Learn Hardcore Romanian: Locul liniștit este aproape de parc.

In Romanian, the definite article is enclitic—it attaches to the end of the noun. For masculine singular nouns, you add -ul. So loc (“place”) + -ul = locul (“the place”). There is no separate word equivalent to English “the.”

Why does the adjective liniștit come after the noun locul, rather than before it as in English (“quiet place”)?

Standard Romanian word order places adjectives after the noun they modify. So you say loc liniștit (“place quiet”). Putting the adjective before the noun is possible for emphasis or poetic effect, but the normal pattern is noun + adjective.

How do I say “a quiet place” (indefinite) instead of “the quiet place”?

You need the indefinite article un for masculine singular:

Un loc liniștit = “a quiet place.”
The adjective and word order remain the same; you just add un in front.

Why is there no article before parc in aproape de parc? Aren’t we talking about “the park”?

With the expression aproape de (“near”), Romanian typically uses the noun in its bare form (no article) to indicate proximity in a general sense. Thus aproape de parc can mean “near the park” or “near a park.” If you want to refer to a specific, named park, you preserve the enclitic article:

aproape de Parcul Central (“near the Central Park”).

What case is parc in after the preposition de, and why doesn’t its ending change?

After de, Romanian uses the nominative/accusative form of the noun (i.e. the base form). There is no special case ending for proximity phrases, so parc stays exactly as in the dictionary.

What’s the difference between aproape de and lângă when saying “near”?

lângă implies immediate adjacency (“right next to”).
aproape de means “close by” but with some small distance.
Example:
• lângă casă = “right next to the house”
• aproape de casă = “near the house,” not necessarily touching it.

Could I use another verb instead of este to express “is”?

Yes. Este is the most common copula (from a fi, “to be”). In more formal or literary contexts, you might use se află:
• Locul liniștit se află aproape de parc.

How do I pronounce the letters ș in liniștit and c in parc?

ș is pronounced like English “sh” (/ʃ/). So liniștit = /liˈniʃtit/.
c before e or i would be soft (“ch”), but here parc ends in a hard c = /k/, so parc = /park/.