Learn Hardcore Romanian: Cartea are o sută de cuvinte.

Breakdown of Cartea are o sută de cuvinte.

Why is cartea one word, and what does the -a mean?

In Romanian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

So -a here is the feminine singular definite article.

This is a very common feature of Romanian:

What is the dictionary form of cartea?

The dictionary form is carte, meaning book.

Cartea is the definite form, so when you look the word up, you would look for carte.

Why is it are? What verb is that?

Are is a form of the verb a avea, which means to have.

In this sentence:

Some present-tense forms of a avea are:

Since cartea is a third-person singular subject, Romanian uses are.