Spectacolul începe azi.

Because -ul is the definite article attached to the end of the noun in Romanian.

• spectacol = show, a show
• spectacolul = the show

Romanian usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word the way English does.

Romanian normally uses an enclitic definite article, which means the article is added to the end of the noun.

So instead of:

• English: the show

you get:

• Romanian: spectacolul

This is a very common feature of Romanian:

• băiat = boy

• băiatul = the boy

• carte = book
• cartea = the book

The dictionary form is a începe, meaning to begin / to start.

In the sentence, începe is the present-tense form used with a third-person singular subject:

• spectacolul începe = the show starts / is starting / begins

Because spectacolul is a singular subject, and începe is the 3rd person singular present form of a începe.

A quick mini-pattern:

• eu încep = I start
• tu începi = you start
• el/ea începe = he/she/it starts

Since spectacolul is grammatically a singular noun, Romanian uses the same verb form as with he/she/it:

• Spectacolul începe.

Because Romanian does not need a separate subject pronoun here. The noun itself, spectacolul, is already the subject.

English often uses pronouns like it, but Romanian simply says:

• Spectacolul începe.

You would not normally add a separate word meaning it here.

Yes. azi means today, and astăzi also means today.

They are both correct. In many contexts:

• azi sounds a bit shorter and slightly more conversational
• astăzi can sound a bit more formal or fuller

So you can say both:

• Spectacolul începe azi.
• Spectacolul începe astăzi.

Yes, Romanian word order is fairly flexible. The given order is the most neutral, straightforward one:

• Spectacolul începe azi. = The show starts today.

But other orders are possible for emphasis:

• Azi începe spectacolul. = Today the show starts
• Începe azi spectacolul. = possible, but more marked and less neutral

So the original sentence is the most natural default form for a simple statement.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Spectacolul ≈ spek-ta-KO-lul
• începe ≈ in-CHE-pe
• azi ≈ a-ZEE

A few useful notes:

• ce in începe sounds like che in check
• z in azi is like the z in zoo
• î is a special Romanian vowel pronounced deep and central in the mouth; there is no exact English equivalent

The Romanian î is a vowel that does not have a perfect English equivalent. It is a close central sound, produced with the tongue high and centered.

For beginners, the most important thing is:

• do not pronounce it exactly like English ee
• do not pronounce it exactly like English uh
• aim for a short, tight central vowel

So începe should not sound like in-che-pe in a fully English way, but that rough approximation can help at first.

Spectacol is a neuter noun in Romanian.

Romanian neuter nouns behave:

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

That matters because in the singular definite form you get:

• spectacolul = the show

So here it takes the singular article pattern you also see with many masculine nouns.

Yes, depending on context. Romanian present tense is often a bit broader than a single English present form.

So Spectacolul începe azi can naturally correspond to:

• The show starts today
• The show begins today
• sometimes The show is starting today

The exact English translation depends on the situation, but the Romanian sentence itself is completely normal.

For a negative sentence, add nu before the verb:

• Spectacolul nu începe azi. = The show doesn’t start today.

To ask a yes/no question, Romanian often just uses intonation:

• Spectacolul începe azi? = Does the show start today?

You can also make the question sound more explicit in speech with intonation, but the word order often stays the same.