Nordul este rece.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• nord = north
• nordul = the north

So -ul here means the. This is very common in Romanian:

• băiat = boy
• băiatul = the boy

With nord, the form nordul means the north.

It is a noun. In this sentence, it is the subject.

Grammatically, nord is treated as a neuter noun in Romanian. Neuter nouns behave like:

• masculine in the singular
• feminine in the plural

That is why the definite singular ending here is -ul.

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

So:

• Nordul este rece. = The north is cold.

Yes, in everyday Romanian, people very often say e instead of este:

• Nordul e rece.

Both are correct. Este sounds a bit more neutral or formal; e is more common in casual speech.

Yes. Rece is an adjective meaning cold.

In this sentence, it comes after the verb este and describes the subject nordul. So it works like the adjective in English The north is cold.

This is a very normal Romanian pattern:

• Apa este rece. = The water is cold.
• Ceaiul este cald. = The tea is warm.

Yes, but only in some forms.

In the singular, rece stays the same for masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns:

• nordul este rece
• apa este rece

In the plural, it becomes reci:

• munții sunt reci = the mountains are cold
• apele sunt reci = the waters are cold

So in your sentence, rece is singular because nordul is singular.

The normal word order is:

• Subject + verb + adjective
• Nordul este rece.

That is the most natural version.

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, so other orders are possible for emphasis, especially in literary or poetic contexts, but they are not the neutral everyday choice. For a learner, Nordul este rece is the best pattern to use.

It is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.

Normally, nordul would not be capitalized in the middle of a sentence unless it were part of a proper name.

So:

• Nordul este rece. = capitalized because it starts the sentence
• În nordul țării este rece. = lowercase in the middle of a sentence

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

NOR-dool YES-teh RE-che

A few pronunciation notes:

• nordul: the u sounds like oo in food
• este: both e sounds are clear, like e in met
• rece: the c before e is pronounced like ch in check

So rece sounds roughly like RE-che.

In standard Romanian, you normally keep the verb to be in sentences like this.

So the normal sentence is:

• Nordul este rece.
• or more casually: Nordul e rece.

Leaving the verb out completely would sound unnatural in standard Romanian.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Nordul often refers to:

• the northern part of a country
• the north as a region
• the north in a general geographic sense

So the sentence could mean something like:

• the northern area is cold
• the north is cold

Context tells you exactly what kind of north is meant.