La ĉambro ŝajnas senorda, kiam vestoj kaj libroj kuŝas ĉie sur la planko.

La means the. In this sentence, we are talking about a particular room, so La ĉambro means the room.

If you said just ĉambro, that would sound more like a room or room in a very general sense.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

Here:

• La ĉambro is the subject of ŝajnas
• vestoj kaj libroj are the subject of kuŝas

So none of those nouns are direct objects.

Also, in sur la planko, the noun planko does not take -n because this phrase shows location, not motion toward somewhere. Compare:

• sur la planko = on the floor
• sur la plankon = onto the floor

Ŝajnas comes from ŝajni, meaning to seem or to appear.

So:

• La ĉambro ŝajnas senorda = The room seems messy

The ending -as shows the present tense. Esperanto verbs always use:

• -as = present
• -is = past
• -os = future

Senorda is made from:

• sen = without
• ordo = order
• -a = adjective ending

So senorda literally means without order, which is why it means messy, disorderly, or untidy.

A learner may also see malorda, which also means disorderly. Senorda emphasizes the absence of order.

Because senorda describes the room, so it needs to be an adjective.

After verbs like esti, ŝajni, fariĝi, and similar verbs, Esperanto often uses an adjective to describe the subject:

• La ĉambro ŝajnas senorda = The room seems messy

If you used senorde, that would be an adverb, meaning something like messily or in a disorderly way, which does not fit as well here.

It can be understood as either when or whenever, depending on context.

In this sentence, it expresses a general situation:

• the room seems messy when/whenever clothes and books are lying all over the floor

So kiam is introducing the subordinate clause that explains the situation in which the room seems messy.

Because the sentence is talking about clothes and books in general, not just one item.

In Esperanto, the plural ending is -j:

• vesto = a piece of clothing / a garment
• vestoj = clothes
• libro = book
• libroj = books

Notice that the verb does not change for plural subjects in Esperanto.

Esperanto verbs do not change according to person or number.

So:

• la libro kuŝas = the book lies
• la libroj kuŝas = the books lie
• mi kuŝas = I lie
• ili kuŝas = they lie

The verb form stays kuŝas in every case.

Kuŝi means to lie, to be lying, or to be lying down/resting in a horizontal position.

That makes it a very natural verb for clothes and books on the floor. It gives a clearer picture than esti.

• vestoj kaj libroj estas sur la planko = clothes and books are on the floor
• vestoj kaj libroj kuŝas sur la planko = clothes and books are lying on the floor

The second one sounds more vivid and physical.

Ĉie means everywhere.

In this sentence, ĉie sur la planko means something like:

• all over the floor
• everywhere on the floor

It shows that the clothes and books are scattered around, not gathered in one neat place.

Because it means on the floor, referring to the specific floor of that room.

In English, we also usually say on the floor, not just on floor.

So:

• sur la planko = on the floor

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, but the original order is the most natural and clear.

For example, you could also say:

• La ĉambro ŝajnas senorda, kiam vestoj kaj libroj kuŝas sur la planko ĉie

But ĉie sur la planko sounds more natural than putting ĉie at the very end.

The given sentence flows well because it presents:

1. the main idea: The room seems messy
2. the reason/situation: when clothes and books are lying everywhere on the floor

The main special letters here are:

• ĉ = like ch in church
• ŝ = like sh in shoe

So:

• ĉambro ≈ CHAM-bro
• ŝajnas ≈ SHAI-nas
• ĉie ≈ CHEE-eh

A few other useful pronunciation points:

• Every vowel is pronounced clearly
• Stress is always on the next-to-last syllable

So:

• ĉambro → stress on ĉam
• ŝajnas → stress on ŝaj
• senorda → stress on nor
• planko → stress on plan