Înainte de cină, Ana pune ciorba la microunde.

Înainte de means before when it is followed by a noun.

• înainte = before / in front
• de = of

So:

• înainte de cină = before dinner
• înainte de film = before the movie

Romanian uses the full expression înainte de + noun.

Here, cină is used without the definite article because Romanian often leaves meal names indefinite in general time expressions.

• înainte de cină = before dinner
• după cină = after dinner

If you say cina, it usually sounds more specific: the dinner.

So:

• înainte de cină = before dinner, in general
• înainte de cina pregătită de Ana = before the dinner prepared by Ana

Pune is the 3rd person singular form of a pune, which usually means to put, to place, or to set.

In this sentence:

• Ana pune ciorba la microunde

it literally means Ana puts the soup in/into the microwave.

Depending on the English translation, it can also sound like Ana heats the soup in the microwave, because that is the natural meaning in context.

Ciorba means the soup, while ciorbă means soup in a general sense.

Romanian often uses the definite article when talking about a specific thing already understood in the situation.

So here:

• ciorba = the soup

It suggests a particular soup that Ana is dealing with, not soup in general.

Examples:

• Mănânc ciorbă. = I eat soup.
• Mănânc ciorba. = I eat the soup.

Both can be translated as soup, but they are not exactly the same in Romanian.

• supă usually means a clearer, milder soup
• ciorbă usually means a more traditional Romanian sour soup, often with vegetables and meat

So ciorbă is a specific kind of soup, not just any soup.

Yes, literally la microunde looks like at the microwaves, but in normal Romanian it means in the microwave.

This is a common shortened expression from:

• cuptor cu microunde = microwave oven

So:

• a pune ceva la microunde = to put something in the microwave / to microwave something

This is idiomatic Romanian. English and Romanian do not always use the same preposition.

Yes. It is short for la cuptorul cu microunde or based on cuptor cu microunde.

In everyday speech, Romanians very often just say:

• la microunde

Examples:

• Pun laptele la microunde. = I put the milk in the microwave.
• Încălzesc mâncarea la microunde. = I heat the food in the microwave.

Romanian word order is fairly flexible. This sentence starts with the time expression to set the scene:

• Înainte de cină = before dinner

Then comes:

• Ana = subject
• pune = verb
• ciorba = object
• la microunde = place / destination expression

This order is very natural, but other orders are possible too, for example:

• Ana pune ciorba la microunde înainte de cină.

That means the same thing, just with slightly different emphasis.

Yes, Romanian often drops subject pronouns, but not usually names.

Because pune already shows he/she puts, you could say:

• Înainte de cină, pune ciorba la microunde.

But without Ana, the subject would have to be understood from context: he/she puts the soup in the microwave.

Using Ana makes it clear exactly who is doing the action.

Pune is present tense, 3rd person singular, from a pune.

So it means:

• she puts
• he puts

In context, the Romanian present can describe:

• a habitual action: Before dinner, Ana puts the soup in the microwave
• a simple present narrative description

It comes from a pune = to put.

Present tense:

• eu pun = I put
• tu pui = you put
• el/ea pune = he/she puts
• noi punem = we put
• voi puneți = you all put
• ei/ele pun = they put

So Ana pune means Ana puts.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

uhn-EYEN-te de CHEE-nuh, AH-na POO-ne CHOR-ba la mee-kroh-OON-de

A few helpful points:

• â / î is a Romanian vowel with no exact English equivalent
• ci in cină sounds like chee
• cio in ciorba sounds like chor
• u is usually like oo in food

This is only approximate, but it helps as a starting point.

Yes. In everyday English, we might simply say to microwave the soup. Romanian often expresses that idea with:

• a pune la microunde = to put in the microwave
• a încălzi la microunde = to heat in the microwave

So depending on context, the sentence may sound more natural in English as:

• Before dinner, Ana microwaves the soup.

even though the Romanian literally says puts the soup in the microwave.