Bărbatul ascunde arma.

Romanian usually expresses the definite article as a suffix attached to the noun.

• bărbat = man
• bărbatul = the man

And:

• armă = weapon
• arma = the weapon

So in this sentence, both nouns are definite:

• Bărbatul = the man
• arma = the weapon

This is one of the big differences from English. Instead of a separate word like the, Romanian often adds the article directly to the end of the noun.

The dictionary forms are:

• bărbat = man
• armă = weapon

The forms in the sentence are definite forms:

• bărbat → bărbatul = the man
• armă → arma = the weapon

So if you look these up in a dictionary, you would usually search for bărbat and armă.

This is how the feminine singular definite article works in Romanian.

• indefinite: armă = a weapon
• definite: arma = the weapon

The final ă changes when the definite article is added. This is normal for many feminine nouns.

A similar pattern:

• casă = house
• casa = the house

So arma is not a different word; it is just the definite form of armă.

ascunde is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb a ascunde = to hide.

So:

• eu ascund = I hide
• tu ascunzi = you hide
• el/ea ascunde = he/she hides

In Bărbatul ascunde arma, the subject is bărbatul (the man), which is singular, so the verb is ascunde.

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb form already gives that information.

Here, ascunde already matches he/she/it hides, and the subject is explicitly stated as bărbatul (the man), so there is no need to add el (he).

Romanian works a bit like Spanish or Italian in this way.

You could say El ascunde arma, but in this sentence it would usually be unnecessary because bărbatul already tells us who is doing the action.

You know mainly from meaning and verb structure.

• bărbatul is the one doing the action, so it is the subject
• arma is the thing being hidden, so it is the direct object

With a verb like a ascunde (to hide), the pattern is normally:

someone hides something

So:

• Bărbatul = the one who hides
• ascunde = hides
• arma = the thing hidden

In this sentence, both nouns are in forms that can appear in the basic subject/object pattern, so context and verb meaning help you interpret the roles.

Yes, Romanian word order is fairly flexible, though Bărbatul ascunde arma is the most neutral and natural order.

Possible alternatives include:

• Bărbatul ascunde arma. = neutral
• Arma o ascunde bărbatul. = emphasizes the weapon
• Ascunde arma bărbatul. = possible in context, but less neutral

Romanian often changes word order for emphasis, contrast, or style. But for a beginner, subject + verb + object is the safest pattern.

Its basic meaning is weapon.

So arma most literally means the weapon.

However, depending on context, English might sometimes translate it as the gun if the situation clearly involves a firearm. Still, the Romanian word itself is broader: it can refer to a weapon in general, not only a gun.

If Romanian specifically wants to say gun, a more specific word like pistol may be used.

The Romanian letter ă is a very common vowel sound. It is a short, neutral sound, somewhat like the a in English sofa for many speakers.

In this sentence:

• bărbatul has two ă sounds
• armă has one ă, though in the definite form arma, that final ă changes to a

A rough pronunciation guide:

• bărbatul ≈ buhr-BAH-tul
• ascunde ≈ ahs-KOON-deh
• arma ≈ AR-ma

These are only approximations, but they can help at the start.

Because Romanian normally places the definite article after the noun, not before it.

So:

• bărbat = man
• bărbatul = the man

This is just the regular Romanian pattern. English says the man, but Romanian says the equivalent of man-the.

This postposed article is one of the most distinctive features of Romanian grammar.

In ascunde, the c is pronounced as a hard k sound because it comes before u.

So ascunde sounds roughly like ahs-KOON-deh.

In Romanian:

• c before e or i is usually soft, like ch in church
• c before a, o, or u is usually hard, like k

Since this word has cu, it is a hard k sound.