Zgarda mov este nouă.

The basic form is zgardă, which is the indefinite form: a collar.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not as a separate word like English the. So:

• zgardă = a collar
• zgarda = the collar

So zgarda mov means the purple collar.

Zgardă is a feminine singular noun.

You can tell this in the sentence because the adjective nouă is in the feminine singular form, and it agrees with zgarda.

A useful pattern is:

• masculine singular: nou
• feminine singular: nouă
• masculine plural: noi
• feminine plural: noi

So zgarda ... este nouă shows that zgardă is feminine singular.

In Romanian, adjectives often come after the noun, especially in neutral everyday descriptions.

So zgarda mov is the normal way to say the purple collar.

This is especially common with colors:

• rochie roșie = red dress
• mașină albastră = blue car
• zgardă mov = purple collar

English usually puts adjectives before the noun, but Romanian often puts them after.

Because mov is very often used as an invariable color adjective in everyday Romanian.

So you commonly hear:

• zgardă mov
• rochie mov
• pantofi mov

In other words, mov often stays the same even when the noun is feminine or plural.

You may sometimes encounter forms like movă in some sources, but the unchanged mov is very common and natural.

Because nou has to agree with zgarda, and zgarda is feminine singular.

So:

• nou = new, masculine singular
• nouă = new, feminine singular

Compare:

• câinele este nou = the dog is new
• zgarda este nouă = the collar is new

Even though nouă comes after este, it still agrees with the noun.

It has the same spelling, but here it is a different word.

Romanian nouă can mean different things depending on context:

• nouă = new, feminine singular
• nouă = nine
• nouă = to us

In Zgarda mov este nouă, the context makes it clear that nouă means new.

Because nouă here is a predicate adjective after este, not an adjective placed before the noun inside the noun phrase.

Compare:

• zgarda este nouă = the collar is new
• noua zgardă = the new collar

So:

• nouă = adjective agreeing with the noun after is
• noua = the definite form used when the adjective comes before a definite feminine singular noun

This is a very common Romanian pattern.

Este is the 3rd person singular of a fi, meaning is.

So:

• este = is

In a normal full sentence like this one, Romanian usually keeps the verb:

• Zgarda mov este nouă.

Leaving it out would sound incomplete in standard Romanian, except in very informal notes, labels, or headlines.

They look similar, but they are structured differently:

• zgarda mov = the purple collar
  Here, mov is part of the noun phrase. It directly describes the noun.

• zgarda este mov = the collar is purple
  Here, mov is the predicate after is.

In your sentence, Romanian uses both patterns at once:

• zgarda mov = the purple collar
• este nouă = is new

So the full sentence means: The purple collar is new.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

ZGAR-da mov YES-te NO-uh

A few notes:

• zg at the start of zgarda is pronounced together, not simplified
• e in este is clear, and st is pronounced fully
• final ă sounds like a short unstressed uh
• nouă is not like English new; it is closer to NO-uh, with a slight glide

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

ZGAR-da mov YES-te NO-uh