Learn Hardcore Romanian: Casa mea este aproape de parc.

casă = “a house” (indefinite)
casa = “the house” (definite)
Since you’re talking about “my house,” the noun must be in its definite form: casa.

Why is mea placed after the noun and not before it?

In Romanian the possessive pronoun always follows the noun and matches its gender and number. The pattern is:
noun (definite) + possessive pronoun
So Casa mea literally “house-the my,” meaning “my house.”

Why is it mea and not meu?

Possessive pronouns agree with the noun’s gender and number.

casa is feminine singular, so the pronoun is mea (fem. sing.).
If the noun were masculine singular, you would use meu.

What is the role of aproape and why does it appear with de?

aproape is an adverb meaning “near” or “close to.” When you express proximity to something, you use the fixed construction:
aproape de + noun.

Why isn’t there an article before parc, even though in English we say “the park”?

After the preposition de, Romanian normally drops the article: you simply say de + base noun.
Also, aproape de parc already means “near the park.” If you want to specify a particular park by name, you could use the definite form plus a proper name, e.g. aproape de Parcul Central (“near the Central Park”).

Can you omit este and just say Casa mea aproape de parc?

In standard Romanian, you need the copulative verb este (“is”) to form a complete statement. Dropping it is only acceptable in headlines, notes, or very casual contexts.

How do you pronounce aproape and where is the stress?

It’s pronounced [aˈpro.a.pe], with the stress on the second syllable: a-PRO-a-pe.

How would you say “My house is next to the park” using a different preposition?

To express “next to,” use lângă:
Casa mea este lângă parc.