examples in context
- El stătea la ușă.He was standing at the door.This sentence shows how to use la to indicate a position at a door.Tatoeba #5140048 by fathe, translation #302277 by CK
- Eu sunt la birou.I'm at the office.This sentence demonstrates the use of la for a workplace like an office.Tatoeba #10525572 by adrian25, translation #5859512 by CK
- Leo lucra la CBS.Leon was working at CBS.This sentence illustrates using la with a specific business or organization name.Tatoeba #13598942 by Ioana_Dobre, translation #11641590 by Amastan
- La ora 10:00At 10:00
- Îl găsești pe la școalăYou can find him around the school
- pe la noiAt our place
- La ora 3At 3 o'clock
- La birouAt the office
- La bibliotecăAt the library
- La concertAt the concert
- 468 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Andrei and Andreea are deciding where to meet for coffee.
- AndreiNe vedem la cafenea?Shall we meet at the cafe?
- AndreeaDa, sunt deja la intrare.Yes, I am already at the entrance.
- AndreiPerfect, ajung la tine în cinci minute.Perfect, I will reach you in five minutes.
- AndreeaTe aștept la masă.I am waiting for you at the table.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “at” translations and entries la, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
