Learn Hardcore Romanian: În apartamentul lor se vorbește română în bucătărie și în camera de zi. - In their apartment, Romanian is spoken in the kitchen and in the living room.

vorbește = (he/she/it) speaks (3rd person singular of a vorbi = to speak)
se = a reflexive/impersonal pronoun used here to create an impersonal meaning.

Together, „se vorbește română” literally means something like:

“Romanian is spoken”
or
“People speak Romanian / One speaks Romanian”

There is no explicit subject like people or they. Romanian often uses „se + 3rd person singular” to say that something is generally done in a place:

Aici se vorbește română. – Romanian is spoken here / People speak Romanian here.
În Italia se vorbește italiană. – Italian is spoken in Italy.

Why is it “se vorbește română” and not “româna este vorbită”?

You can say „româna este vorbită”, and it is grammatically correct, but:

„se vorbește română” is the natural, everyday way to say Romanian is spoken / People speak Romanian.
„româna este vorbită” sounds formal, bookish, or slightly stiff, and is much less common in speech.

So:

În apartamentul lor se vorbește română.
= In their apartment, Romanian is spoken / They speak Romanian there (normally/usually).

Native speakers strongly prefer the „se + verb” structure for this kind of general statement.

If the idea is that people speak Romanian, why is the verb singular (vorbește) and not plural?

In this impersonal „se” construction, the verb always appears in 3rd person singular, even if the implied doer (people, they) is plural.

Think of it as a general statement without a clear subject:

Se vorbește română. – Romanian is spoken / People speak Romanian.
Se fumează aici. – There is smoking here / People smoke here.
Se lucrează mult. – A lot of work is done / People work a lot.

So the grammar is:

se + 3rd person singular → impersonal, “they/people/one + verb” meaning.

What is the role of -ul in apartamentul?

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not in front like English.

apartament = apartment
apartamentul = the apartment (‑ul is the masculine singular definite article)

So:

în apartament – in an apartment / in (the) apartment (more general, less specific)
în apartamentul lor – in their apartment (a specific one)

The full phrase:

în apartamentul lor = in their apartment
- în – in
- apartamentul – the apartment
- lor – their

How does “lor” work in „apartamentul lor”? Why is it after the noun?

„lor” is the possessive form meaning “their”.

In Romanian, the most common pattern is:

[noun + definite article] + [possessive pronoun]

So:

apartamentul lor – their apartment
cartea lor – their book
copiii lor – their children

Unlike English, the possessive pronoun usually follows the noun, not precedes it.

Other possessives work the same way:

apartamentul meu – my apartment
apartamentul tău – your apartment (singular “you”)
apartamentul vostru – your apartment (plural “you”)

Note: „lor” is used regardless of the gender or number of the owners; it always stays lor.

Why is there no word for “the” before „română”?

In the sentence:

se vorbește română

„română” is the name of the language, used as a direct object of the verb a vorbi (to speak).
With a vorbi, languages are usually used without the definite article when you mean speak X language:

vorbesc română – I speak Romanian
vorbește engleză – He/she speaks English
vorbim franceză și germană – We speak French and German

If you do add the article (româna, engleza), it sounds more like the Romanian language, the English language as a topic:

Româna este o limbă romanică. – Romanian (the language) is a Romance language.
Îmi place engleza. – I like English (the language).

So here, „se vorbește română” follows the standard pattern with a vorbi + language (no article).

Why is „română” not capitalized, while English writes “Romanian” with a capital letter?

Romanian spelling rules are different from English:

Names of languages and nationalities are written with a lowercase letter in Romanian:
- română, engleză, franceză, spaniolă, etc.

They are treated as common nouns, not proper nouns. You capitalize them only if they are at the beginning of a sentence or part of a proper name.

So:

Vorbesc română. – I speak Romanian.
Limba română este frumoasă. – The Romanian language is beautiful.

Why do we say „în bucătărie” but „în camera de zi”? Why is only one of them clearly definite?

Grammatically:

bucătărie = kitchen (indefinite)
bucătăria = the kitchen (definite)
camera = the room (definite; from cameră)
camera de zi = the living room (literally the day room)

In everyday speech, „în bucătărie” normally means “in the kitchen”, not “in a kitchen”. For rooms of your own home/apartment, speakers often omit the definite article:

Sunt în bucătărie. – I’m in the kitchen.
Stă în dormitor. – He’s in the bedroom.

It’s understood from context that it’s the kitchen/bedroom of the place being talked about.

With „camera de zi”, the word camera already has the definite article (‑a), so:

în camera de zi = in the living room (clearly definite)

You could say „în bucătăria lor” (in their kitchen) if you really want to emphasize the specific kitchen, but „în bucătărie” is the usual, natural way.

Could I say “în bucătărie și în camera de zi” without repeating „în”, like “în bucătărie și camera de zi”?

Both are technically possible, but:

„în bucătărie și în camera de zi” is the most natural and clear version.
„în bucătărie și camera de zi” is understandable, but sounds a bit less natural and sometimes slightly sloppy in careful speech.

In Romanian, it’s very common (and often preferred) to repeat the preposition with each element:

cu mama și cu tata – with my mum and (with) my dad
la școală și la serviciu – at school and (at) work
în bucătărie și în camera de zi – in the kitchen and in the living room

So the sentence as given is stylistically good Romanian.

What exactly does „camera de zi” mean? Are there other words for living room?

Literally:

camera – the room
de zi – of day / for daytime

So „camera de zi” = the day room, i.e. the living room, the room where people spend the day, receive guests, watch TV, etc.

Romanian also uses:

sufragerie – living room / dining-living area (very common)
living – from English, used in colloquial speech and ads (living room / open-plan living area)

Your sentence could also be:

… în bucătărie și în sufragerie.
… în bucătărie și în living.

All would be understood as kitchen and living room.

Is the word order „În apartamentul lor se vorbește română …” fixed, or can I move things around?

Romanian word order is fairly flexible, especially for emphasis. These are all grammatical:

În apartamentul lor se vorbește română în bucătărie și în camera de zi.
– Neutral, standard: In their apartment, Romanian is spoken in the kitchen and in the living room.
Română se vorbește în bucătărie și în camera de zi în apartamentul lor.
– Emphasizes „română” (Romanian), sounds a bit more marked.
Se vorbește română în bucătărie și în camera de zi în apartamentul lor.
– Also possible; emphasis shifts slightly toward the places.

Basic rule for beginners:
Keep the structure:

[Place] + se vorbește + [language] + [more place details]

as in the original sentence. It’s clear and natural.

What does „În apartamentul lor…” imply exactly? Is it like “at their place / in their home”?

Yes, „în apartamentul lor” literally means:

„in their apartment”

It naturally corresponds to English “in their place” / “in their flat”, and in many contexts it simply functions as “at their home”:

În apartamentul lor se vorbește română…
– In their apartment (at their place), they speak Romanian…

A more general way of saying “at their home” would be:

La ei acasă se vorbește română. – At their place, Romanian is spoken.

But the given sentence is more specific: it tells you it’s an apartment and that inside that apartment, Romanian is spoken in those two rooms.