# to use: a folosi, a utiliza, a întrebuința



## mihi

Hello all!

I was wondering what the difference in nuance and formality was between these terms for "to use"? Is there one which is used far more often in everyday speech than the others?

_a folosi, a utiliza, a întrebuința_

Thank you so much.


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## jazyk

Folosi is extremely common and utiliza less so and is probably more formal. I hardly ever come across întrebuința in my readings.


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## danielstan

_a folosi _is, indeed, the most common in usage and matches perfectly the English "to use" without any special nuance.
Example of common speech, father to son:
_La masă (noi) *folosim *lingura și cuțitul_. ("At dinner we are using the spoon and the knife")
It would sound very strange (and would raise questions from the audience) to say:
_La masă (noi) *utilizăm *lingura și cuțitul.

a întrebuința_ is rarely used (somehow archaic) - one may find it in older literature. As you may already found, it is a Slavic loanword and probably it became obsolete during 19th century when lots of French and Italian loanwords entered Romanian in an effort to re-Latinize the language (i.e. get rid of Slavisms).
Example of usage, in a religious text (yes, in church the priests are preferring archaic Romanian words):
_Mijloacele pe care le *întrebuinţează *Dumnezeu pentru a-l ajuta pe om_ ("The means God uses to help the man")
Mijloacele pe care le întrebuinţează Dumnezeu pentru a-l ajuta pe om | Radio Renasterea

_a utiliza_ is a French loanword from that 19th century and is still perceived as neologism. It is rarely used in daily speech, but is preferred in mass media, in academic or technical texts. When used it has a nuance of elevated speech.
Example (from school):
_Elevii învață sa *utilizeze *calculatorul._ ("The pupils learn to use the computer")
In the same context one can say, without any special nuance:
_Elevii învață sa *folosească *calculatorul._
An expression that would be found strange and inappropriate (raising questions like "what do you mean by that?"):
_Elevii învață sa *întrebuinţeze *calculatorul._


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## irinet

Today, we still say: _"aceste cuvinte se întrebuințează frecvent" _to refer to words we *need to use*.
So, it's rare indeed because of sense narrowing: religious and industry (e.g. chemistry) language. The root of the word is the verb " (a)*trebui*" = need / must. a);When we add the suffix '-ință', we get the noun _trebuință (=_what's useful or of interest)_._ b) What's more, by adding the prefix 'în-'_, _we get the verb '_întrebuința', _which I believe means to _use what we need / must or serves our purpose._
c) Third_ly_, adding '-re', we get the noun, which is still in common use, _întrebuințare _(e.g. showing how a coffee machine works)_.

But what's obvious today is that we use the verb 'a folosi' so often.
_


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