Episodul începe acum.

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

• episod = episode
• episodul = the episode

So Episodul începe acum. literally means The episode starts now.

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Romanian: the article is often attached to the noun.

Începe is the verb starts / begins.

It comes from the infinitive a începe = to begin / to start.

In this sentence, începe is:

• present tense
• 3rd person singular
• matching the subject episodul = the episode

So:

• eu încep = I begin
• tu începi = you begin
• el/ea începe = he/she/it begins

Here, episodul is grammatically the it, so începe is the correct form.

Romanian often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• starts now
• is starting now

So începe acum can naturally correspond to either one depending on context.

Romanian does not have a mandatory separate progressive form like English is starting. Very often, the plain present tense is enough.

So this sentence can feel like:

• The episode starts now
• The episode is starting now

Both are good ways to understand it.

Acum means now.

In Episodul începe acum, it tells you when the action happens.

Its position is natural and neutral here:

• Episodul începe acum. = The episode starts now.

Romanian word order is fairly flexible, so you may also hear:

• Acum începe episodul.
• Episodul acum începe. (less neutral, more marked)
• Începe acum episodul. (possible, but with different emphasis)

The original version is a very normal, straightforward way to say it.

A rough pronunciation is:

în-ce-pe

A useful approximation for an English speaker is something like: uhn-CHEH-peh, though not perfectly.

A few important points:

• î is a Romanian vowel that does not exist exactly in English.
  It is a close central sound, often approximated poorly as a muted uh.
• ce is pronounced like che in check, but shorter and cleaner.
• Stress is on the second syllable: înCEpe

So the word sounds approximately like: uhn-CHEH-peh

Because episod is a masculine/neuter noun, and in the singular definite form it typically takes -ul.

So:

• episod = episode
• episodul = the episode

Romanian nouns do not all take the same definite ending. The ending depends on the noun’s gender and form.

For this noun, -ul is the normal definite article ending in the singular.

Also, episod is a neuter noun. In Romanian, neuter nouns behave:

• like masculine in the singular
• like feminine in the plural

That is why the singular definite form looks masculine here: episodul.

Yes. Acum începe episodul is correct.

The difference is mainly emphasis:

• Episodul începe acum.
  Neutral: first introduces the episode as the topic.
• Acum începe episodul.
  Emphasizes now more strongly, as in Now the episode starts.

Romanian allows more flexibility in word order than English, but changing the order often changes what feels most prominent in the sentence.

Yes. Episodul is the subject.

The basic structure is:

• Episodul = the subject (the episode)
• începe = the verb (starts / begins)
• acum = adverb of time (now)

So the sentence is very straightforward: Subject + Verb + Time expression

Yes. In many contexts, a începe can be translated as either to begin or to start.

So:

• Episodul începe acum = The episode begins now
• Episodul începe acum = The episode starts now

In everyday English, start often sounds more natural for things like shows, films, classes, and events, but both translations are valid.

In normal Romanian, yes, that would sound wrong or at least very unnatural.

You usually need the definite form here:

• Episodul începe acum. = The episode starts now.

Without the article, episod would usually mean just episode, not the episode.

Romanian often requires you to mark definiteness directly on the noun, especially in a sentence like this where a specific episode is meant.

Yes. It is completely natural and neutral.

You might hear it in contexts like:

• television
• streaming platforms
• announcements
• dubbing/subtitles
• someone telling you the show is about to begin

It sounds simple, standard, and idiomatic. There is nothing unusual or overly formal about it.