Learn Hardcore Romanian: Cadourile stau pe masă în bucătărie până când oaspeții sună la ușă. - The gifts stay on the table in the kitchen until the guests ring at the door.

Why is the definite article attached at the end of the noun in cadourile, oaspeții, ușa, instead of using a separate word like in English (the gifts, the guests, the door)?

Romanian uses a postposed (enclitic) definite article: it attaches to the end of the noun instead of standing before it as a separate word.

cadou = gift
cadouri = gifts
cadourile = the gifts
oaspeți = guests
oaspeții = the guests
ușă = door
ușa = the door

This is just how the language evolved (similar to Bulgarian and other Balkan languages). Whenever you want to say the + noun, you normally add an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

How is cadourile formed exactly, and what is the singular form?

The pattern is:

Singular: cadou = a gift
Plural: cadouri = gifts
Plural definite: cadourile = the gifts

So the steps are:

Add -uri to form the plural: cadou → cadouri
Add the definite article -le to the plural: cadouri → cadourile

Many neuter nouns follow this pattern: -ou → -ouri → -urile (spelled a bit differently depending on the word, but with the same idea).

Why is stau used here and not sunt? In English we say “The gifts are on the table.”

Both verbs exist in Romanian, but they’re used differently:

a fi = to be (sunt, they are)
a sta = to stay, to sit, to stand, to remain, to be located (stau, they stay / they are staying)

In this sentence, Cadourile stau pe masă suggests that:

the gifts are resting/placed on the table
and they remain there until something happens.

You could say Cadourile sunt pe masă, and it would be correct, but:

stau pe masă gives a slightly more dynamic or situational feel (they are sitting there, waiting).
sunt pe masă is a more neutral description of location.

Native speakers often use a sta to talk about things that are placed somewhere:
Cartea stă pe raft. = The book is (sitting) on the shelf.

What exactly does pe masă mean, and why is the preposition pe used instead of something like la?

pe masă literally means on the table.

pe = on (in contact with a surface)
masă = table
masă → masă (here it’s definite because the phrase is specific: pe masă = on the table)

In Romanian, you use:

pe for on a surface:
- pe masă = on the table
- pe birou = on the desk
- pe pat = on the bed
la usually means at / to (a place, a person, an event):
- la masă = at the table (eating / sitting)
- la școală = at school
- la doctor = at the doctor’s

So pe masă focuses on physical position on top of a surface, while la masă would more likely mean at the table (for a meal, working, etc.).

Why is it în bucătărie and not something like la bucătărie?

în means in / inside, and bucătărie means kitchen.

în bucătărie = in the kitchen (inside the room)
la bucătărie would sound unusual in this context; it might be interpreted as at the kitchen (area) in some very specific contexts (e.g. in a restaurant), but it’s not standard for “in the kitchen.”

For rooms and enclosed spaces, Romanian usually uses:

în cameră = in the room
în baie = in the bathroom
în bucătărie = in the kitchen

So Cadourile stau pe masă în bucătărie = The gifts are on the table in the kitchen (the kitchen is the room they are in).

Why is it până când instead of just până for “until”?

Both până and până când exist:

până = until (can be followed by a time expression, noun, or clause)
până când = literally until when, used before a full clause with a verb

In this sentence, we have a full clause:

oaspeții sună la ușă = the guests ring at the door

When you introduce a full clause expressing the moment something happens, până când is very natural:

până când oaspeții sună la ușă = until (the moment when) the guests ring the doorbell

You could also hear până când shortened to just până in speech:

…până oaspeții sună la ușă.

But până când is clearer and a bit more formal or careful.

In până când oaspeții sună la ușă, why is the verb sună in the present tense? In English we might say “until the guests ring” or “will ring”.

Romanian often uses the present tense in subordinate time clauses (after când, până când, dacă, etc.), even when English might use a future form.

până când oaspeții sună la ușă
literally: until the guests ring at the door
meaning: until the guests ring / ring the doorbell

You can say:

…până când oaspeții vor suna la ușă.

This is also grammatically correct, but many speakers feel the simple present sounds more natural in this type of time clause.

So:

Main clause can refer to present or future.
Subordinate clause after până când usually uses present tense even when talking about a future event.

What does sună la ușă literally mean? Is sună “to ring” or “to call”?

The verb a suna can mean both:

to ring (a bell, an alarm, a phone)
to call (on the phone)

The exact meaning depends on context:

sună la ușă = they ring at the door → they ring the doorbell
sună la telefon = call on the phone
mă sună = he/she/they call me (phone)

So in this sentence:

oaspeții sună la ușă = the guests ring at the door (they ring the doorbell).

Why is it la ușă and not pe ușă?

Here are the differences:

la ușă = at the door (location, near the door)
pe ușă = on the door (physically on its surface) or through the door in some expressions

In this sentence:

sună la ușă means ring at the door (ring the doorbell at the entrance).
You’re indicating the place where they ring.

pe ușă would be used differently:

un afiș pe ușă = a poster on the door
a ieșit pe ușă = he/she went out through the door

So sună la ușă is the fixed, natural expression for “ring the doorbell.”

Why is masă without a visible article in pe masă, if it means “on the table”?

Romanian often builds fixed prepositional phrases where the noun is understood as definite, even though you don’t see a separate “the.”

Some of these behave like set expressions:

pe masă = on the table
la masă = at the table (eating / seated)
în bucătărie = in the kitchen

In pe masă, native speakers understand it as on the table (not just on a table), because:

the sentence context is specific (we know which table: the one in the kitchen), and
the phrase pe masă is very common and usually refers to a specific surface in context.

If you wanted to strongly emphasize the definiteness you might do it differently with more context, but pe masă already works as on the table in normal usage.

Can the word order be changed, for example: În bucătărie, cadourile stau pe masă până când oaspeții sună la ușă?

Yes, Romanian allows some flexibility in word order, especially for emphasis.

Your version:

În bucătărie, cadourile stau pe masă până când oaspeții sună la ușă.

is perfectly correct. The nuance:

Starting with În bucătărie emphasizes the location first: In the kitchen, the gifts are on the table…
The original order Cadourile stau pe masă în bucătărie… is more neutral, presenting the gifts first.

Other possible, still natural orders include:

Cadourile stau în bucătărie, pe masă, până când… (slight emphasis on “in the kitchen”)

The basic sequence of the main elements is maintained, but you can move phrases like în bucătărie to the front for stylistic reasons.

How do you pronounce cadourile and oaspeții?

Approximate pronunciations (using English-like spelling):

cadourile → kah-DOH-ree-leh
- ca- like kah
- -dou- like doh
- -ri- like ree
- -le like leh
oaspeții → WAHS-peh-tsi
- oa is one syllable, similar to wah
- -spe- like speh
- -ții = tsee (a ts sound + long ee)

Stress:

caDOUrile (stress on dou)
OASpeții (stress on the first syllable)