Regele vorbește.

Because Romanian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

• rege = king
• regele = the king

So unlike English, Romanian does not use a separate word like the here.

The base form is rege, which means king.

In this sentence:

• rege = indefinite, a king
• regele = definite, the king

This is a very common Romanian pattern.

vorbește is the present-tense form of the verb a vorbi, meaning to speak or to talk.

In this sentence, it can mean:

• speaks
• is speaking
• sometimes does speak, depending on context

Romanian present tense often covers both the simple present and the present progressive meanings that English separates.

It is third person singular present tense.

That means it is used with:

• el = he
• ea = she
• a singular noun such as regele = the king

So regele vorbește literally matches the king speaks / is speaking.

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

The verb ending already tells you the person and number:

• vorbește = he/she speaks

So Romanian can say simply:

• Regele vorbește.

You could also say:

• El vorbește. = He speaks.

But with regele, adding el would usually be unnecessary.

The normal order here is subject + verb:

• Regele vorbește.

But Romanian word order is fairly flexible. You may also see:

• Vorbește regele.

That can sound more marked or emphatic, depending on context. The basic neutral order for a simple statement is still Regele vorbește.

A helpful rough pronunciation is:

• Regele ≈ REH-jeh-leh
• vorbește ≈ vor-BESH-teh

A more accurate IPA version is:

• regele /ˈred͡ʒele/
• vorbește /vorˈbeʃte/

A few useful details:

• g before e sounds like the j in judge
• ș sounds like sh
• the stress is on RE in regele
• the stress is on BEȘ in vorbește

The infinitive is a vorbi = to speak / to talk.

Present tense:

• eu vorbesc = I speak
• tu vorbești = you speak
• el/ea vorbește = he/she speaks
• noi vorbim = we speak
• voi vorbiți = you all speak
• ei/ele vorbesc = they speak

So vorbește is the he/she/it form.

The letter ș is a separate Romanian letter, not just a decorative version of s.

• ș is pronounced sh
• so vorbește sounds like vor-BESH-teh

This letter is very important, because changing s to ș changes pronunciation and can change meaning.

It can mean either one.

Romanian uses the simple present in many situations where English chooses between:

• The king speaks
• The king is speaking

The exact meaning depends on context. If there is no context, both are possible.

Yes. rege means king, so it is a masculine noun referring to a male ruler.

However, the verb form vorbește itself does not show gender. It is simply third person singular and can be used with:

• el vorbește = he speaks
• ea vorbește = she speaks

The noun regele tells you that the subject is masculine.

You would say:

• Un rege vorbește.

Compare:

• Regele vorbește. = The king speaks / is speaking
• Un rege vorbește. = A king speaks / is speaking

So:

• un = a/an
• the definite form is built into the noun: regele = the king