Ĉe la vendejo estas longa vico, ĉar hodiaŭ freŝa pano kostas malpli ol kutime.

Ĉe usually means at, by, or near. So ĉe la vendejo means at the shop/store in a general sense.

That is slightly different from en la vendejo, which means in the shop specifically.

So:

• ĉe la vendejo = at the store, around that location
• en la vendejo = inside the store

In this sentence, ĉe works well because a line can be at the store, not necessarily inside it.

Both are possible, but Ĉe la vendejo estas longa vico is a very natural Esperanto way to say There is a long line at the store.

This structure is common when introducing the existence of something:

• Estas longa vico = there is a long line
• Ĉe la vendejo sets the location first

So the sentence is organized like this:

• location: Ĉe la vendejo
• existence: estas
• thing that exists: longa vico

English often uses there is, but Esperanto usually just uses estas.

Because the sentence is introducing a long line, not the long line.

• longa vico = a long line
• la longa vico = the long line

Esperanto uses la only for something definite, when the listener is expected to know which specific thing you mean.

Here, the line is being mentioned for the first time, so longa vico is the normal choice.

Vico means a line, a row, or a queue, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means a queue of people waiting.

So longa vico is naturally understood as:

• a long line
• a long queue

Ĉar means because.

It introduces a reason:

• Ĉe la vendejo estas longa vico = There is a long line at the store
• ĉar hodiaŭ freŝa pano kostas malpli ol kutime = because today fresh bread costs less than usual

So ĉar connects the result and the reason.

For the same basic reason: freŝa pano is being used in a general, non-specific sense.

• freŝa pano = fresh bread
• la freŝa pano = the fresh bread

Here it means fresh bread in general, not one specific loaf or one specific batch already known to the listener.

Esperanto often leaves out la when talking about something generally.

In Esperanto, adjectives usually come before the noun:

• freŝa pano = fresh bread
• longa vico = a long line

You can sometimes place the adjective after the noun, but that is less neutral and can sound stylistically marked or poetic. For normal everyday Esperanto, freŝa pano is the standard order.

Because they are adjectives.

In Esperanto:

• nouns end in -o
• adjectives end in -a
• adverbs end in -e

So:

• vendejo = store
• vico = line
• pano = bread
• longa = long
• freŝa = fresh
• kutime = usually / as usual

Also, Esperanto adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in number and accusative marking, but here everything is singular and not accusative, so the adjectives just stay in their basic -a form.

Because the sentence is talking about what is true today.

• kostas = costs / is costing
• hodiaŭ = today

So hodiaŭ freŝa pano kostas malpli means today fresh bread costs less.

Esperanto uses the present tense -as for present facts and current situations.

It breaks down like this:

• malpli = less
• ol = than
• kutime = usually / as usual

So:

• malpli ol kutime = less than usual

A few useful notes:

• pli = more
• malpli = less
• ol is the word used in comparisons, like English than

Examples:

• pli granda ol = bigger than
• malpli kosta ol would literally be less costly than, but here Esperanto more naturally says kostas malpli ol kutime

Because it describes the whole situation of costing, not a noun.

• kutima = usual, habitual
• kutime = usually, as usual

In malpli ol kutime, the meaning is less than usual, where usual is understood in an adverbial sense: less than it usually costs.

So kutime is the natural form here.

Because there is no direct object that needs the accusative.

Here is the role of each part:

• ĉe la vendejo = a prepositional phrase, so no -n
• longa vico = the subject of estas
• hodiaŭ = an adverb
• freŝa pano = the subject of kostas
• malpli ol kutime = an adverbial comparative phrase

So nothing here needs accusative marking.

A learner might expect panon, but that would be wrong here, because pano is not receiving the action. It is the thing that costs less.

Ĉ is pronounced like the ch in church.

So:

• Ĉe sounds roughly like cheh

A few pronunciation points from this sentence:

• ĉe = cheh
• hodiaŭ has two vowel sounds at the end: ho-di-aŭ
• freŝa has ŝ, pronounced like sh
• vico is VEE-tso
• vendejo is ven-DEH-yo

Stress in Esperanto is very regular: it falls on the second-to-last syllable.

Examples:

• venDEjo
• VIco
• FREŝa
• HOdiaŭ
• kuTIme

That regular stress pattern is one of the nice things about Esperanto pronunciation.