Bunica spune că brânza și ceapa sunt bune și pentru ciorbă.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• bunică = grandmother / grandma
• bunica = the grandmother / grandma

In family speech, Romanian often uses the definite form where English simply uses a family title, so Bunica spune... can naturally mean Grandma says...

For the same reason: Romanian attaches the definite article to the noun.

• brânză = cheese
• brânza = the cheese
• ceapă = onion
• ceapa = the onion

But there is an extra point here: Romanian often uses the definite form for things spoken of in a general sense, especially with foods and categories. So brânza și ceapa may mean specific cheese and onion in context, but it can also sound quite natural in a more general statement, where English might just say cheese and onion.

Că means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• Bunica spune = Grandma says
• că brânza și ceapa sunt bune... = that cheese and onion are good...

Unlike English, Romanian usually keeps că in sentences like this. English often drops that; Romanian normally does not.

Spune is the 3rd person singular present form of a spune = to say / to tell.

It is 3rd person singular because the subject is bunica = Grandma.

• eu spun = I say
• tu spui = you say
• ea spune = she says

So Bunica spune literally means Grandma says.

Because the subject is plural.

Even though brânza and ceapa are each singular by themselves, they are joined by și = and, so together they form a plural subject:

• brânza = singular
• ceapa = singular
• brânza și ceapa = plural

That is why Romanian uses sunt = are, not este = is.

Because the adjective has to agree with the nouns in number and gender.

Here the subject is:

• plural, because there are two things
• feminine, because both brânza and ceapa are feminine nouns

So the adjective is feminine plural:

• bună = feminine singular
• bune = feminine plural

That is why Romanian says sunt bune = are good.

Because și can mean not only and, but also also / too.

So in this sentence, the two și words do different jobs:

• brânza și ceapa = the cheese and the onion
• și pentru ciorbă = also for soup

So the sentence means something like Grandma says that cheese and onion are also good for soup.

Because after pentru = for, Romanian often uses the noun without the definite article when speaking generally.

So:

• pentru ciorbă = for soup / for making soup
• pentru ciorba asta = for this soup
• pentru ciorba de azi = for today’s soup

Here it is a general use, not a specific already-identified soup, so ciorbă without the article is natural.

Literally it means for soup, but in natural English it often means something like:

• good for soup
• good in soup
• good for making soup

Romanian pentru is literally for, but in food contexts it can imply suitability or use in a dish.

Not exactly. Ciorbă is a specific Romanian type of soup, usually with a sour or tangy taste. It is often translated simply as soup, but culturally it is more specific than that.

So if you see ciorbă, a more exact gloss is something like Romanian sour soup, though in many translations soup is enough.

Yes, Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but changing it can change the emphasis.

The original sentence is a natural neutral version:

• Bunica spune că brânza și ceapa sunt bune și pentru ciorbă.

You could also say:

• Bunica spune că și brânza, și ceapa sunt bune pentru ciorbă.

That version emphasizes both cheese and onion.

So the original sentence focuses more on they are also good for soup, while the alternative can focus more on both items.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Bunica spune că brânza și ceapa sunt bune și pentru ciorbă
boo-NEE-ka SPOO-neh kuh BRUHN-zuh shi CHA-pa soont BOO-neh shi PEN-troo CHYOR-buh

A few useful sound notes:

• ă is a short neutral vowel, like the a in sofa
• â is a Romanian vowel that English does not really have; uh is only an approximation
• ș is sh
• ce before a vowel sounds like che in check
• ci before a vowel sounds like chy

So:

• că ≈ kuh
• brânza ≈ bruhn-zuh
• ceapa ≈ cha-pa
• ciorbă ≈ chyor-buh