# Bram Stoker's Dracula, translation of a line \[in Romanian\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256 "2009-11-04T04:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/1 "2009-11-04T04:20:37Z")
Hello, I just saw this movie, and I’m wondering about the scene in the cinema right after Mina and Dracula first meet. He takes her aside, and tells her do not fear him. She tells him a few times to stop it. Then he says something to her in another language; and that’s when she says, “Who are you? …I know you.” Anybody know — what did he say? ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/2 "2009-11-04T09:04:37Z")
Disappointingly, all the transcriptions I can locate follow the same dialogue path: > [@](#): > > MINA: Stop this! Stop this! > > DRACULA: (speaks in Romanian) > > MINA: God, who are you? I know you! I’m not aware of any inhabitant of this board who is fluent in Romanian, but it’s just possible I’m wrong. I suggest you ask for the thread title to be changed to include ‘Romanian’. It’s a long shot, but you never know. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/3 "2009-11-04T09:11:53Z")
I forgot to add that a Romanian speaker, if any, would need to have seen the film. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/4 "2009-11-04T20:11:54Z")
I have a Romanian coworker. If someone can find the scene on YouTube, I’ll ask him. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/5 "2009-11-04T21:40:43Z")
One of my classmates speaks Romanian. (He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moldova.) Find the scene on YouTube. **Kizarvexius** and I can have a competition to get it translated first. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/6 "2009-11-04T21:44:04Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > I suggest you ask for the thread title to be changed to include ‘Romanian’. I’ve done this, although I forgot to make a note about it after I did it. Seems to be working out so far! ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/7 "2009-11-04T23:52:21Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKSlels5djw) The dialogue in question is around 52 seconds into the clip. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/8 "2009-11-05T00:05:26Z")
And for a bonus, what does he say to the wolf at 2:00? ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/9 "2009-11-05T00:38:15Z")
[From here](http://www.billionquotes.com/index.php/Dracula_(1992)): Dracula: Tu eşti dragostea vieţii mele… vieţii mele. Translation: you are the love of my life… of my life. No info on the bonus question, **BMax**. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/10 "2009-11-05T00:45:04Z")
Oh… _Francis Ford Coppola’s_ Bram Stoker’s Dracula. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/11 "2009-11-05T03:49:29Z")
WOW, thank you, thank you, **Kyrie Eleison**! I wasn’t even sure what language for which to ask a translation… it didn’t occur to me to go look up Transylvania. Duh. Once again the SDMB rocks. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/12 "2009-11-05T04:01:32Z")
What does dragostea translate as, given that Dracula means Dragon? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/13 "2009-11-05T11:06:08Z")
Dragoste means love. Westerners might recognise the word from the [numa numa](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHky57VKWTY) song. ---
**Author:** ![StoutHearted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@StoutHearted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StoutHearted)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/14 "2009-11-05T13:26:00Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Dragoste means love. Westerners might recognise the word from the [numa numa](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHky57VKWTY) song. God help me, I did. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/15 "2009-11-05T14:07:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’ve done this, although I forgot to make a note about it after I did it. Seems to be working out so far! Sometimes, if you don’t know anything, it’s still worth posting it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_ch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Dan\_ch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_ch)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/16 "2009-11-05T14:17:08Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > And for a bonus, what does he say to the wolf at 2:00? He says two words: “Strigoi” and “Moloi”. “Strigoi” means ghost. I guess that “moloi” is a mispronunciation of “moroi”, which is also a kind of ghostlike creature. A synonym for “moroi” is “vârcolac” - the romanian cousin of the more famous werewolf. [QUOTE=carnivorousplant] …given that Dracula means Dragon? [/QUOTE] Nitpick: Dracula does not mean Dragon. The closer word for “dragon” in romanian would be “balaur”. “Drac” = devil. “Dracul” is the articulate form, meaning “the devil” (not necesarilly Lucifer himself, usually it refers to one of his horned minions). But you’re right that Dracula got his nickname due to a dragon. His father (Vlad Dracul) was member of the order of the Dragon. It seems that the emblem of the order looked more like a devil than a dragon (at least his subjects thought so). In romanian language, “a” can be used to indicate possession of something (in a similar way to french - “c’est a moi” would be “este a mea” in romanian). It can be also used to indicate father-son links, like scandivanians do with “son” (Magnusson - son of Magnus), only that in romanian the “a” is put in front of the name. I don’t know why in Dracula’s case the “a” is at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/17 "2009-11-05T21:52:02Z")
> [@Dan\_ch](#): > > He says two words: “Strigoi” and “Moloi”. “Strigoi” means ghost. I guess that “moloi” is a mispronunciation of “moroi”, which is also a kind of ghostlike creature. A synonym for “moroi” is “vârcolac” - the romanian cousin of the more famous werewolf. > > Nitpick: Dracula does not mean Dragon. The closer word for “dragon” in romanian would be “balaur”. “Drac” = devil. “Dracul” is the articulate form, meaning “the devil” (not necesarilly Lucifer himself, usually it refers to one of his horned minions). > But you’re right that Dracula got his nickname due to a dragon. His father (Vlad Dracul) was member of the order of the Dragon. It seems that the emblem of the order looked more like a devil than a dragon (at least his subjects thought so). In romanian language, “a” can be used to indicate possession of something (in a similar way to french - “c’est a moi” would be “este a mea” in romanian). It can be also used to indicate father-son links, like scandivanians do with “son” (Magnusson - son of Magnus), only that in romanian the “a” is put in front of the name. I don’t know why in Dracula’s case the “a” is at the end. Not in modern day Romanian, perhaps, but Vlad Dracula lived centuries ago. In Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu’s _In Search of Dracula_, they have this to say about his famous name from pg. 8-9 (my comments are in brackets): > [@](#): > > Both father and son [Dracul and Dracula] had the given name Vlad. The names Dracul and Dracula and variations thereof in different languages (such as Dracole, Draculya, Dracol, Draculea, Draculios, Draculia, Tracol) are really nicknames. What’s more, both nicknames had two meaning. Dracul meant “devil”, as it still does in Romanian today; in addition it meant “dragon”… [Vlad Dracula] was also called Dracula, a diminutive meaning “son of the dragon” or “son of the devil”. Florescu is Romanian, and presumably knows the language well. It would seem that at that time _dracul_ had not yet come to mean only devil; as his father was a member of the Order of the Dragon, Vlad Dracula’s nickname doubtlessly derived from that, not for any “devilish” traits he may or may not have possessed. McNally and Florescu include pictures of Vlad Dracul’s coins, which had a dragon on one side and the eagle of Wallachia (medieval Romania) on the other. Vlad Dracula, his son, was known as Dracula during his lifetime and signed his name as DRAKULYA in a missive from the Sibiu archive. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/18 "2009-11-05T21:56:21Z")
I always thought he was saying “testes of the dragon- we et’ a meal”, but this works better. Sidenote: it always irks me when subtitles just say \*Speaking in \*[_Whatever Language_]. Yes, I know that— what did he say? (Prime example is the dancer in CHICAGO who says something in Hungarian; the translation was later put on the internet, but it would have been nice to know when seeing the movie.) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/19 "2009-11-06T00:06:55Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Sidenote: it always irks me when subtitles just say \*Speaking in \*[_Whatever Language_]. Yes, I know that— what did he say? (Prime example is the dancer in CHICAGO who says something in Hungarian; the translation was later put on the internet, but it would have been nice to know when seeing the movie.) I often watch DVDs with the subtitles turned on, and I suspect that they are simply transcribed by someone watching the film rather than being based on the shooting script. Even in English I’ve caught mistakes where a similar-sounding word was substituted for what the actor actually said. Whoever is doing the transcription has no idea what the person speaking in another language is saying, so they just put \*Speaking in \*[_Whatever Language_]. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256/20 "2009-11-06T01:39:23Z")
That movie didn’t totally suck. How did it end up on Svengoolie? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bram-stokers-dracula-translation-of-a-line-in-romanian/516256.md?page=2)