greu
/ɡrew/
The Romanian word for hard is greu.
Greu is used to describe something that requires a lot of effort to do or understand. It can also be used to describe something that has a lot of weight.
Meaning: requiring a lot of effort to do or understand (adj)
Which one should you use?
While greu describes difficulty or weight, do not use it to describe physical hardness or texture, such as a hard stone. For that, use dur.
How does it change in a sentence?
Greu functions as an adjective that can mean either 'hard/difficult' or 'heavy'.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡrew/
Did you know?
- The word greu is a direct linguistic relative of the English word 'grave', sharing the same Latin root meaning 'heavy' or 'serious'.
- In Romanian, you can describe a person as greu to imply they are difficult to get along with or stubborn. This uses the 'difficult' meaning of the word as a personality trait.
- Romanian uses greu in expressions related to breathing, such as respirație grea for 'heavy breathing'. This refers to the physical effort and labor required to breathe, blending the meanings of 'heavy' and 'difficult'.
Examples in context
- E greu să fii calm.It's hard to stay calm.This example shows how to use greu to describe the difficulty of an action.Tatoeba #8399403 by fathe, translation #3825940 by CK
- Am muncit din greu.I've worked hard.This example demonstrates using greu to describe working with effort.Tatoeba #9140085 by CataG, translation #2248427 by CK
- A nins din greu ieri.It snowed hard yesterday.This example uses greu to describe the intensity of snowfall.Tatoeba #7726504 by CataG, translation #244521 by CK
- Aceasta este o problemă grea de rezolvatThis is a hard problem to solve
- Îmi este dificil să învăț această limbăIt is hard for me to learn this language
- Problema aceasta este foarte greaThis problem is very hard
- 57 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Andrei and Elena are studying for a test together.
- AndreiAcest capitol este foarte greu.This chapter is very hard.
- ElenaSunt de acord, nu îl înțeleg.I agree, I don't understand it.
- AndreiVrei să încercăm împreună?Do you want us to try together?
- ElenaDa, așa va fi mai ușor.Yes, it will be easier that way.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hard” translations and entries greu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries greu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
