Câinele aleargă încoace.

the dog

Breakdown of Câinele aleargă încoace.

• a alerga: to run
• încoace: this way; over here

Questions & Answers about Câinele aleargă încoace.

Why is it câinele and not just câine?

Câinele means the dog, while câine means a dog or just dog in a general sense.

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

• câine = dog / a dog
• câinele = the dog

So Câinele aleargă încoace means The dog is running this way / over here.

What exactly does -le mean in câinele?

The ending -le is the definite article attached to the noun. It is the Romanian equivalent of English the.

In this sentence:

• câine = dog
• câinele = the dog

This is a very common Romanian pattern:

• băiat → băiatul = the boy
• fată → fata = the girl
• câine → câinele = the dog

So yes, -le is doing the job that English the does.

What does aleargă mean, and what form is it?