Fermoarul este închis.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not before it like English the.

So:

• fermoar = zipper
• fermoarul = the zipper

This -ul ending is the masculine/neuter singular definite article here.

Este means is and comes from the verb a fi = to be.

So the structure is:

• Fermoarul = the zipper
• este = is
• închis = closed

Unlike in some languages, Romanian normally does not omit the verb to be in a sentence like this. So Fermoarul este închis is the normal full form.

In everyday speech, people very often say:

• Fermoarul e închis.

That means exactly the same thing, just with the shorter spoken form e instead of este.

Because închis has to agree with the noun it describes.

fermoar is a masculine noun in the singular, so the adjective also appears in the masculine singular form:

• masculine singular: închis
• feminine singular: închisă
• masculine plural: închiși
• feminine/neuter plural: închise

Since fermoarul is masculine singular, închis is the correct form.

In Romanian, fermoar is generally treated as a neuter noun.

That means:

• in the singular, neuter nouns behave like masculine
• in the plural, they behave like feminine

So in the singular you get:

• un fermoar
• fermoarul
• fermoarul este închis

But in the plural:

• fermoare
• fermoarele
• fermoarele sunt închise

This is why închis is used in your sentence: singular neuter nouns take the same agreement pattern as masculine singular nouns.

Here it functions like an adjective, meaning closed.

Historically, it is related to the past participle of the verb a închide = to close / to shut. Romanian often uses these participle-based forms as adjectives.

So in this sentence, închis describes the state of the zipper:

• The zipper is closed.

You can compare:

• ușa este închisă = the door is closed
• magazinul este închis = the shop is closed

Yes, Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but Fermoarul este închis is the most neutral and natural order.

Other orders may be possible for emphasis, but they are less neutral. For example:

• Fermoarul e închis. — very common, natural
• Închis e fermoarul. — marked, poetic, or emphatic
• Este închis fermoarul. — possible in special contexts, but not the default choice

If you are learning, the safest pattern is:

subject + a fi + adjective

So: Fermoarul este închis.

A careful pronunciation is roughly:

fer-mo-a-rul

The oa is usually pronounced as two syllabic elements together, not like English war.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

fehr-MO-ah-rul

And the whole sentence could be approximated as:

fehr-MO-ah-rul YES-teh ihn-KEES

A few useful notes:

• r is rolled or tapped
• ă does not appear in this sentence
• î in închis is a Romanian vowel that has no exact English equivalent

Because Romanian, like English, uses an adjective after to be when describing a state.

Compare:

• The zipper is closed.
• Fermoarul este închis.

Here closed / închis tells you the condition of the zipper.

You would not use an adverb here, because adverbs describe how an action happens, not the state of a noun.

If you want to say A zipper is closed or One zipper is closed, you would use the indefinite form:

• Un fermoar este închis.

Compare:

• fermoar = zipper
• un fermoar = a zipper
• fermoarul = the zipper

So the only change is the article:

• Fermoarul este închis. = The zipper is closed.
• Un fermoar este închis. = A zipper is closed.

The plural is:

• Fermoarele sunt închise. = The zippers are closed.

Here several things change:

• fermoarul → fermoarele
• este → sunt
• închis → închise

Why închise? Because fermoare is a neuter noun in the plural, and neuter plural uses the same agreement pattern as feminine plural.

The usual opposite is deschis = open.

So:

• Fermoarul este deschis. = The zipper is open.

This is a very useful pair to learn:

• închis = closed
• deschis = open

You can use them with many nouns:

• ușa este închisă / deschisă = the door is closed / open
• magazinul este închis / deschis = the shop is closed / open