Cămașa albastră este curată.

The blue shirt is clean.

Breakdown of Cămașa albastră este curată.

• a fi: to be
• curat: clean
• cămașa: the shirt
• albastru: blue

Questions & Answers about Cămașa albastră este curată.

Why does cămașa end in -a rather than using a separate word for “the”?

In Romanian the definite article is not a separate word but an enclitic suffix. The base noun is cămașă (“shirt,” feminine singular). To say “the shirt,” you attach -a: cămașă + a → cămașa.

How would I say “a blue shirt” (indefinite)?

Use the indefinite article o before the noun and keep the adjective in the short form:
o cămașă albastră
– o = “a” (feminine)
– cămașă = “shirt”
– albastră = “blue” (feminine singular)

Why does albastră end in -ă instead of -u?

Romanian adjectives agree in gender and number with their noun. Albastru is the masculine form (“blue” for a masculine noun). For a feminine singular noun you replace -u with -ă, yielding albastră.

Why is the adjective placed after the noun, rather than before as in English?

The default attributive order in Romanian is noun + adjective. Putting the adjective before the noun is possible but less common and often adds emphasis or a poetic tone.