Learn Romanian: Poșta este în centru. - The post office is in the center.

Poșta este în centru.

The post office is in the center.

Breakdown of Poșta este în centru.

to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)

în

poșta

the post office / the mail / the postal service

centrul

the center

Questions & Answers about Poșta este în centru.

Why is 'the post office' just one word, poșta?

In Romanian, the word for 'the' is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front. The base word is poștă (post office). Because it is a feminine word, you change the final ă to an a to say 'the post office', making it poșta.

The English translation says 'in the center', but the Romanian sentence just says în centru. Where is the word for 'the'?

Romanian has a special rule for prepositions like în (in), pe (on), and la (at). When you talk about a general location, you usually do not add the 'the' ending to the noun that comes right after. So you just say în centru (literally 'in center'), even though English requires 'the'.

What is the little mark under the letter ș in poșta?

That mark changes the sound of the letter. An ș in Romanian sounds exactly like the 'sh' in the English word 'shoe'. So, poșta is pronounced like 'posh-tah'.

Can I say Poșta e în centru instead of using este?

Yes, absolutely! E is the shorter, more casual version of este (is). Both mean the exact same thing, but you will hear e very often in everyday spoken Romanian.