O quadro elétrico fica junto à entrada.

In European Portuguese, quadro elétrico usually refers to the electrical panel, fuse box, or breaker panel in a building.

• quadro literally means panel, board, or frame, depending on context
• elétrico means electrical

So together, quadro elétrico is the standard everyday term for the place where the electrical circuits are controlled.

In Portuguese, ficar is very often used to indicate where something is located.

So fica junto à entrada means something like:

• is located by the entrance
• is situated next to the entrance

This is very natural in Portuguese.

Compare:

• O quadro elétrico fica junto à entrada. = natural, standard way to give location
• O quadro elétrico está junto à entrada. = also possible, but often sounds a bit more like describing its current position rather than its usual location

So in this sentence, fica is the most natural choice for saying where the electrical panel is.

Fica is the 3rd person singular of the verb ficar in the present indicative.

Here it agrees with o quadro elétrico, which is singular.

A few examples:

• O quadro elétrico fica... = the electrical panel is located...
• A casa fica... = the house is located...
• Os elevadores ficam... = the lifts are located...

So if the subject changes to plural, the verb changes too:

• Os quadros elétricos ficam junto à entrada.

Junto à means next to, right by, or close to.

It suggests fairly close physical proximity.

In this sentence:

• junto à entrada = next to the entrance / right by the entrance

It is similar to:

• ao lado da entrada = next to the entrance
• perto da entrada = near the entrance

But there are small differences:

• junto à often feels a bit more direct or compact
• ao lado de clearly means at the side of
• perto de can be a little less exact and just mean near

Because this is a contraction of:

• a = the preposition to / at / by
• a entrada = the entrance

So:

• a + a = à

That accent mark is called a grave accent, and in Portuguese it often shows a contraction like this one.

So:

• junto à entrada = next to the entrance

Compare:

• junto ao elevador = next to the lift
  here a + o = ao
• junto à porta = next to the door
  here a + a = à

Because junto is normally used with the preposition a in this structure:

• junto a
  • noun

When the noun has a definite article, the preposition contracts with it:

• junto a + a entrada → junto à entrada
• junto a + o elevador → junto ao elevador
• junto a + os elevadores → junto aos elevadores

So the sentence is following a normal pattern: ficar junto a alguma coisa = to be next to something

Normally, in standard Portuguese, you would keep the article and say:

• O quadro elétrico fica junto à entrada.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English does. Leaving out o here would sound incomplete or unnatural in most normal contexts.

So if you are talking about a specific electrical panel, o is the expected form.

In Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they are simply describing a type or category.

So:

• quadro elétrico = electrical panel
• porta principal = main door
• energia elétrica = electrical energy

Putting the adjective after the noun is the normal pattern here.

Not perfectly, but it is often the closest translation.

Depending on the building and context, quadro elétrico could correspond to:

• fuse box
• breaker panel
• electrical panel
• consumer unit in some British English contexts

So the best English translation depends on the exact system, but electrical panel is usually the safest broad equivalent.

Yes, it sounds natural and idiomatic in European Portuguese.

A Portuguese speaker in Portugal could easily say this when giving directions inside a house, apartment building, office, or shop.

Other natural alternatives would be:

• O quadro elétrico está junto à entrada.
• O quadro elétrico fica à entrada.
• O quadro elétrico está ao lado da entrada.

But your original sentence is perfectly normal.

A rough pronunciation guide for European Portuguese would be:

u KWA-dro i-LEK-tree-ku FEE-ku JOON-tu ah en-TRA-du

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• o in O often sounds close to u in European Portuguese
• qu in quadro sounds like kw
• é in elétrico is a clear stressed eh
• fica has stress on the first syllable: FI-ca
• junto has a j sound like the s in measure
• à is pronounced like a
• entrada in European Portuguese often ends with a reduced final vowel, so it may sound a bit like entradə

If you want to sound more European Portuguese, remember that unstressed vowels are often reduced more than in Brazilian Portuguese.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral.

Normal order:

• O quadro elétrico fica junto à entrada.

You could also hear:

• Junto à entrada fica o quadro elétrico.

That version is more marked and sounds a bit more like you are emphasizing the location first.

So for everyday learning and speaking, the original sentence is the best model.

Yes. This pattern is very useful.

You can use:

• O quadro elétrico fica junto à porta. = The electrical panel is next to the door.
• O elevador fica junto à receção. = The lift is next to the reception desk.
• A escada fica junto ao elevador. = The stairs are next to the lift.
• A garagem fica junto ao prédio. = The garage is next to the building.

This makes ficar junto a a very practical pattern for describing locations.