Eticheta de bagaj este pe valiză.

The dictionary form is etichetă = label / tag.

In the sentence, eticheta means the label / the tag. Romanian often puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

• etichetă = a label
• eticheta = the label

So Eticheta de bagaj means the luggage tag.

de bagaj means something like for luggage or of luggage, but in natural English we usually say luggage tag.

This is a very common Romanian pattern:

• noun + de + noun

It often shows:

• type
• purpose
• category

So:

• etichetă de bagaj = luggage tag
• bilet de tren = train ticket
• pahar de vin = wine glass / glass of wine, depending context

In this structure, the second noun often stays in its basic form, without an article.

este is the 3rd person singular present of a fi = to be.

So here it means is.

• eu sunt = I am
• tu ești = you are
• el/ea este = he/she is

In everyday speech, Romanians very often use the shorter form e:

• Eticheta de bagaj e pe valiză.

That sounds natural and common in conversation.

Here pe means on.

So:

• pe valiză = on the suitcase

This is one of the basic meanings of pe when talking about location.

A useful warning: Romanian pe also has other uses, including marking certain direct objects, especially people. But in this sentence it is simply the preposition on.

This is a very common thing that confuses English speakers.

In simple location expressions, Romanian often uses a noun without the definite article, where English would naturally say the:

• Cartea e pe masă. = The book is on the table.
• Haina e pe scaun. = The coat is on the chair.
• Eticheta de bagaj este pe valiză. = The luggage tag is on the suitcase.

So pe valiză is a normal, natural location phrase.

If you want to make the suitcase more specifically identified, Romanian can use the definite form, especially if it is further described:

• pe valiza albastră = on the blue suitcase
• pe valiza Mariei = on Maria’s suitcase
• pe valiza aceea = on that suitcase

So the short version is: Romanian article use after prepositions does not match English word-for-word.

A simple English-friendly guide:

• bagaj ≈ ba-GAZH
• valiză ≈ va-LEE-zuh
• eticheta ≈ e-ti-KE-ta
• este ≈ ES-te

A few useful pronunciation points:

• j in Romanian sounds like the s in measure or the g in genre
  • so bagaj ends in a zh sound, not an English j
• ă is a short neutral vowel, like the a in about
  • so the end of valiză is not a strong a sound

Yes. That is completely natural.

• este = fuller, slightly more careful or formal
• e = very common in normal speech

Both are correct:

• Eticheta de bagaj este pe valiză.
• Eticheta de bagaj e pe valiză.

Yes, Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, although the original sentence is the most neutral.

Neutral order:

• Eticheta de bagaj este pe valiză.

You could also say:

• Pe valiză este eticheta de bagaj.

That version puts more focus on pe valiză.

So the original sentence is the best default form for a learner, but Romanian can move elements around for emphasis.

Yes, it matters in Romanian because gender affects articles, adjectives, and sometimes verb agreement patterns.

In this sentence:

• etichetă = feminine
• valiză = feminine
• bagaj = neuter

Why that matters here:

• etichetă → eticheta uses the feminine singular definite ending
• if you add adjectives later, they must agree with the noun:
  • eticheta mică = the small tag
  • valiza mare = the big suitcase

A note about bagaj: Romanian neuter nouns behave like masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural.

If you mean the luggage tags are on the suitcase, you would say:

• Etichetele de bagaj sunt pe valiză.

Changes:

• eticheta → etichetele = the tags
• este → sunt = are

If you mean the luggage tags are on the suitcases, then:

• Etichetele de bagaj sunt pe valize.

So this sentence is a good example of how both the noun and the verb change in the plural.