Greetings. The first greeting and most frequently used
in Moldova is “buna ziua” which means
good day. It’s a basic hello. Moldovans do not say the word “hello” except some are beginning to answer the phone
with this word. When they pronounce it,
it has a silent “h” and the e sounds a lot like short a as in “al low”. Alternates to Buna Ziua can depend on the
time of day. Good morning is delivered as “buna dimineata” up until about 9 am. Good evening is buna seara. And that can be used sometime like 5 or 6
pm. The final greeting of the day, good
night is noapte buna.
In the
smaller villages, the people always greet each other as they pass. The children are taught to say the correct
greetings to adults first, before the adult speaks to them. You can tell when a child has been raised
correctly if they do the greeting respectfully even if they are alone and no
parents are looking on. And when one
sees someone who is a true neighbor or friend, a hand shake is added (men to
men) to the greeting and perhaps some sharing of news, or status of health, or
where you are headed is also exchanged.
When I first lived in the village, I was surprised when people would
stop me on the way to the bus stop and ask me where I was going. Of course my reaction was, ‘why do you want
to know’. But I learned that this is
just a normal expression of friendship.
The
handshake greeting is something that men will do with other men but not
necessarily with women. When neighbors
drop by the house, or even if a man visits the office at work, he will greet
everyone but make a special effort to shake hands with the men. The women just seem to not expect the
handshake and know how to gracefully adjust to the situation. In some more formal settings of government or
business you begin to see some universal use of the handshake. A more traditional expression of a man to a
new female acquaintance is to “kiss the hand” of the woman. Some older men will still do this. Some men make the gesture and kiss their own
hand as they raise the woman’s. Or some
will just express this sentiment in words, “I kiss your hand” as a way of
saying ‘how do you do’.
Probably you
won’t be surprised to find out that this courtesy of greeting diminishes as you
get to larger urban areas. Outside of
the small village, people passing on the street do not greet one another. In fact, as an American, you notice a certain
tendency to avoid eye contact with you.
That’s not just with you as an American, it’s the basic social approach
of Moldovans to people they don’t know.
If you don’t know someone, avoid eye contact, and you won’t have to talk
to them. This may sound unfriendly but
really it’s a way to protect yourself from unnecessary trouble. You have enough troubles of your own.
During the
time of Easter, that is the 40 days following the Feast of Easter, there is a
special greeting that people in Moldova use: “ Hristos a inviat.” response:
“ Advederat inviat.” That is ‘Christ is risen’ response:
‘Truly He is risen’. This
certainly sounds very religious to an American, but remember that 98% of
Moldova is Christian Orthodox and their common religion is a big piece of their
identity.
Another
interesting greeting is for when you pass your neighbor out working in their
garden, or some other physical work around the house. You yell out
“God help you” or “Domne Ajute”.
The person greeted understands your good wishes and answers “De
Domne” or ‘May God do it’.
But when all
else fails, the simple greeting of “noroc”
which generally means good luck or best wishes is what you may
hear. Noroc!
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