De obicei, un coleg lipsește când copilul lui este bolnav.

De obicei means usually or as a rule.

In this sentence, it comes at the beginning: De obicei, un coleg lipsește...

That is very natural in Romanian, just like Usually, a colleague is absent... in English.

It can also appear in other positions, depending on emphasis, for example:

• Un coleg lipsește de obicei când copilul lui este bolnav.

Both are grammatical, but placing de obicei first is a common way to set the general tone of the sentence.

The comma after de obicei is also normal when it appears at the beginning as an introductory phrase.

Un coleg means a colleague, while colegul means the colleague.

So:

• un coleg = a colleague / one colleague
• colegul = the colleague

In this sentence, Romanian uses un coleg because it is talking about a general or typical colleague, not a specific one already known in the conversation.

So the sentence has the sense of:

• Usually, a colleague is absent when his child is sick rather than
• Usually, the colleague is absent...

The ending -ul is the definite article in Romanian. Unlike English, Romanian usually attaches the to the end of the noun.

So:

• copil = child
• copilul = the child

This is one of the most important features of Romanian grammar.

In this sentence:

• copilul lui = his child / literally the child of him

Romanian often uses the definite form in expressions of possession like this.

Romanian often shows possession with:

• the definite noun
• plus a possessive form such as lui, ei, etc.

So:

• copilul lui = his child
• copilul ei = her child

Literally, copilul lui is something like the child of him, but in normal English we translate it as his child.

Romanian also has possessive adjectives such as său / sa / săi / sale, but in everyday speech lui and ei are very common and often sound more natural.

In form, lui historically works like of him / to him, but in this sentence it functions as the normal way to say his after a noun.

So:

• copilul lui = his child

You do not need to translate it word-for-word. In natural English, it is simply his.

Lipsește comes from the verb a lipsi.

In this kind of sentence, a lipsi usually means:

• to be absent
• to miss work/school
• not to be present

So:

• un coleg lipsește = a colleague is absent

Depending on context, it can also mean is missing, but here the intended meaning is clearly is absent.

Related forms:

• a lipsi de la muncă = to be absent from work
• a lipsi de la școală = to miss school

Romanian uses the present tense for habitual actions, just like English often does.

So:

• De obicei... lipsește = Usually... is absent / misses work

This present tense does not mean only right now. It can also describe:

• habits
• routines
• general truths
• repeated situations

So the sentence means a usual pattern, not a single event.

Când means when.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• când copilul lui este bolnav = when his child is sick

So the structure is:

• main clause: un coleg lipsește
• time clause: când copilul lui este bolnav

Romanian uses când very much like English when.

In Romanian, when you say someone is something, you normally use the verb a fi (to be) plus an adjective.

So:

• copilul lui este bolnav = his child is sick

You need the verb:

• este = is

Without it, the sentence would be incomplete in standard Romanian.

Also, Romanian often uses:

• este = is
• e = is

So a more conversational version would be:

• copilul lui e bolnav

Both are correct.

Bolnav is a masculine singular adjective here because it describes copilul, which is masculine singular.

Agreement in Romanian matters:

• masculine singular: bolnav
• feminine singular: bolnavă
• masculine plural: bolnavi
• feminine plural: bolnave

Examples:

• copilul este bolnav = the child is sick
• fata este bolnavă = the girl is sick
• copiii sunt bolnavi = the children are sick

So bolnav is the correct form because copilul is masculine singular.

In Romanian, the normal order is:

• noun + possessive marker

So:

• copilul lui = his child
• casa ei = her house

Putting lui before the noun would not be normal in this structure.

Romanian possession often works differently from English:

• English: his child
• Romanian: child-the his

That may feel unusual at first, but it is a standard Romanian pattern.

Yes, un coleg can sometimes mean either:

• a colleague
• one colleague

But in this sentence, the most natural interpretation is the indefinite one: a colleague in a general sense.

Because of de obicei (usually), the sentence sounds like a general statement about what tends to happen, not like it is emphasizing the number one.

If Romanian wanted to stress one particular colleague, the context or intonation would usually make that clearer.

Yes, generally:

• este is the full form
• e is the shorter, very common everyday form

So:

• copilul lui este bolnav = slightly more careful or neutral
• copilul lui e bolnav = very natural in speech

Both are correct. In writing, especially in learning materials or more careful style, you will often see este.

A helpful approximation is leep-SESH-teh.

A few key points:

• ș sounds like English sh
• ește is roughly esh-te
• the stress falls on -seș-

So:

• lipsește ≈ leep-SESH-te

Also:

• când has â, a Romanian vowel with no exact English equivalent
• lui sounds roughly like loo-ee said quickly

These are only approximations, but they can help at the beginning.

Because Romanian, like English, can leave that idea implied if the context is clear.

So:

• un coleg lipsește naturally means a colleague is absent and you understand from context that this is probably from work.

If you want to be more explicit, Romanian can say:

• Un coleg lipsește de la muncă = A colleague is absent from work
• Un elev lipsește de la școală = A student is absent from school

In your sentence, that extra information is simply not necessary.

It most naturally talks about colleagues in general.

The clues are:

• de obicei = usually
• un coleg = a colleague

So the sentence expresses a general pattern:

• Usually, a colleague is absent when his child is sick.

Even though copilul lui literally looks specific, the whole sentence still has a generic meaning. In English we often do the same thing:

• A colleague is absent when his child is sick.

So this is a general statement, not necessarily about one particular person.