numai

• numa', numa (colloquial, apocopic)
• нумай (post-1930s Cyrillic spelling)

Univerbation of nu +‎ mai. Compare Latin American Spanish nomás, Catalan només and Venetian noma. First attested in the 16th century.

The imperative-accompanying sense is a semantic loan from Hungarian csak.

• IPA^(key): /ˈnu.maj/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -umaj
• Hyphenation: nu‧mai

numai

1. only (no more than)

   și nu numai ― and more

   Trenul merge cu numai 60 km/h.

   The train is only going 60 km/h.

   În sertar sunt numai niște chei.

   In the cabinet there’s only some keys.

   Marea Depresie nu a afectat numai America.

   The Great Depression did not affect only America.

   1. (before predicate noun, sometimes with redundant tot, hyperbolic) Indicates the subject to be characterised by an abundance of the respective noun: all

      numai zâmbet ― all smiles

      Am mers desculț pe asfaltul fierbinte și acum picioarele-mi sunt numai bășici.

      I walked barefoot on the hot asphalt and now my feet are all blisters.

2. only (exclusively)

   Intrarea este permisă numai personalului autorizat.

   Entry for authorised personnel only.

   Numai temperaturile extreme pot rupe legătura azotului molecular.

   Only extreme heat can break the bond of molecular nitrogen.

   Poți intra numai dacă prezinți biletul.

   You can only enter if you show your ticket.

3. (informal, uncommon) almost, nearly, just about (of an event that was close to happening)

   Furtuna e foarte puternică și numai că nu doboară copacii.

   The storm is very powerful and it’s nearly striking down the trees.

   Mama numai n-a leșinat când a aflat.

   Mum almost fainted when she found out.

4. (colloquial, in narration, optionally negated without change in meaning) suddenly, unexpectedly

   Mergeam cu el pe stradă, și numa-l văd cum cade într-o gură de canal.

   So I’m walking on the street with him, and I suddenly see him fall down a manhole.

5. (with ce, optional adversative with că, informal) only just (not long before)

   ―Cât mai ai de lucru? ―Numai ce am terminat.

   “How much work do you have left?” “I just finished.”

   În Rusia numai ce se încheiase Primul Război Mondial, că a și început Războiul Civil.

   The First World War had just ended in Russia, when the Civil War began.

6. (informal, uncommon) just (quite)

   numai bun ― just fine

7. (rare) Synonym of ci (“but rather”).
8. (Banat, Transylvania) Follows an imperative, sometimes serving to point out the simplicity of the command or to disregard protest.

In careless speech numai (“only”) can trigger the double negative like its synonym decât. Such usage is obsolete in standard language.

The sentence following numai in the sense of “just about” may suffer one of three modifications: taking the subjunctive mood when preceded by the verb fi (era numai să—was just about to); being negated without any conjunction; or (most unambiguously) being introduced with că while also being negated. Numai in this sense is sometimes reduplicated.

• (only): abia, decât, doar
• (all): tot
• (exclusively): decât, doar, exclusiv
• (almost): aproape, cât pe ce, mai
• (only just): abia, de-abia, taman, tocmai

• de numa-numa
• numaidecât
• numaicât

numai (regional or informal, uncommon)

1. but

   Synonyms: dar, însă

It’s far more common for numai to introduce a sentence as an adverb in the construction numai că (“it’s just that”, or, more loosely, “but”).

• numai in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)