Familia se mută în oraș.

Because familia means the family. In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun, not written as a separate word like English the.

• familie = family
• familia = the family

So Familia se mută în oraș starts with The family...

Se mută comes from the verb a se muta, which means to move in the sense of changing where you live.

So here:

• se mută = moves / is moving

It does not mean moving an object physically from one place to another. For that, Romanian often uses other verbs depending on context, such as a muta.

Because a se muta is a reflexive/pronominal verb in Romanian. Many verbs that are not reflexive in English are built with se in Romanian.

So:

• a se muta = to move (house/home, relocate)

You should learn it as a whole expression, not as just a muta plus an extra word.

A useful contrast is:

• a muta ceva = to move something
• a se muta = to move oneself / to relocate

Example:

• Mut mobila. = I’m moving the furniture.
• Mă mut. = I’m moving house.

Yes. Se mută is present tense, 3rd person singular.

Romanian present tense can often translate into English in more than one way depending on context:

• The family moves to the city
• The family is moving to the city

In real life, the second translation is often more natural here, but Romanian itself does not need a separate form like English is moving.

Because familia is grammatically singular, just like family in English.

So Romanian uses singular agreement:

• Familia se mută. = The family is moving.

Even though a family contains multiple people, the noun itself is singular.

Literally, în oraș means into the city or in the city, depending on context.

In this sentence, because the verb expresses movement, în oraș means to the city / into the city.

Breakdown:

• în = in / into
• oraș = city / town

So the phrase shows destination.

Because Romanian often does not use the definite article after some prepositions when speaking in a general or idiomatic way.

So:

• în oraș often means to town / in town / to the city

If you say în orașul..., that usually introduces a more specific city, often followed by more information:

• în orașul București = in the city of Bucharest

Also compare:

• Merg în oraș. = I’m going into town.
• Merg în orașul vechi. = I’m going into the old city / old town.

It can mean either city or town, depending on context. Romanian oraș covers a range that English often splits between those two words.

So Familia se mută în oraș could be understood as:

• The family is moving to the city
• The family is moving to town

If a lesson gives one meaning already, follow that meaning, but be aware that oraș is a bit flexible.

This is the most neutral and natural word order:

• Familia = subject
• se mută = verb
• în oraș = destination

Romanian word order is fairly flexible, though, especially for emphasis.

For example:

• În oraș se mută familia. = emphasizes to the city
• Se mută familia în oraș. = possible, but less neutral in many contexts

A learner should usually start with the standard order: subject + verb + complement

A rough English-friendly guide is MOO-tuh, but the final vowel is not exactly the English uh.

A few points:

• u sounds like oo in food
• ă is the Romanian schwa-like sound, similar to the a in sofa
• stress is on the first syllable: MU-tă

So mută sounds approximately like MOO-tuh.

The dictionary form is a se muta.

That is the infinitive, and it is the form you should memorize.

Here is the present tense pattern:

• eu mă mut = I move / am moving
• tu te muți = you move / are moving
• el/ea se mută = he/she moves / is moving
• noi ne mutăm = we move / are moving
• voi vă mutați = you (plural) move / are moving
• ei/ele se mută = they move / are moving

In your sentence, familia takes the same form as el/ea, so: Familia se mută.