Arma poate ucide.

Because arma here is the definite singular form, meaning the weapon.

• armă = a weapon
• arma = the weapon

In Romanian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun, not written as a separate word like English the.

It most basically means weapon. In some contexts, English might translate it as gun, but the Romanian word itself is broader.

So:

• armă = weapon
• depending on context, it could refer to a firearm, but it does not specifically mean only gun

If Romanian wants to be more specific, it can use words like pistol or pușcă.

Poate is the 3rd person singular form of a putea, meaning can / is able to / may.

Here it means can:

• arma poate ucide = the weapon can kill

Because arma is singular, the verb is also in the singular form poate.

After a putea in standard Romanian, the next verb normally appears in the infinitive:

• poate ucide = can kill

The form ucide here is the infinitive form used after poate.

Romanian often uses să with many verbs, but a putea commonly takes the infinitive directly. So poate ucide is the normal structure.

Because after poate, ucide is functioning as an infinitive, not as a fully conjugated verb.

Compare:

• Arma ucide. = The weapon kills.
  Here ucide is conjugated: 3rd person singular.

• Arma poate ucide. = The weapon can kill.
  Here poate is the conjugated verb, and ucide stays in the infinitive form after it.

So the verb that changes for the subject is poate, not ucide.

The normal, neutral word order is:

• Arma poate ucide.

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but changing it usually changes the emphasis or sounds less neutral.

• Poate ucide arma is not the most natural everyday order for a simple statement.
• It could sound marked, poetic, or context-driven.

For a basic declarative sentence, Arma poate ucide is the best choice.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide would be:

• arma ≈ AR-ma
• poate ≈ POA-te
• ucide ≈ oo-CHEE-de

A few useful notes:

• r is usually trilled or tapped.
• oa in poate is a real diphthong, not two separate strong syllables.
• In ucide, the ci sounds like chee before d/e.

Yes, Romanian often allows the subject to be omitted if it is clear from context. This is because the verb form often helps identify the subject.

So:

• Poate ucide. = It can kill. / He/She can kill.

But without context, this is more ambiguous than Arma poate ucide. If you specifically want to say the weapon can kill, keeping arma is clearer.

You add nu before the conjugated verb:

• Arma nu poate ucide. = The weapon cannot kill.

Romanian nu works like English not, but it usually comes directly before the verb.

The indefinite version is:

• O armă poate ucide. = A weapon can kill.

Compare:

• arma = the weapon
• o armă = a weapon

Notice that the noun changes too:

• indefinite: armă
• definite: arma

Yes, sometimes poate can be translated as may, depending on context. But in this sentence, can is the most natural translation.

• Arma poate ucide. = The weapon can kill.

Here the idea is about ability / possibility, not permission, so can fits best.

Yes. That is a more literal-feeling English rendering of the same grammar.

• poate = can / is able to

So Arma poate ucide can be understood as:

• The weapon can kill
• The weapon is able to kill

The first is just more natural in normal English.

The dictionary forms are:

• armă = weapon
• a putea = to be able to / can
• a ucide = to kill

In the sentence:

• arma is the definite form of armă
• poate is a conjugated form of a putea
• ucide is the infinitive used after poate