apă
/ˈa.pə/feminine
apă is the Romanian word for water. Wiktionary also lists апэ (apă).
Meaning: inorganic compound H₂O (noun)
Ways to say it
| Romanian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| apă | /ˈa.pə/ | feminine | |
| апэ | apă | Cyrillic, feminine |
The word refers to the inorganic compound H₂O. When you want to specify plain water without any carbonation, you can use the term apă plată. If you need to specify that water is safe to drink, the term apă de băut is used.
Which one should you use?
While apă is the general noun for water, you should use the verb adăpa specifically when you are referring to the act of providing water to animals or livestock.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
apă is a feminine noun. The Cyrillic form апэ is also a feminine form of the word.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables, with the stress on the first syllable. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈa.pə/.
Did you know?
- Romanian has a specific word adăpa for giving water to animals, but using this verb for a human can be a sarcastic way to imply the person is an animal.
- The word apă is a root for the term apă dulce, which literally means 'sweet water' but refers to fresh water as opposed to salt water.
- The phrase apă peste foc literally translates to 'water over fire' and is used to describe a situation where a conflict is suddenly calmed or neutralized.
Examples in context
- De ce bei apă?Why are you drinking water?This sentence is useful for asking why someone is drinking apă.Tatoeba #5184426 by fathe, translation #687774 by lukaszpp
- Trebuie să bei apă.You have to drink water.This sentence is useful for stating the necessity of drinking apă.Tatoeba #8762570 by elenacristina260, translation #2895782 by Ricardo14
- Tom a cumpărat apă.Tom bought some water.This sentence is useful for describing the action of buying apă.Tatoeba #8971109 by elenacristina260, translation #8969926 by CK
- Îmi poți aduce un pahar cu apă, te rog?Can I have a glass of water, please?
- Mi-e sete. Pot să beau niște apă?I'm thirsty. May I have some water?
- Îmi poți umple sticla de apă, te rog?Could you please fill my water bottle?
- 76 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Elena are at a restaurant.
- GabrielVrei o sticlă de apă?Do you want a bottle of water?
- ElenaDa, te rog, Elena are sete.Yes, please, Elena is thirsty.
- GabrielImi ceru o apă rece.I will ask for a cold water.
- ElenaMulțumesc mult, Gabriel!Thank you very much, Gabriel!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “water” translations and entries apă, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
