Learn Hardcore Romanian: O stea strălucește deasupra casei.

O is the feminine indefinite article in Romanian (equivalent to English a or an when the noun is feminine). Un is the masculine indefinite article. Since stea (“star”) is a feminine noun, we use o stea to mean “a star.”

How do you conjugate the verb străluci (“to shine”) in the present tense for “it”?

In the present tense, străluci is conjugated as follows: • eu strălucesc
• tu strălucești
• el/ea strălucește
Here, strălucește is the third-person singular (“he/she/it shines”).

What does the preposition deasupra require, and why is it followed by casei?

Deasupra (“above”) is a preposition that governs the genitive case in Romanian. The noun casa (“the house”) in the genitive singular becomes casei. Therefore deasupra casei means “above the house.”

How would you say “above a house” instead of “above the house”?

You would use the indefinite genitive form unei case. So “above a house” is deasupra unei case. Here, unei is the feminine indefinite genitive article.

Why does casei end with -ei?

In Romanian, feminine singular nouns ending in -ă form the genitive (and dative) by replacing -ă with -ei. So: • nominative/accusative indefinite: casă (“a house”)
• nominative/accusative definite: casa (“the house”)
• genitive/dative definite: casei (“of the house”/“to the house”)

Are diacritics mandatory in words like strălucește and stea?

Yes. Official Romanian spelling uses diacritics (ă, â, ș, ț, etc.) to distinguish sounds and sometimes different words. While they’re often dropped informally online, it’s best practice to include them for clarity and correctness.

Where is the stress in strălucește?

The primary stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable: stră-lu-CE-ște (on CE). Many Romanian words follow the rule of stressing the third syllable from the end, though there are exceptions.