Răsadul se ofilește fără apă.

Because -ul is the Romanian definite article, attached to the end of the noun.

• răsad = a seedling / seedling
• răsadul = the seedling

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, unlike English, which uses a separate word like the.

Răsad means seedling, young plant, or transplanted young plant, especially in gardening or agriculture.

So răsadul is the seedling.

Because the usual Romanian verb for to wilt is a se ofili.

Here, se is part of the verb structure. In English, wilt is not reflexive, but in Romanian this verb is commonly used in a pronominal/reflexive form:

• a se ofili = to wilt

So:

• Răsadul se ofilește = The seedling wilts / is wilting

Without se, the verb can sound more like to make something wilt in some contexts.

Ofilește is the 3rd person singular present tense of a se ofili.

It matches răsadul, which is singular.

So se ofilește can mean:

• wilts
• is wilting

Depending on context, Romanian present tense can correspond to both simple present and present progressive in English.

In standard modern Romanian, you normally say fără apă.

• fără = without
• apă = water

So fără apă simply means without water.

Fără de is old-fashioned, regional, or nonstandard in most modern situations. A learner should stick with fără + noun.

Because here it means water in general, not a specific water source.

• fără apă = without water
• fără apa = without the water

The version in the sentence is the natural one when speaking generally about what a plant needs.

Yes, but it would mean without the water, referring to some specific water already known from context.

For example, if you were talking about a particular container or water supply, fără apa aceea or fără apa din sticlă could make sense.

But in a general statement about plants, fără apă is the normal choice.

The given order is the most neutral and natural:

Răsadul se ofilește fără apă.

Romanian word order is fairly flexible, though. You could also say:

• Fără apă, răsadul se ofilește.

That puts more emphasis on without water.

So the word order can change, but the original version is the standard neutral one.

You would make both the noun and the verb plural:

• Răsadurile se ofilesc fără apă. = The seedlings wilt without water.

Changes:

• răsadul → răsadurile
• se ofilește → se ofilesc

This shows normal subject-verb agreement.

Yes, very important. Romanian diacritics are part of correct spelling and can affect pronunciation and meaning.

In this sentence:

• ă in răsadul, fără, apă
• ș in ofilește

Rough pronunciation help:

• ă sounds somewhat like the vowel in English about
• ș sounds like sh in shoe

So you should write:

• răsadul, not rasadul
• ofilește, not ofileste
• fără, not fara

Most naturally, răsadul means the seedling, so it can refer to a specific seedling already understood from context.

But Romanian can also use the singular definite form in a general, representative way in some contexts. Still, if you want to make the general meaning especially clear, learners often use:

• Un răsad se ofilește fără apă. = A seedling wilts without water.
• Răsadurile se ofilesc fără apă. = Seedlings wilt without water.

So the original sentence is correct, but context helps decide whether it is specific or general.