Lupta se termină repede.

Because lupta here is the definite form of the noun luptă.

• luptă = fight, a fight
• lupta = the fight

Romanian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word before it.

So:

• o luptă = a fight
• lupta = the fight

In this sentence, lupta means the fight.

Yes. That is something learners often notice.

lupta can also be a verb form from a lupta = to fight. In some contexts, lupta can mean he/she fought.

But in Lupta se termină repede, it is clearly a noun, because it is followed by se termină, which works as the predicate of the sentence:

• Lupta = the subject
• se termină = ends / comes to an end
• repede = quickly

So here, lupta means the fight, not fought.

Because Romanian often uses a se termina to mean to end, to come to an end, or to finish in an intransitive sense.

Compare:

• a termina ceva = to finish something
• a se termina = to end, to be over

So:

• El termină cartea. = He finishes the book.
• Cartea se termină repede. = The book ends quickly.

In your sentence, Lupta se termină repede, the fight is not ending something else; the fight itself is coming to an end. That is why Romanian uses se.

The dictionary form is a se termina.

That is the infinitive form, meaning to end or to come to an end.

The form termină is 3rd person singular present:

• eu mă termin = I end / I am ending
• tu te termini
• el/ea se termină = he/she/it ends

In this sentence, lupta is singular, so Romanian uses se termină.

Because Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

In English, you usually need a subject pronoun:

• It ends quickly.

In Romanian, the verb ending already shows the person and number, so a separate pronoun is often unnecessary.

Here, the subject is already stated:

• Lupta = the fight

So Romanian does not need an extra ea or ea se termină. That would usually sound unnecessary unless you want emphasis.

It is present tense, 3rd person singular.

So the sentence literally means The fight ends quickly.

Depending on context, the Romanian present can sometimes be translated in English as:

• ends quickly
• is ending quickly

But the most natural basic translation is usually ends quickly.

Repede means quickly, fast, or soon, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means quickly:

• Lupta se termină repede. = The fight ends quickly.

It is an adverb, so it describes how the action happens.

A few similar examples:

• Vorbește repede. = He/She speaks quickly.
• A venit repede. = He/She came quickly.

Yes, Romanian word order is fairly flexible.

The most neutral order here is:

• Lupta se termină repede.

But you may also hear:

• Lupta repede se termină. — possible, but less natural in ordinary speech
• Repede se termină lupta. — more marked, often for emphasis

For a learner, Lupta se termină repede is the best standard pattern to use.

Yes, that is a very natural way to understand it.

Romanian se termină often corresponds to English expressions like:

• ends
• finishes
• comes to an end
• is over

So depending on the situation, Lupta se termină repede could be rendered as:

• The fight ends quickly.
• The fight is over quickly.
• The fight comes to an end quickly.

They all express roughly the same idea.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

LUP-ta se ter-MI-nə RE-pe-de

A few helpful points:

• u in lupta sounds roughly like oo in good, but shorter
• ă in termină is the Romanian schwa sound, like the a in English about
• r in Romanian is usually rolled or tapped
• stress is roughly:
  • LUP-ta
  • ter-MI-nă
  • RE-pe-de

So the full sentence is approximately:

LUP-ta se ter-MI-nə RE-pe-de

No, not with the same meaning.

Lupta termină repede would sound wrong in standard Romanian, because a termina normally needs a direct object when used without se:

• El termină munca repede. = He finishes the work quickly.

But in your sentence, the meaning is the fight ends, not the fight finishes something. So Romanian needs the reflexive form:

• Lupta se termină repede.

That is the correct version.