Learn Hardcore Romanian: Lumina de la fereastră cade pe pian, dar întunericul din pădure este adânc. - The light from the window falls on the piano, but the darkness in the forest is deep.

de la is a compound preposition meaning from or coming from. It indicates the origin point of something. In this sentence it tells us that the light originates from the window. Grammatically, de expresses the idea of origin or separation and la specifies the location. They combine into de la whenever you want to say “from the [location].”

Why is it din pădure and not de pădure?

Romanian uses two different prepositions to express “from.” Use de la when you refer to a specific point or surface (e.g. de la fereastră – from the window) and din when you talk about coming out of an enclosed space or an area (e.g. din casă – out of the house, din pădure – from the forest).

Why are fereastră, pian and pădure all without an article here?

After most prepositions indicating location or origin (like la, de la, din, pe), Romanian normally uses the noun in its indefinite (article-free) form when you mean “at a place” or “from a place.” You’re not emphasizing “that specific window” or “that specific piano”; you’re describing locations or surfaces in a general way. Hence: de la fereastră, pe pian, din pădure.
Note that the main nouns whose actions or states are described (light and darkness) do carry a definite article (lumina, întunericul).

How do the endings -a in lumina and -ul in întunericul work?

Romanian places the definite article at the end of the noun as a suffix. Feminine nouns take -a (lumină → lumina), masculine/neuter nouns take -ul (întuneric → întunericul). So lumina = “the light” and întunericul = “the darkness.”

What does the verb cade mean here?

cade is the 3rd person singular present indicative of a cădea (to fall). Literally it means “it falls.” In this context lumina cade pe pian translates to “the light falls on the piano” (i.e. it shines or lands there).

Why do we use pe in pe pian?

In Romanian pe is used to express the idea of “on” when talking about something landing or lying on a surface. It’s the equivalent of English on the piano. If you said pianul, you’d attach the article: pe pianul (“on the piano”), but again with the spatial sense you drop the article for a general location: pe pian.

What function does dar serve, and can it be replaced?

dar means but and introduces a contrast between the two clauses: the brightness on the piano vs. the depth of darkness in the forest. In more formal Romanian you could also use însă in place of dar. You wouldn’t use și (“and”) here because it doesn’t express contrast.

Why is adânc placed after este, and what does it mean?

adânc means deep. When you describe a property of the subject through the verb este (to be), Romanian places the adjective after the verb: întunericul este adânc = “the darkness is deep.” It’s the normal adjective-predicate order.

How do I pronounce the diacritics î and ă in întunericul, pădure and lumina?

ă (in pădure, lumina) is a schwa sound, like the ‘a’ in English “sofa.”
î (in întunericul) is pronounced [ɨ], a central unrounded vowel. It’s similar to the English unstressed ‘i’ in “roses,” but more central.

What are the genders of lumina, fereastră, pian and pădure, and how do they affect agreement?

lumină is feminine (definite form lumina).
fereastră is feminine (indefinite here after preposition).
pian is neuter (behaves like masculine in singular, feminine in plural; definite pianul).
pădure is feminine (indefinite pădure, definite pădurea).

Adjectives and articles agree with gender (e.g. întunericul uses masculine/neuter -ul, lumina uses feminine -a).