Sunăm la poliție.

Sunăm is the 1st person plural present tense form of a suna, so it means we call or we are calling.

In this sentence, it refers to making a phone call:

• sunăm = we call / we’re calling

Romanian verbs usually show the subject inside the verb ending, so -ăm already tells you the subject is we.

Because Romanian often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

So:

• Sunăm la poliție. = We call the police.
• Noi sunăm la poliție. = also possible, but noi is usually added only for emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Noi sunăm la poliție, nu ei. = We’re calling the police, not them.

In Romanian, when talking about phoning someone or an institution, a suna la is very common.

So:

• a suna la poliție = to call the police
• literally, it looks more like to call at/to the police

This is just how Romanian expresses the idea. English uses call the police, but Romanian commonly uses la with places, institutions, or the number/service being called.

In standard Romanian, Sunăm la poliție is the natural choice for we call the police in the sense of making a phone call to the police.

Using a suna directly with a noun is more natural with a person:

• Îl sun pe Andrei. = I’m calling Andrei.

With an institution, la is the usual pattern:

• sun la doctor
• sunăm la poliție
• am sunat la ambulanță

So for learners, a suna la + institution/service is a very good pattern to remember.

After la, Romanian often uses the noun without the definite article when referring to an institution in a general sense.

So:

• la poliție = to the police / at the police station / the police service
• la școală = to school
• la spital = to the hospital

But poliția can appear in other roles:

• Poliția vine. = The police are coming.
• Poliția investighează cazul. = The police are investigating the case.

So in this sentence, la poliție is the normal institutional expression.

It can mean both, depending on context.

The Romanian present tense often covers:

• We call the police
• We are calling the police
• sometimes even an immediate decision like We’re calling the police!

So if someone says:

• Ajunge! Sunăm la poliție!

it would naturally mean:

• Enough! We’re calling the police!

The dictionary form is a suna.

Examples of present tense forms:

• eu sun = I call
• tu suni = you call
• el/ea sună = he/she calls
• noi sunăm = we call
• voi sunați = you all call
• ei/ele sună = they call

A simple pronunciation guide is:

SU-nuhm la po-li-TSEE-ye

A few notes:

• ă in sunăm is a short central vowel, something like the a in sofa
• ție in poliție sounds roughly like tsee-ye
• stress is typically:
  • SU-năm
  • po-li-ȚI-e

A more careful approximation is:

• [suˈnəm la poliˈt͡si.e]

Yes. Sunăm la poliție is completely normal, but Romanian word order is fairly flexible.

Possible versions:

• Sunăm la poliție.
• Noi sunăm la poliție.
• La poliție sunăm. — more marked, with emphasis on the police

The most neutral version here is simply:

• Sunăm la poliție.

It can suggest either, depending on context, but in this sentence it basically means the police as the service/authority you are calling.

So Sunăm la poliție is best understood as:

• We call the police not necessarily:
• We call the police station specifically

Romanian often uses institution nouns this way, without needing to be more precise unless the situation requires it.

No. A suna has a broader meaning: to sound or to ring, and also to call by phone.

For example:

• Telefonul sună. = The phone is ringing.
• Sun la poliție. = I’m calling the police.

So the exact meaning depends on context. In Sunăm la poliție, it clearly means to phone/call.