Trepiedul este lângă ușă.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

• trepied = tripod
• trepiedul = the tripod

So -ul is the attached definite article here.

Este is the 3rd person singular present form of a fi (to be). It means is.

So:

• eu sunt = I am
• tu ești = you are
• el/ea este = he/she/it is

In everyday Romanian, este is very often shortened to e:

• Trepiedul e lângă ușă.

That is just as natural in speech.

Lângă is a preposition meaning near, by, or next to.

It introduces the location:

• lângă ușă = by/next to the door

So the sentence structure is:

• Trepiedul = the tripod
• este = is
• lângă ușă = by the door

This is a very common thing for English speakers to notice.

In Romanian, after some prepositions of place, the noun is often left without the definite article in expressions like:

• lângă ușă
• pe masă
• sub pat

Even if English uses the, Romanian may still prefer the bare noun in this kind of location phrase.

If you want to make the door more specifically identified, Romanian often adds more detail, for example:

• lângă ușa de la intrare = next to the entrance door

So lângă ușă is perfectly normal.

Trepied is a neuter noun.

Romanian neuter nouns behave:

• like masculine in the singular
• like feminine in the plural

So you get:

• singular: trepied, trepiedul
• plural: trepiede, trepiedele

That is why the singular definite form ends in -ul.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Trepiedul ≈ treh-pee-EH-dul
• este ≈ ES-te or sometimes YES-te in careful speech
• lângă ≈ LUN-guh, but the first vowel is not exactly an English sound
• ușă ≈ OO-shuh

A few useful sound notes:

• ș = sh
• ă = the uh sound in sofa
• â = a Romanian vowel with no exact English equivalent

They are part of the normal spelling and they matter.

• ă is a short neutral vowel, like the final sound in sofa
• â is a central vowel specific to Romanian
• ș sounds like sh

So:

• langa is not the correct standard spelling of lângă
• usa is not the correct standard spelling of ușă

You may see missing diacritics online, but when learning Romanian, it is best to use the correct forms.

The given order is the most neutral and natural one:

• Trepiedul este lângă ușă.

Romanian word order is somewhat flexible, but changing it usually changes the emphasis.

For example:

• Lângă ușă este trepiedul.
  This puts more focus on the location.

For beginners, the original order is the safest pattern.

In a normal full sentence, you should usually keep it.

Romanian normally uses the present tense of a fi in sentences like this:

• Trepiedul este lângă ușă.
• Trepiedul e lângă ușă.

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

Both are correct, but e is more common in everyday conversation.

So in speech, you will often hear:

• Trepiedul e lângă ușă.

While este can sound a bit more careful, neutral, or formal.

Word by word, it is:

• Trepiedul = the tripod
• este = is
• lângă = near/by
• ușă = door

So the sentence follows a very common Romanian pattern:

[subject] + [to be] + [place expression]

That pattern is extremely useful for beginner Romanian.