Breakdown of Fratele meu este șaten.
fi
to be (sunt, ești, este, suntem, sunteți, sunt)
fratele
the brother
meu
my [mea, mei, mele]
șaten
brown-haired
Questions & Answers about Fratele meu este șaten.
Why does it say Fratele meu (the brother my) instead of just Frate meu?
In Romanian, when you use a possessive word like meu (my), the noun it belongs to usually must have the definite article ("the") attached to its end. That is why the base word frate (brother) becomes fratele (the brother). You are literally saying "the brother my".
Why is the word order Fratele meu and not Meu frate?
Unlike English, Romanian possessive adjectives (like my, your, our) almost always come right after the noun they describe, rather than before it.
Could I use the normal word for brown (maro) instead of șaten here?
No, maro is used for objects, clothes, and even eyes, but never for hair. When describing brown hair, Romanian uses the specific adjective șaten (for light to medium brown) or brunet (for very dark brown or black hair).