Copilul atinge ușa.

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

• copil = child
• copilul = the child

So copilul is the definite form.

For the same reason: ușa is the definite form.

• ușă = a door
• ușa = the door

In this sentence, the object is definite, so Romanian uses ușa.

Romanian usually does not use a separate word for the definite article the way English does. Instead, it attaches the article to the end of the noun.

So:

• copilul = the child
• ușa = the door

If the sentence were indefinite, you would use separate words like:

• un copil = a child
• o ușă = a door

For example: Un copil atinge o ușă.

atinge is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a atinge.

It matches copilul = the child.

Also, Romanian present tense often covers both:

• touches
• is touching

So depending on context, Copilul atinge ușa could be understood as either The child touches the door or The child is touching the door.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

• Copilul → ko-PEE-lool
• atinge → ah-TEEN-jeh
• ușa → OO-sha

So the whole sentence is roughly:

ko-PEE-lool ah-TEEN-jeh OO-sha

A few useful sound notes:

• ș sounds like sh
• g before e sounds like the j in judge

Yes. They are part of correct Romanian spelling.

In this sentence:

• ș is a real Romanian letter and sounds like sh
• in the base noun ușă, ă is also a separate Romanian vowel

Even if Romanians sometimes omit diacritics in casual typing, learners should treat them as important and write them correctly.

The normal, neutral order here is:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Copilul = subject
• atinge = verb
• ușa = object

Romanian word order is more flexible than English, but this version is the most straightforward and natural if you are just stating a fact.

Because pe is usually used before a specific animate direct object, especially a person.

For example:

• Văd copilul can become Îl văd pe copil in contexts with a marked animate object

But ușa is an inanimate object, so pe is not used here.

Not very clearly. In this sentence, the forms do not strongly distinguish subject from object by endings alone.

You understand the roles mostly from:

• the normal word order
• the meaning of the sentence

So here:

• copilul is understood as the subject
• ușa is understood as the direct object

No. Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when the subject is already clear.

Here, copilul already tells you who is doing the action, so adding el would usually be unnecessary.

So the natural sentence is simply:

Copilul atinge ușa.