Muștarul apare pe eticheta alimentară.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not in front of it like English the.

• muștar = mustard
• muștarul = the mustard

In this kind of sentence, Romanian often uses the definite form when talking about an ingredient or allergen as a named item on a label.

Apare is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb a apărea, meaning to appear, to show up, or in this context to be listed / to appear on.

Here the subject is muștarul, which is singular, so the verb is singular too:

• eu apar = I appear
• el/ea apare = he/she/it appears

So Muștarul apare... = Mustard appears... / Mustard is listed...

Yes, but in this sentence it is probably being used in a more practical sense:

• to appear
• to show up
• to be shown
• to be listed

On packaging or documents, apare pe etichetă often means something like is shown on the label or is listed on the label.

Here pe means on.

So:

• pe eticheta alimentară = on the food label

This is a very common use of pe for location:

• pe masă = on the table
• pe perete = on the wall
• pe etichetă = on the label

Important: Romanian also has another use of pe with some direct objects, especially people, but that is not what is happening here. In this sentence, it simply means on.

Because eticheta is the definite form:

• etichetă = a label
• eticheta = the label

Again, Romanian attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

So:

• pe etichetă = on a label
• pe eticheta = on the label

In the full phrase pe eticheta alimentară, it means on the food label.

Alimentară is an adjective meaning food-related. It agrees with eticheta, which is:

• feminine
• singular
• definite

The adjective has to match the noun in gender and number:

• masculine singular: alimentar
• feminine singular: alimentară
• masculine plural: alimentari
• feminine plural: alimentare

Since etichetă / eticheta is feminine singular, the adjective must be alimentară.

Most directly, it means food label or food-related label.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• food label
• product label
• sometimes nutrition label or ingredient label, if the situation suggests that

But word-for-word, alimentară is more like food-related, not specifically nutritional in the narrow sense.

Because Romanian normally uses a postposed definite article: the article is attached to the end of the noun.

Examples:

• băiat = boy → băiatul = the boy
• casă = house → casa = the house
• muștar = mustard → muștarul = the mustard
• etichetă = label → eticheta = the label

This is one of the big structural differences between Romanian and English.

It usually means mustard as an ingredient/allergen category.

In ingredient and allergy language, Romanian often uses the definite singular to refer to a substance as a named item:

• laptele
• oul
• soia
• muștarul

So this does not necessarily mean one specific blob of mustard. It can mean mustard in the general labeling sense.

Yes. Romanian word order is more flexible than English, although the original sentence is completely normal.

Possible variations include:

• Muștarul apare pe eticheta alimentară.
• Pe eticheta alimentară apare muștarul.

The second version puts more focus on where it appears. The meaning stays very similar.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Muștarul apare pe eticheta alimentară
moo-SHTA-rul a-PA-re pe e-ti-KE-ta a-li-men-TA-rə

A few useful notes:

• ș sounds like English sh
• ă is a short central vowel, somewhat like the a in sofa
• Romanian stress is not always marked in writing, so listening to native speech helps a lot

In this sentence, eticheta alimentară is simply the noun phrase after the preposition pe meaning on.

For a beginner, the easiest way to understand it is just:

• pe
  • noun phrase = on
    • noun phrase

Romanian case patterns can get more complex, but here the important thing is the fixed prepositional phrase pe eticheta alimentară = on the food label.

Yes, but the nuance is a little different.

• Muștarul este pe eticheta alimentară = Mustard is on the food label
• Muștarul apare pe eticheta alimentară = Mustard appears / is shown / is listed on the food label

Apare sounds a bit more natural when talking about something being displayed or listed in writing. Este is more neutral and just states presence.