omorî
/o.moˈrɨ/
To say "slay" in Romanian, meaning to kill, use omorî or ucide. If unsure, use omorî.
Meaning: to kill, murder (verb)
Ways to say it
| Romanian | IPA |
|---|---|
| omorî | /o.moˈrɨ/ |
| ucide | /uˈtʃi.de/ |
Both verbs mean to kill or murder. They fit the old sense of slay, as when a knight kills a dragon.
Which one should you use?
omorî is the more everyday verb. ucide sounds more formal or literary and is common in stories, news and legal language.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of omorî is omorât. The past tense of ucide is formed with the auxiliary verb and the participle ucis, as in a ucis, meaning he or she killed. The form ucide is also the present tense for both he or she kills and they kill.
How do you pronounce it?
omorî is pronounced /o.moˈrɨ/, with three syllables and the stress on the last one.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use these verbs for the slang sense of slay, meaning to do something extremely well. They only mean to kill.
Did you know?
- The past participle omorât is commonly used as an adjective to describe someone who is utterly exhausted, rather than actually dead.
- The verb omorî is a loanword from Old Church Slavonic, while ucide is an inherited Latin word, showing the dual influence of Slavic and Roman cultures on the language.
- Unlike in English, you cannot use omorî or ucide to describe 'killing' a light or a car engine.
Examples in context
- Cavalerul a plecat să ucidă dragonul.The knight set out to slay the dragon.Here să ucidă is the verb form used after să to say the knight set out to slay the dragon.
Example conversation
Ioana and Stefan are discussing a plot of a thriller novel.
- IoanaCine vrea să omorî protagonistul?Who wants to kill the protagonist?
- StefanCred că este Detectivul.I think it is the Detective.
- IoanaDe ce ar face așa ceva?Why would he do such a thing?
- StefanPentru că are un secret vechi.Because he has an old secret.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “slay” translations and entries omorî, ucide, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
