Learn Hardcore Romanian: Piperul este prea picant pentru copii. - The pepper is too spicy for the children.

The -ul is the masculine singular definite article attached to the noun. In Romanian, unlike English, you attach the definite article at the end of the noun. So piper (pepper) becomes piperul (the pepper).

Why is the adjective picant in the masculine singular form and not feminine or plural?

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Here piperul is masculine singular, so the adjective stays picant. If you talked about mâncarea (feminine singular), you’d say picantă, and for condimentele (feminine plural) you’d say picante.

What does prea mean and how is it different from foarte?

prea means “too” in the sense of “excessively,” indicating that something goes beyond a desirable limit. foarte means “very,” intensifying a quality without implying it’s excessive. So prea picant is “too spicy,” while foarte picant would be “very spicy.”

Why isn’t there an article before copii?

Nouns after prepositions (like pentru) usually appear in their unmarked (indefinite) form. Here copii is the plural indefinite form of copil, meaning “children” in general. If you said pentru copiii, it would mean “for the children” with a specific group in mind.

Can we replace pentru with another preposition or drop it?

In this context, pentru means “for” and is the correct choice. You cannot drop it, because English “too spicy for children” needs pentru in Romanian. Other prepositions like la or pe don’t convey the same meaning, and leaving it out would be ungrammatical.

Can I say Piperul este prea picant copiilor instead of using pentru?

No, that direct construction doesn’t work in Romanian. To express “too spicy for children” you need pentru plus the noun in the indefinite case. If you want a dative construction, you must change the verb:
Piperul li se pare prea picant copiilor (“The pepper seems too spicy to the children”).

Is picant a borrowed word? Are there other ways to say “spicy”?

Yes, picant comes from French piquant. A native Romanian word for “spicy” or “hot” is iute. You could say Piperul este prea iute pentru copii, which sounds more colloquial.

How do you pronounce Piperul este prea picant pentru copii?

An approximate phonetic transcription is:
[piˈperul ˈeste ˈprea piˈkant penˈtru koˈpii]
Stress falls on the second syllable of piperul, este, picant, pentru, and copii. Each vowel is pronounced clearly, and Romanian consonants are generally crisp.