How to Say "Bear" in Romanian

urs

masculine

The Romanian word for the large mammal bear is urs. Wiktionary also lists ursoaică and moș Martin.

Meaning: large mammal of family Ursidae (noun)

Ways to say it

The term refers to the large mammal of the family Ursidae.

urs is the masculine form, while ursoaică is the specific feminine form used for a female bear.

moș Martin is a euphemistic expression used to refer to a bear, often appearing in folklore or to avoid direct naming.

When referring to a specific bear (the bear), the masculine noun urs takes the definite article suffix -ul to become ursul.

In folklore or certain contexts, one might use the euphemism moș Martin (Old Man Martin) instead of the direct name for the animal.

The name 'Martin' in the euphemism moș Martin was actually borrowed from the French name 'Martin'.
The term moș used in moș Martin is also used as a respectful title for an elderly man or a grandfather in rural Romania.

Ursul a sărit în lac.
The bear jumped into the lake.
This sentence shows how to use urs when referring to the animal's actions.
Tatoeba #13619938 by CataG, translation #11498073 by Amastan
El totdeauna mormăie ca un urs.
He always grumbles like a bear.
This sentence uses urs to illustrate a comparison to the animal's behavior.
Tatoeba #6587335 by CataG, translation #1087391 by riccioberto
Ursul este mare.
The bear is big.
This sentence uses urs to describe the physical size of the animal.
Tatoeba #8843858 by elenacristina260, translation #3487903 by Ricardo14
Naturalistul a observat un urs în pădure.
The naturalist observed a bear in the forest.
Primăria vrea să protejeze habitatul ursului.
The city hall wants to protect the bear's habitat.
Dragă, ai văzut ursulețul acela drăguț din grădina zoologică?
Honey, did you see that cute little bear at the zoo?
6 more sentences on Tatoeba

Andrei and Andreea are visiting a zoo.

Sources

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