Learn Hardcore Romanian: Această ușă este închisă.

Această is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative adjective meaning this. Romanian demonstratives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since ușă (“door”) is a feminine singular noun, you must use această, not the masculine acest.

Why don't we say această ușa (with the definite article on ușă)?

When you use a demonstrative adjective like această, it already makes the noun definite. You never combine it with the noun’s ending article. So you say această ușă, not această ușa.

Why does închisă end in -ă instead of -t or -i?

Închisă is the past participle of închide (“to close”) used as an adjective. It must agree in gender and number with ușă (feminine singular), so it takes the feminine singular ending -ă. For a masculine singular noun, you’d use închis; for feminine plural închise, and masculine plural închiși.

Is este închisă here the passive voice or just a descriptive adjective?

It can function as both:

Descriptive adjective: stating the state of the door (“The door is closed”).
Passive voice: formed with este
- participle, meaning “The door has been closed (by someone).” Without adding de cine (“by whom”), it often reads simply as a description.

How do you pronounce Această ușă este închisă?

Pronunciation breakdown in IPA:

Această: [aˈt͡ʃeʃ.tə]
ușă: [ˈu.ʃə]
este: [ˈes.te]
închisă: [ɨnˈki.ʃə] Put together: [aˈt͡ʃeʃ.tə ˈu.ʃə ˈes.te ɨnˈki.ʃə].

Can este be contracted to e, and is it correct?

Yes. Informally, Romanians often say ușa e închisă instead of ușa este închisă. In the same way, you could say această ușă e închisă in casual speech.

What’s the difference between această ușă (demonstrative before noun) and ușa aceasta (demonstrative after noun)?

Această ușă uses the demonstrative adjective directly before a bare noun.
Ușa aceasta uses the noun with its definite article (ușa) followed by the demonstrative pronoun aceasta. Grammatically both are correct; placing the demonstrative after can add slight emphasis on “the door.”

How would you say these doors are closed in Romanian?

You say Aceste uși sunt închise. Here:

aceste is the feminine plural demonstrative (“these”),
uși is the plural of ușă,
sunt is the 3rd-person plural of a fi (“to be”),
închise is the feminine plural past participle/adjective.

What sound does the letter ș represent?

The letter ș (s with a comma below) represents the /ʃ/ sound, like sh in English “ship.” It’s not a “soft sign” but a distinct Romanian letter.

Could we simply say Ușa este închisă without această, and what changes?

Yes. Ușa este închisă means “The door is closed.” Omitting această makes it a general statement about “the door” rather than “this specific door.” Use această when you want to point out “this door” in particular.