الشتلة صغيرة.

Roughly, you can say ish-shitla sughayyara.

A few notes:

• الشتلة is often pronounced something like ish-shitla or esh-shetla
• صغيرة in Egyptian speech is often closer to sughayyara / soghayyara than a very formal reading

The exact vowels can vary a bit by speaker, but that rough pronunciation is a good start.

Because Arabic often uses a verbless sentence in the present tense.

So الشتلة صغيرة is literally structured like the seedling small, but it means the seedling is small.

If you want past or future, you normally add a verb:

• الشتلة كانت صغيرة = the seedling was small
• الشتلة هتكون صغيرة = the seedling will be small

Because شتلة is a feminine noun, and Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

So:

• صغير = masculine small
• صغيرة = feminine small

Since شتلة is feminine, the adjective must also be feminine: صغيرة.

Because here صغيرة is the predicate of the sentence, not part of a noun phrase.

Compare these:

• الشتلة صغيرة = the seedling is small
• الشتلة الصغيرة = the small seedling

In the first sentence, صغيرة is saying something about the seedling, so it stays indefinite and does not take الـ.

ش is a sun letter, so the l sound in الـ is not pronounced.

That means:

• written: الشتلة
• pronounced: ish-shitla or esh-shetla

So you hear a doubled sh sound instead of el-sh.

Because in Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun.

English says:

• small seedling

Arabic says:

• seedling small

That same order also works in a sentence like this one, where the meaning is the seedling is small.

That letter is called taa marbuuTa.

It often marks a feminine noun or adjective.

Here:

• شتلة is a feminine noun
• صغيرة is the feminine form of the adjective

In everyday Egyptian pronunciation, final ة is usually pronounced -a, so you hear something like shitla and sughayyara.

Yes, but the meaning usually changes.

• الشتلة صغيرة = a full sentence: the seedling is small
• شتلة صغيرة = usually a noun phrase: a small seedling

This is a very useful Arabic pattern:

• definite noun + indefinite adjective can make a sentence
• indefinite noun + indefinite adjective often makes an indefinite noun phrase
• definite noun + definite adjective makes a definite noun phrase

The spelling works in both, but the pronunciation is different.

A more formal reading might sound like ash-shatla ṣaghīra.

An Egyptian colloquial pronunciation is more like ish-shitla sughayyara.

So a learner should know that written Arabic can look fairly standard even when the spoken Egyptian form sounds different.

Two sounds are especially worth noticing:

• ص in صغيرة: a heavier, darker s than ordinary س
• غ in صغيرة: a gh sound, similar to the French r for many learners

Also remember the doubled sh sound in الشتلة because of the sun-letter rule. Even if your pronunciation is not perfect yet, paying attention to these sounds early will help a lot.