zilele

Zilele is the definite plural form of the Romanian noun zi, meaning "the days." The noun zi is feminine, and its plural is zile. When the definite article is attached to the end of the noun, the form becomes zilele, used to mean "the days" as a specific set of days in context.

In practical use, zilele denotes calendar days or a span of time. It appears in many common expressions, often paired with adjectives or demonstratives to indicate timing or sequence. Examples include zilele trecute (the past few days), zilele următoare (the coming days), and în zilele noastre (nowadays). Other phrases include zilele de muncă (the workdays) or zilele săptămânii (the days of the week).

The term is deeply embedded in everyday Romanian and literature, reflecting its essential role in discussing time, duration, and temporal progression. Its form and usage illustrate standard Romanian noun morphology, with pluralization through zile and the definite article incorporated as zilele in contexts requiring a definite reference to a set of days.

Etymology traces zilele to zi (day), itself derived from Latin dies, a common root for day-related terms across Romance languages. Over time, zilele has become a stable, frequently used construct in Romanian to specify a particular period within a sequence of days.