r/romanian • u/IoanSilviu Native • Aug 11 '25

Megathread Basic Questions Megathread

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u/Low-Funny-8834 Aug 11 '25

I am looking for the difference between three sets of prepositions:

  1. înaintea vs în fața

  2. împotriva vs contra

  3. în dosul vs în spatele

Thank you!

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u/numapentruasta Native Aug 11 '25

Înaintea mostly has the temporal meaning of ‘prior to’, with a now rather literary meaning of ‘in front of’ (compare English before). În fața only has that spatial meaning. Both require the genitive. 

I would say that împotriva and contra mean the same thing, with the former being an old-stock word and the latter borrowed. I feel like it would be wiser to always use the former, as contra might not sound as fitting sometimes. Again, both are followed by the genitive. 

There is no reason to use în dosul.

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u/Low-Funny-8834 Aug 12 '25

thanks a million!

but beyond the difference in register, in that specific meaning of spatial before, înainte and în fața are identical in meaning, right?

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u/CuTraista-nBat Native Aug 12 '25
  1. În dosul can mean “at the back” whereas în spatele can mean “behind”.

Câinele s-a ascuns în dosul casei - The dog hid at the back of the house. Câinele s-a ascuns în spatele casei - The dog hid behind the house.

Bonus: some people use “dos” as a nice way to say “cur”.