Elevul este la fel de liniștit ca eleva la curs.

La fel de ... ca is the normal way to express equality, just like English “as ... as”.

• la fel de = equally / as …
• ca = as

So:

• la fel de liniștit ca = as quiet/calm as

This pattern is very productive:

• la fel de înalt ca el – as tall as him
• la fel de interesant ca filmul – as interesting as the movie

The adjective agrees with the first noun it describes, not with the second one in the comparison.

The structure is:

• Elevul (masculine, singular) este la fel de liniștit
• ca eleva (feminine, singular)

So liniștit must be:

• masculine
• singular

If you started the sentence with the girl, the adjective would change:

• Eleva este la fel de liniștită ca elevul la curs.
  (The female student is as quiet as the male student in class.)

Both mean “pupil / school student”, but they mark gender:

• elevul = the male pupil (masculine, singular, definite)
• eleva = the female pupil (feminine, singular, definite)

In practice:

• For a generic “student” you might also hear elev (no article) or student / studentă (especially for university level).
• In this sentence, the contrast elevul / eleva makes it clear one is male and one is female.

Romanian usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun, instead of putting “the” before it.

• elev = pupil, student
  elevul = the pupil (male)
• elevă = pupil, student (female)
  eleva = the pupil (female)

So:

• Elevul = the male pupil
• Eleva = the female pupil

This is a regular pattern:

• băiat → băiatul (boy → the boy)
• fată → fata (girl → the girl)

La curs literally means “at (the) class / during the class”.

• la is a very flexible preposition:
  • la școală – at school
  • la birou – at the office
  • la film – at the movie

In this sentence, la curs tells you when / where they’re quiet:

• not in general as people,
• but in class, in the context of a lesson.

Yes, Romanian allows some flexibility in word order, especially with short phrases.

All of these are grammatically correct, with slight differences in emphasis:

• Elevul este la fel de liniștit ca eleva la curs.
  (neutral; “in class” feels closest to the girl)
• Elevul este la curs la fel de liniștit ca eleva.
  (focus more on “in class” for the boy)
• La curs, elevul este la fel de liniștit ca eleva.
  (emphasizes the setting: In class, the boy is as quiet as the girl.)

The basic comparative structure este la fel de [adj] ca [noun] stays the same.

Yes. e is simply a shorter, very common form of este (3rd person singular of “to be”).

• Elevul este la fel de liniștit ca eleva la curs.
• Elevul e la fel de liniștit ca eleva la curs.

Both are correct. E sounds a bit more informal / conversational, but it’s widely used even in fairly neutral speech and writing.

Yes, a few common alternatives:

• Elevul este tot atât de liniștit ca eleva la curs.
  (The boy is just as quiet as the girl in class.)
• Elevul este la fel de liniștit ca și eleva la curs.
  (as quiet as the girl too – very common in speech, though some grammarians dislike ca și here.)
• Elevul este la fel de calm ca eleva la curs.
  (focuses more on calm than silent.)

The most standard and neutral is still:

• Elevul este la fel de liniștit ca eleva la curs.

You need plural forms for both nouns and the adjective:

• Elevii sunt la fel de liniștiți ca elevele la curs.

Breakdown:

• elevii – the pupils (boys / mixed group)
• elevele – the female pupils
• sunt – are
• liniștiți – masculine plural form of liniștit
• la curs – in class

Adjectives must agree with the first noun:

• elevii (masc. plural) → liniștiți (masc. plural)

Liniștit can mean both “quiet” and “calm”, depending on context:

• un copil liniștit – usually a well-behaved, calm, not noisy child
• stă liniștit în bancă – he sits quietly/calmly at his desk

Compared with:

• tăcut – silent, not speaking much (focus on speaking)
• calm – calm (emotional state more than noise level)

In la curs, liniștit naturally suggests “not disturbing the class”, so something between quiet and well-behaved/calm.

Pronunciation of liniștit: roughly lee-neeSH-TEET.

• li – like lee
• ni – like nee
• ș – like “sh” in ship
• ti – like tee
• t – final t is pronounced clearly

Special letters:

• ș / Ș – sh sound
• ț / Ț – ts sound (as in cats)

So:

• ș in liniștit → sh
• If you see linistit without diacritics, it’s just a typographical simplification; the intended word is liniștit.