Magnetul este sub panou.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

• magnet = a magnet
• magnetul = the magnet

So Magnetul means the magnet.

Este means is. It is the 3rd-person singular present form of a fi (to be).

So the structure is very similar to English:

• Magnetul = the magnet
• este = is
• sub panou = under the panel / under a panel, depending on context

Yes. In everyday Romanian, e is a very common short form of este.

So both are correct:

• Magnetul este sub panou.
• Magnetul e sub panou.

Este sounds a bit more full or careful; e sounds more conversational.

Yes. Sub is the preposition meaning under or below.

It works much like English under:

• sub masă = under the table / under a table
• sub panou = under the panel / under a panel

So in this sentence, sub introduces the place where the magnet is.

This is a very common learner question. Grammatically:

• panou = panel
• panoul = the panel

After prepositions, Romanian often uses a bare noun in simple location expressions, especially when the location is understood from context. So sub panou can be perfectly natural.

If you want to make it clearly definite and specific, sub panoul is also possible.

So the difference is roughly:

• sub panou = under a panel / under the panel, depending on context
• sub panoul = under the specific panel

Romanian does not always match English article usage one-for-one.

Sub takes the accusative case, but in Romanian the accusative often looks exactly like the basic dictionary form of the noun.

That is why you see:

• panou after sub

There is no special extra ending here. For many nouns, especially in the singular, the form after a preposition is the same as the normal form.

• magnet is masculine
• panou is neuter

Romanian neuter nouns behave like masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural.

That is why in the singular you get forms like:

• magnetul = the magnet
• panoul = the panel

Both use a masculine-type singular definite ending.

A simple learner-friendly guide would be:

• Magnetul ≈ mag-NE-tul
• este ≈ YES-te
• sub ≈ soob
• panou ≈ pa-NO(u)

A few useful notes:

• Romanian u sounds like oo in food
• este often begins with a y sound: YES-te
• panou has the stress on the last syllable

So the whole sentence is roughly:

mag-NE-tul YES-te soob pa-NOU

Magnetul este sub panou is the most neutral, straightforward word order.

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but this version is the standard one for a basic statement:

• subject: Magnetul
• verb: este
• place phrase: sub panou

You may hear other orders for emphasis, but for learning and normal use, this is the best pattern to follow.

Because Romanian normally uses an enclitic definite article, which means the article is attached to the end of the noun.

Compare:

• English: the magnet
• Romanian: magnetul

This is one of the most important structural differences between English and Romanian. Once you get used to it, forms like magnetul, panoul, băiatul, and cartea start to feel very natural.