Bărbatul fură portofelul.

• bărbatul = the man
• fură = steals / is stealing
• portofelul = the wallet

So the structure is very close to English: The man steals the wallet.

In Romanian, the definite article usually goes at the end of the noun, not as a separate word before it.

So:

• bărbat = man
• bărbatul = the man

and

• portofel = wallet
• portofelul = the wallet

This is one of the most important differences from English. Instead of a separate word like the, Romanian often adds the article as a suffix.

The dictionary forms are:

• bărbat = man
• portofel = wallet

The forms in the sentence are definite:

• bărbatul = the man
• portofelul = the wallet

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

Because Romanian usually uses an enclitic definite article, which means the article is attached to the end of the noun.

Compare:

• English: the man

• Romanian: bărbatul

• English: the wallet
• Romanian: portofelul

So Romanian expresses definiteness differently from English, even though the meaning is the same.

Here, fură is normally understood as present tense, meaning:

• he steals
• she steals

So Bărbatul fură portofelul means The man steals the wallet.

A useful note: in some contexts, fură can also match another verb form historically/literarily, but for a learner, the main interpretation here is the present tense of a fura (to steal).

The infinitive is a fura, which means to steal.

Some present-tense forms are:

• eu fur = I steal
• tu furi = you steal
• el/ea fură = he/she steals
• noi furăm = we steal
• voi furați = you all steal
• ei/ele fură = they steal

So fură can be either he/she steals or they steal, depending on the subject. In this sentence, the subject is singular: bărbatul, so it means he steals.

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb form usually makes the person clear enough.

So instead of saying:

• El fură portofelul

Romanian can simply say:

• Bărbatul fură portofelul

This is very natural. English usually needs the subject stated explicitly, but Romanian often does not.

Romanian uses pe before certain direct objects, especially when they are specific people or animate beings.

Examples:

• Văd bărbatul. = I see the man.
• Îl văd pe bărbat. = I see the man.

But with things, Romanian normally does not use pe:

• fură portofelul = steals the wallet

Because portofelul is an object, not a person, pe is not used here.

Yes, here it is the basic Subject–Verb–Object order:

• Bărbatul = subject
• fură = verb
• portofelul = object

So the sentence follows the same basic order as English:

• The man steals the wallet.

Romanian word order can be more flexible than English, but this sentence uses the most straightforward pattern.

Yes, Romanian allows more flexibility than English, especially for emphasis.

For example, you might also see:

• Portofelul îl fură bărbatul.

But that sounds marked and needs extra structure. The neutral, standard version is:

• Bărbatul fură portofelul.

So for learners, this sentence is the normal pattern to copy.

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

So roughly:

• bărbatul sounds like ber-BAH-tul with that reduced vowel in the first syllable
• fură sounds roughly like FOO-rə

It is not exactly the same as any single English sound, but the a in sofa is a useful approximation.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

bər-BAH-tul FOO-rə por-to-FE-lul

A slightly more careful breakdown:

• bărbatul → bər-BA-tul
• fură → FOO-rə
• portofelul → por-to-FE-lul

The stress is approximately on:

• bărbatul
• fură
• portofelul

Because the ending -ul marks the noun as definite.

Compare:

• bărbat = a man / man
• bărbatul = the man

Romanian does not usually keep the bare noun to mean the man. Once you add -ul, the noun becomes definite.

You would normally say:

Un bărbat fură un portofel.

Here:

• un bărbat = a man
• un portofel = a wallet

So compare:

• Bărbatul fură portofelul. = The man steals the wallet.
• Un bărbat fură un portofel. = A man steals a wallet.

Yes. Romanian present tense often covers both a simple present and a present progressive idea, depending on context.

So Bărbatul fură portofelul can mean:

• The man steals the wallet
• The man is stealing the wallet

Usually the context tells you which is intended.

Usually, yes, but more specifically bărbat often means an adult male, as opposed to a boy.

So:

• bărbat = man
• băiat = boy

In some contexts, bărbat can also mean husband, but not in this sentence. Here it simply means man.

Portofel usually means wallet. It refers to something used to hold money, cards, and similar items.

It is not usually the general word for a handbag or purse in the sense of a larger bag. So in this sentence, wallet is the natural translation.

Mainly from word order and meaning.

In this sentence:

• Bărbatul comes first, in the normal subject position
• fură is the verb
• portofelul comes after the verb, where the direct object normally goes

So Romanian readers understand:

• the man = the one doing the stealing
• the wallet = the thing being stolen

Yes. It is a simple, natural Romanian sentence.

It is also a good beginner example because it shows several important features clearly:

• definite articles attached to nouns
• normal subject–verb–object order
• a common present-tense verb form

So it is both grammatical and useful for learning.