Plătesc întreținerea azi.

Plătesc means I pay or I am paying, depending on context.

It is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb a plăti = to pay.

So:

• eu plătesc = I pay
• tu plătești = you pay
• el/ea plătește = he/she pays

In this sentence, Plătesc întreținerea azi. means I’m paying the maintenance bill today or I pay the maintenance today, depending on the English translation style.

Romanian often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows the person.

So:

• Eu plătesc întreținerea azi.
• Plătesc întreținerea azi.

Both can mean the same thing: I’m paying the maintenance bill today.

Adding eu can give extra emphasis, like:

• Eu plătesc întreținerea azi. = I’m the one paying it today.

In everyday Romanian, întreținerea often means the building maintenance fee or the monthly apartment upkeep bill.

For someone in an apartment building, this can include things like:

• cleaning of common areas
• heating or water in shared systems
• building expenses
• other communal maintenance costs

So although the literal base idea of întreținere is maintenance/upkeep, in real life plătesc întreținerea often means I’m paying the apartment maintenance bill.

Because Romanian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

So:

• întreținere = maintenance / upkeep (indefinite)
• întreținerea = the maintenance / the maintenance bill (definite)

This is very common in Romanian:

• carte = book
• cartea = the book

Here, întreținerea refers to a specific, known bill/fee, so the definite form is natural.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, instead of using a separate word like English the.

So English says:

• the maintenance

Romanian says:

• întreținerea

The -a at the end is doing the job of the.

Because a plăti normally takes a direct object in Romanian.

So Romanian prefers:

• Plătesc întreținerea. = I pay the maintenance bill.

Using pentru would usually sound less natural in this context.

Compare:

• plătesc chiria = I pay the rent
• plătesc factura = I pay the bill
• plătesc întreținerea = I pay the maintenance bill

So this structure is completely normal.

Romanian word order is fairly flexible. Putting azi at the end is natural and common.

• Plătesc întreținerea azi.
• Azi plătesc întreținerea.

Both are correct, but the focus changes slightly.

Usually:

• Plătesc întreținerea azi. puts the main action first, then adds today
• Azi plătesc întreținerea. emphasizes today

So the original sentence sounds very natural in everyday speech.

Yes. Azi and astăzi both mean today.

• azi is a little shorter and very common in speech
• astăzi can sound slightly more neutral or a bit more formal, but it is still very common

So both are fine:

• Plătesc întreținerea azi.
• Plătesc întreținerea astăzi.

Yes. Plătesc can mean either:

• I pay
• they pay

That is because the same present-tense form is used for:

• eu plătesc = I pay
• ei/ele plătesc = they pay

Normally, context makes it clear. If you want to remove ambiguity, you can add the pronoun:

• Eu plătesc întreținerea azi. = I’m paying the maintenance bill today
• Ei plătesc întreținerea azi. = They’re paying the maintenance bill today

A simple pronunciation guide is:

pluh-TESK in-treh-tsee-NE-re-a AH-zee

A few useful details:

• ă is a short central vowel, something like the a in sofa
• ț is pronounced ts
• ce in întreținerea sounds like che? No — here the important sound is ți = tsi
• azi sounds like AH-zee

If you want to say it smoothly:

• Plătesc întreținerea azi.

The stress is roughly on:

• plă-TESC
• întreți-NE-rea
• A-zi

The dictionary form is întreținere.

That is the indefinite singular form. In dictionaries, Romanian nouns are usually listed without the attached definite article.

So:

• dictionary form: întreținere
• in the sentence: întreținerea

If you look it up, search for întreținere, not întreținerea.

Yes, very natural, especially in Romania when talking about apartment-related expenses.

A Romanian speaker might say this when talking about errands or bills:

• Plătesc întreținerea azi.
• Plătesc factura azi.
• Plătesc chiria azi.

So it sounds like a normal everyday statement: I’m paying the maintenance bill today.

Yes, if the context already makes it clear that o refers to întreținerea.

• Plătesc întreținerea azi. = full version
• O plătesc azi. = I’m paying it today

Here o is the feminine singular direct object pronoun, because întreținerea is feminine.

This shorter version is common when the bill has already been mentioned.