Bedeutung
Being very busy or rushing somewhere.
Kultureller Hintergrund
In cities like Bucharest, 'a fi pe fugă' is a standard social excuse. It is rarely questioned and is seen as a valid reason to skip small talk. If you visit a Romanian home and say you are 'pe fugă', the host will likely still try to give you something to eat 'pe fugă' (quickly). Romanians are often 'pe fugă' because they tend to start moving exactly when they should have arrived. It's a symptom of 'Romanian Time'. Being 'pe fugă' at work is often seen as a sign of being an important, busy person, similar to the 'hustle' culture in the US.
Softening the blow
Add 'puțin' (a little) before 'pe fugă' to sound more polite when declining someone.
Don't use with 'have'
Never say 'Am fugă'. Always use the verb 'to be' (a fi).
Bedeutung
Being very busy or rushing somewhere.
Softening the blow
Add 'puțin' (a little) before 'pe fugă' to sound more polite when declining someone.
Don't use with 'have'
Never say 'Am fugă'. Always use the verb 'to be' (a fi).
The Bucharest Blur
In Bucharest, saying 'sunt pe fugă' is almost a greeting. Don't take it personally if people say it often.
Teste dich selbst
Conjugate the verb 'a fi' correctly.
Eu ______ pe fugă spre birou.
The first person singular of 'a fi' is 'sunt'.
Which preposition is correct for this idiom?
Nu pot vorbi, sunt ___ fugă.
The idiom is always 'pe fugă'.
Match the response to the situation.
Your boss asks if you have 30 minutes for a new task, but you are leaving for a meeting.
This is the most natural and grammatically correct way to express this in a neutral/formal setting.
Complete the dialogue.
Andrei: Vrei să mergem la film? Maria: Nu pot, diseară ______ pe fugă cu bagajele pentru vacanță.
The context 'diseară' (tonight) requires the future tense.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Pe fugă vs. În fugă
Aufgabensammlung
4 AufgabenEu ______ pe fugă spre birou.
The first person singular of 'a fi' is 'sunt'.
Nu pot vorbi, sunt ___ fugă.
The idiom is always 'pe fugă'.
Your boss asks if you have 30 minutes for a new task, but you are leaving for a meeting.
This is the most natural and grammatically correct way to express this in a neutral/formal setting.
Andrei: Vrei să mergem la film? Maria: Nu pot, diseară ______ pe fugă cu bagajele pentru vacanță.
The context 'diseară' (tonight) requires the future tense.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenIt is neutral to informal. You can use it with friends and colleagues, but in a very formal letter, use 'în grabă'.
No, for a car use 'merge repede' or 'e în viteză'.
'Pe fugă' is more idiomatic and common in speech; 'în grabă' is more literal and slightly more formal.
Yes, adding 'mare' (big) emphasizes that you are in a very big rush.
Not necessarily. It means your schedule is tight. You could be sitting in a car and still be 'pe fugă'.
Use the imperfect: 'Eram pe fugă'.
No, if you say it politely: 'Mă scuzați, sunt puțin pe fugă spre o întâlnire'.
No, for a deadline use 'am un termen limită'. 'Pe fugă' is about your movement/state.
You can say 'am tot timpul din lume' (I have all the time in the world) or 'nu mă grăbesc'.
Yes, 'fugă' is a feminine noun, but in this idiom, it doesn't change.
Verwandte Redewendungen
A fi în grabă
synonymTo be in a hurry
A o lua la fugă
similarTo start running away
Pe nerăsuflate
builds onIn one breath / very quickly
Contra cronometru
specialized formAgainst the clock
