În loc să tragi, mută pionul.

În loc să is a very common Romanian expression meaning instead of.

It is built from:

• în loc = literally in place
• să = a particle that usually introduces a verb clause

So în loc să tragi means literally something like instead of that you draw/pull/fire, depending on context.

A very important point: Romanian often uses în loc să + conjugated verb, where English would often use instead of + -ing form.

For example:

• În loc să vorbești, ascultă. = Instead of talking, listen.
• În loc să pleci, mai stai puțin. = Instead of leaving, stay a little longer.

Because after în loc să, Romanian normally uses a conjugated verb introduced by să, not the infinitive.

So:

• a trage = to draw / to pull / to shoot → the infinitive
• să tragi = that you draw / pull / shoot → a subjunctive-type clause

English often prefers:

• instead of drawing
• instead of pulling
• instead of shooting

Romanian usually prefers:

• în loc să tragi

This is one of those places where Romanian structure is different from English, so it is best to learn în loc să + verb as a pattern.

Tragi is the 2nd person singular form of the verb a trage.

Here is part of the present tense:

• eu trag = I draw/pull/shoot
• tu tragi = you draw/pull/shoot
• el/ea trage = he/she draws/pulls/shoots

After să, the verb often looks like the present tense form:

• să trag
• să tragi
• să tragă

So in this sentence, să tragi means for you to draw/pull/shoot, depending on context.

Mută is the imperative form of a muta, meaning move.

So:

• mută! = move! (said to one person, informal)
• mutați! = move! (said to more than one person, or to one person formally)

In the sentence:

• În loc să tragi, mută pionul. the second part is a command: move the pawn.

So the sentence contrasts:

• what the person should not do
• with what they should do instead

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

So:

• tragi already tells you it means you
• mută is also clearly a command to you

Because of that, tu is unnecessary.

You could say În loc să tragi, tu mută pionul, but that would usually sound unnatural or overly emphatic in most contexts.

This is similar to Spanish or Italian: the verb ending often already tells you who the subject is.

Pionul means the pawn, while pion means a pawn or just pawn in a general sense.

Romanian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

• pion = pawn
• pionul = the pawn

So:

• mută pionul = move the pawn

This is one of the most important features of Romanian grammar: the definite article is often enclitic, meaning it is added to the end of the word.

Other examples:

• băiat = boy
• băiatul = the boy
• carte = book
• cartea = the book

The comma separates the introductory clause from the main command.

Structure:

• În loc să tragi = subordinate clause
• mută pionul = main clause

So the comma helps mark the pause and the contrast:

• Instead of doing X, do Y.

In English, you would also often use a comma here:

• Instead of drawing, move the pawn.

The letter ă is a very common Romanian vowel. It is a short, central sound, similar to the a in English sofa for many speakers.

So roughly:

• să sounds like suh, but very short
• mută sounds roughly like MOO-tuh

A few pronunciation notes:

• În has a nasal-ish vowel for English ears, but do not overdo it.
• loc sounds like lok
• tragi is roughly TRAHJ-ee, with g pronounced like the g in gem
• pionul is roughly pee-O-nul, with the stress usually on o

These English approximations are not perfect, but they can help at first.

Yes. A trage is a common verb with forms that may feel a little irregular to English speakers.

Some useful forms:

• a trage = to draw / pull / shoot
• trag = I draw/pull/shoot
• tragi = you draw/pull/shoot
• trage = he/she draws; also the dictionary-style stem form you often notice
• să tragi = for you to draw/pull/shoot

So if tragi looks a bit different from trage, that is normal.

Romanian verbs often change endings clearly according to person:

• eu trag
• tu tragi
• el trage

For a polite singular you or for plural you, Romanian usually uses the same imperative form: mutați.

So the sentence becomes:

• În loc să trageți, mutați pionul.

That means:

• Instead of drawing/pulling/shooting, move the pawn.
  said to:
• more than one person, or
• one person formally

Compare:

• informal singular: În loc să tragi, mută pionul.
• formal/plural: În loc să trageți, mutați pionul.

Sometimes, but mută is usually the more natural choice in a game or board context.

• a muta = to move something from one place/position to another
• a mișca = to move, to make something move, to stir, to budge

With pieces in games, a muta is typically the standard verb:

• mută pionul = move the pawn

mișcă pionul is understandable, but it can sound less idiomatic depending on context.

So if you are talking about chess, checkers, or another board game, mută pionul is the safer and more natural phrase.