Nu reușesc să deschid ușa.

Nu is the normal Romanian word for negation, equivalent to not.

In Romanian, nu usually goes directly before the verb:

• reușesc = I manage / I succeed
• nu reușesc = I do not manage / I can’t manage

So in this sentence, nu negates the main verb reușesc.

Reușesc is the 1st person singular, present tense form of a reuși, meaning to manage, to succeed, or to be able to accomplish something.

So:

• eu reușesc = I manage
• tu reușești = you manage
• el/ea reușește = he/she manages

In this sentence, Romanian drops the subject pronoun eu because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

Here, reușesc already means I manage, so eu is not necessary.

You could say:

• Eu nu reușesc să deschid ușa.

But that sounds more emphatic, as if you are stressing I:

• I’m the one who can’t open the door.

The version without eu is the most natural neutral form.

Să is a very important Romanian particle. In sentences like this, it introduces the subjunctive form of the next verb.

After verbs such as:

• a vrea = to want
• a putea = to be able
• a încerca = to try
• a reuși = to manage

Romanian usually uses să + verb rather than an infinitive.

So Romanian says:

• reușesc să deschid

instead of using something like to open directly the way English does.

This is one of the biggest structural differences between English and Romanian.

Because after să, Romanian normally uses a conjugated verb, not the infinitive.

• a deschide = the infinitive, to open
• deschid = I open

So:

• să deschid literally means something like that I open / for me to open, but in natural English it corresponds to to open

This is normal Romanian grammar:

• Vreau să plec. = I want to leave.
• Pot să vin. = I can come.
• Încerc să înțeleg. = I’m trying to understand.

Yes. Deschid is the 1st person singular form of a deschide.

In this sentence, both verbs refer to the same subject:

• reușesc = I manage
• să deschid = to open / that I open

So the full structure is basically:

• I do not manage [for me] to open the door

Even though English does not say it that way, that is the Romanian pattern.

Ușa means the door.

The basic noun is:

• ușă = a door

Romanian often attaches the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word in front.

So:

• ușă = a door
• ușa = the door

This is a very important Romanian feature:

• casă = house
• casa = the house
• fată = girl
• fata = the girl

So ușa is the definite form.

Many feminine nouns in -ă form the singular definite by changing -ă to -a.

So:

• ușă → ușa
• masă → masa
• floare → floarea (this one follows a slightly different pattern because of its ending)

You do not need to think of this as a separate word being added in the same way English adds the. In Romanian, the article is usually attached to the noun.

Ușa is pronounced approximately OO-sha.

A few details:

• u sounds like oo in food
• ș sounds like sh in shoe
• final a is like a in father in many Romanian pronunciation guides

So:

• ușă ≈ OO-shuh
• ușa ≈ OO-sha

The difference between ușă and ușa is not just grammar; you can also hear the different ending.

A rough pronunciation is reh-oo-SHESK.

Helpful points:

• reu is pronounced as separate vowels, not like one English vowel sound
• ș = sh
• esc at the end sounds like esk

Romanian pronunciation is usually fairly regular, so once you learn letters like ș and ă, reading gets much easier.

This is the most neutral and natural word order:

1. Nu = negation
2. reușesc = main verb
3. să deschid = subordinate verb phrase
4. ușa = object

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but this version is the standard one.

For example, you might also hear:

• Nu reușesc să deschid eu ușa.
  if the speaker wants to stress I am the one unable to open it.

But the original sentence is the best basic pattern to learn.

They are close, but not exactly the same.

• Nu pot să deschid ușa = I cannot open the door
  This focuses on ability or possibility.

• Nu reușesc să deschid ușa = I’m not managing to open the door
  This suggests an attempt is being made, but it is not succeeding.

So nu reușesc often feels a bit more like:

• I can’t get it open
• I’m unable to manage it
• I’m failing to open it

That nuance is useful in everyday speech.

In normal modern Romanian, after a reuși, the natural construction is să + subjunctive:

• reușesc să deschid

Using the infinitive here would sound unnatural or archaic to most learners’ ears.

This is one reason English speakers have to get used to Romanian patterns rather than trying to map English grammar directly onto them.

The dictionary forms are:

• a reuși = to manage / to succeed
• a deschide = to open

Romanian dictionaries usually list verbs with a before them, which marks the infinitive:

• a face = to do / to make
• a merge = to go
• a veni = to come

So when you see reușesc and deschid, those are conjugated forms of the dictionary verbs above.