Duba este lângă bloc.

The basic noun is dubă, meaning van.

When Romanian adds the definite article the to many feminine nouns ending in -ă, the ending changes:

• dubă = a van
• duba = the van

The same pattern happens in words like:

• casă → casa
• masă → masa

So duba is the definite form.

In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

So:

• dubă = a van
• duba = the van

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Instead of the van, Romanian often says one word: duba.

Duba usually means the van.

Depending on context, dubă can suggest:

• a regular van
• a cargo van
• sometimes a police van or prison van

If you see the sentence by itself, the safest translation is simply the van.

Este means is. It is the 3rd person singular form of a fi = to be.

So:

• Duba este lângă bloc. = The van is next to the building.

In everyday speech, Romanians very often use e instead of este:

• Duba e lângă bloc.

That means the same thing, but sounds a little more conversational.

Normally, no. In a standard sentence like this, Romanian needs the verb:

• Duba este lângă bloc.
• Duba e lângă bloc.

Leaving it out would sound incomplete in ordinary speech.

Lângă means next to, beside, or near.

So lângă bloc means something like:

• next to the building
• by the building
• near the building

The exact English choice depends on context, but next to is often the clearest match.

Roughly: LUHN-guh

A few pronunciation notes:

• ă sounds like the a in sofa
• â has no exact English equivalent; it is a central vowel pronounced deep in the mouth
• the ng sounds like the ng in sing

So lângă may be difficult at first, especially because of â.

Not usually in the English sense of city block.

In Romanian, bloc most often means an apartment block or apartment building.

So in this sentence, bloc is best understood as:

• apartment building
• block of flats

That is a very common everyday meaning of bloc in Romanian.

All of these are possible, but they are used a little differently:

• lângă bloc = next to the block / by the apartment building
• lângă un bloc = next to an apartment building, not a specific one
• lângă blocul... = next to the specific building, usually followed by more detail

For example:

• lângă blocul meu = next to my building
• lângă blocul acela = next to that building

In everyday Romanian, bare nouns after prepositions are often natural in place expressions, so lângă bloc sounds normal.

Yes, Romanian word order is more flexible than English, though not completely free.

The most neutral order here is:

• Duba este lângă bloc.

You could also say:

• Lângă bloc este duba.

That puts more emphasis on the location, as if answering Where is the van?

So the original sentence is the most basic and neutral version.

Very often:

• Duba e lângă bloc.

That is more natural in casual speech than the fuller este form, although both are correct.

So:

• Duba este lângă bloc. = correct, neutral, slightly fuller
• Duba e lângă bloc. = correct, common, conversational

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

DOO-ba YES-te LUHN-guh blok

More carefully:

• Duba = DOO-ba
• este = YES-te
• lângă = LUHN-guh
• bloc = blok

This is only an approximation, but it is a good starting point.