ce / ci / ge / gi
Soft C and G
In Romanian, c and g have two sounds: 'hard' (like cat and go) and 'soft' (like church and judge). They become soft only when followed by e or i.
How It Works
Romanian orthography uses the vowels e and i as phonetic triggers to change the sound of c and g.
- Soft C: When c is followed by e or i, it is pronounced like the 'ch' in 'church'.
Example: ceai (tea) is pronounced /tʃaj/. - Soft G: When g is followed by e or i, it is pronounced like the 'j' in 'judge'.
Example: deget (finger) is pronounced /ˈde.dʒet/.
The 'Hardener' (h):
To keep the 'hard' sound (/k/ or /g/) before e or i, Romanian inserts an h. This acts as a 'hardener' that cancels the soft sound. You can become confident with this in the lesson on Hard C and G Before E/I.
Example: cheie (key) is pronounced /ˈke.je/, not /tʃe.je/.
Orthographic Markers:
In groups like cea, cio, ciu or gea, gio, giu, the e or i often acts as a marker to indicate the consonant is soft.
- In words such as ceapă (onion) and geam (window), e marks the affricate without adding a separate vowel or glide: /ˈtʃa.pə/ and /dʒam/.
- In cio, ciu, gio, giu, the i is a true silent marker. Example: ciocolată (chocolate) is /tʃo.koˈla.tə/.
Final -i:
At the end of words (like in plurals), an unstressed final i in forms such as saci or faci is an orthographic marker of the affricate, without a separate vowel: saci is /satʃ/. A stressed final i, as in a munci, is pronounced as a vowel.
Examples (4)
- Cinci geamuri sunt deschise.
Five windows are open.
Word by Word: Five windows are open.
'Cinci' (five) uses the soft 'ci' /tʃi/, and 'geamuri' (windows) uses the soft 'ge' /dʒ/.
- Gelu mănâncă ceapă și cireșe.
Gelu is eating onion and cherries.
Word by Word: Gelu eats onion and cherries.
In 'ceapă', the 'e' is just a marker to make the 'c' sound like 'ch'. In 'cireșe', initial ci contains /tʃi/, while ș separately represents /ʃ/.
- Girafele sunt cenușii.
The giraffes are grey.
Word by Word: Giraffes-the are grey.
'Girafele' starts with a soft 'gi' /dʒi/, and 'cenușii' starts with a soft 'ce' /tʃe/.
- Faci un ceai?
Are you making a tea?
Word by Word: Make-you a tea?
'Faci' (you do/make) ends in a soft 'ci'. Final i here marks the affricate /tʃ/ and does not add a vowel.
Common Mistakes
Pronouncing 'ch' as 'ch' (church) instead of 'k'.
cheie (pronounced as 'chay-ye')cheie (pronounced as 'kay-ye')In Romanian, the letter 'h' is a 'hardener'. 'Che' and 'chi' are always hard /k/ sounds. The soft 'ch' sound is written as just 'ce' or 'ci'.
Over-pronouncing the final 'i' in words like 'saci' or 'faci'.
saci (pronounced 'sa-chee')saci (pronounced 'satch')In saci and faci, unstressed final i marks the affricate and adds no syllable. Stressed final i in an infinitive such as munci is a vowel.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the soft C and G sounds, you first need a basic familiarity with the Romanian alphabet and how vowels and consonants are generally represented.
Related Patterns
- che / chi / ghe / ghiHard C and G Before E/I
This is the direct opposite rule, where 'h' is used to keep the 'c' and 'g' sounds hard before 'e' and 'i'.
Level 1 - Noun Plurals
Many masculine nouns trigger this soft pronunciation when they become plural (e.g., sac -> saci).
Level 1 - Present of -e Verbs
Verbs ending in -ce or -ge (like 'a face' or 'a merge') frequently use these soft sounds in their conjugations.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice ce / ci / ge / gi in Bubblegum
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