Learn Hardcore Romanian: Bunicul povestește o poveste veche despre munte. - Grandfather tells an old story about the mountain.

Bunicul has the definite article -ul attached to the end, so it means the grandfather (often understood as my grandfather or a specific one already known from context).

Romanian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

bunic = grandfather
bunicul = the grandfather
bunica = the grandmother
bunica mea = my grandmother

In many contexts where English would say my grandpa, Romanian will say Bunicul or Bunicul meu, depending on how explicit you want to be.

What exactly does povestește mean, and what verb is it from?

Povestește is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a povesti.

a povesti = to tell (a story), to narrate
el / ea povestește = he / she tells, he / she is telling

So Bunicul povestește means The grandfather tells / is telling (a story).

Compared with a spune (to say / to tell):

a povesti focuses on narrating a story, giving details.
a spune is broader: to say something, to tell something (not necessarily a story).

Isn’t povestește o poveste redundant, like saying “tells a telling”?

It can feel redundant to an English speaker, but in Romanian it is normal and natural.

povestește is the verb: tells / narrates
o poveste is the noun: a story

So povestește o poveste literally is tells a story, just like English tell a story (where tell and story are also related words).

You could also say:

Bunicul povestește. – The grandfather is telling stories / is talking (context implies what).
Bunicul spune o poveste. – The grandfather tells a story.

But povestește o poveste is perfectly fine and common.

Why is it o poveste and not un poveste?

Romanian has gendered nouns and matching articles:

poveste is a feminine noun (singular).
The feminine singular indefinite article is o.
The masculine/neuter singular indefinite article is un.

So:

o poveste = a story (feminine)
un băiat = a boy (masculine)

You must match o / un to the gender of the noun.

Why is the adjective after the noun in o poveste veche and not o veche poveste?

In Romanian, the default position of most adjectives is after the noun:

o poveste veche = an old story

This is the neutral, standard way to say it.

Putting some adjectives before the noun is also possible, but it often adds a nuance (more emotional, stylistic, or poetic):

o veche poveste can sound like a long‑ago story / an old, familiar story, with a slightly more literary or emotional tone.

So:

o poveste veche is very normal and neutral.
o veche poveste is more marked / expressive.

What does despre mean, and how is it different from de?

Despre means about (in the sense of “concerning, regarding”):

o poveste despre munte = a story about the mountain / about the mountain(s)

De is more general and can mean of, from, by, about depending on the expression, but you usually do not use de alone to mean “about (a topic)” in this context.

Compare:

o carte despre istorie = a book about history
o carte de istorie = a history book (a book of history) – more like describing the type of book, not its subject matter in the same way.

In your sentence, despre munte is correct because it truly means about the mountain.

Why is it despre munte (singular) and not despre munți (plural) or despre muntele (definite)?

Munte is mountain (singular, indefinite).

despre munte can mean about the mountain or about the mountain(s) / about the mountains in a more general sense, depending on context.
despre munți = about mountains (explicitly plural, more clearly about mountains in general or many mountains).
despre muntele X = about the mountain X (a specific named mountain).

In everyday speech, despre munte in singular is often used to talk about mountains in general (the mountain environment, mountain life, etc.), not necessarily one single physical mountain. Context clarifies the nuance.

Is munte in a special case after despre?

After despre, the noun is in the accusative case.

For many Romanian nouns, the nominative and accusative singular look the same, so you don’t see a visible change:

nominative: munte (the mountain, as subject)
accusative: despre munte (about the mountain, as object of the preposition)

So grammatically it is accusative, but the form munte does not change.

Does povestește mean “tells” or “is telling”? How do you say the continuous tense in Romanian?

Romanian present tense usually covers both English simple present and present continuous.

So Bunicul povestește o poveste veche despre munte can be translated as:

The grandfather tells an old story about the mountain.
The grandfather is telling an old story about the mountain.

Context decides which English tense sounds better.

There is also a periphrastic form with a fi + gerund, but it is less common and often more literary or stylistic. For everyday speech, the simple present (povestește) is used for both meanings.

Can the word order be changed, like Bunicul povestește despre munte o poveste veche?

You can sometimes change word order in Romanian, but not all orders sound equally natural.

Bunicul povestește o poveste veche despre munte. – very natural.
Bunicul povestește despre munte o poveste veche. – possible, but sounds unusual / marked; you would normally keep o poveste veche together as a unit.

For noun + adjective + complements, the most neutral order is:

verb + [indefinite article + noun + adjective] + other complements

So it is best to keep o poveste veche together.

How do you pronounce povestește and what does the letter ș represent?

Povestește is pronounced approximately: po-ve-STESH-te.

Syllables: po-ves-teș-te
Stress: on -teș- (the third syllable).

The letter ș represents the sound /ʃ/, like sh in English “she”:

ș = “sh” sound
povește would be wrong spelling; it must be povestește with ș.

So: po-ve-(sh)-te.