Refugiul este deschis.

In Romanian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun, not placed before it as a separate word.

• refugiu = a refuge / a shelter
• refugiul = the refuge / the shelter

So -l is the definite article here. This is a very common Romanian pattern:

• muzeu → muzeul
• hotel → hotelul
• refugiu → refugiul

This is often called the enclitic definite article.

Este is the 3rd person singular present of a fi, which means to be.

So:

• eu sunt = I am
• tu ești = you are
• el/ea este = he/she/it is

In Refugiul este deschis, este means is.

Yes. E is a very common short form of este in everyday Romanian.

So these both mean the same thing:

• Refugiul este deschis
• Refugiul e deschis

The version with este sounds a bit more full or formal. The version with e is very natural in speech.

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun, and refugiu is a neuter noun.

In Romanian, neuter nouns behave like masculine in the singular and like feminine in the plural.

So in the singular:

• refugiul este deschis

But in the plural:

• refugiile sunt deschise

That is why you see deschis here, not deschisă.

It is neuter.

Romanian has three grammatical genders:

• masculine
• feminine
• neuter

The important thing for learners is that neuter is mixed in behavior:

• singular: it acts like masculine
• plural: it acts like feminine

So:

• singular: un refugiu deschis
• plural: două refugii deschise

In this sentence, it functions as an adjective meaning open.

Historically, deschis is also the past participle of a deschide, meaning to open. Romanian often uses participles as adjectives.

So here:

• este deschis = is open

This does not usually mean is being opened. It describes the state of the shelter, not the action.

Normally, no. In a standard Romanian sentence like this, you keep the verb to be.

• correct: Refugiul este deschis
• correct in everyday speech: Refugiul e deschis
• not a normal full sentence: Refugiul deschis

Without este or e, refugiul deschis sounds more like a noun phrase, such as the open shelter, not a complete statement.

A rough English-style approximation is:

reh-FOO-jyul ES-teh des-KEES

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• gi in refugiu sounds like the j in job
• ch before i sounds like k
• so deschis is pronounced roughly des-KEES
• este is pronounced clearly, roughly ES-teh

Romanian spelling is fairly regular, so once you learn the sound rules, pronunciation gets much easier.

The plural would be:

Refugiile sunt deschise.

Breakdown:

• refugiile = the shelters / the refuges
• sunt = are
• deschise = open

Notice the changes:

• refugiul → refugiile
• este → sunt
• deschis → deschise

This shows again how a neuter noun behaves:

• masculine-like in the singular
• feminine-like in the plural