قصر النظر مشكلة.

It is a nominal sentence in Arabic:

• قصر النظر = the subject of the sentence
• مشكلة = the predicate

So the pattern is:

• [subject] + [predicate]
• قصر النظر مشكلة

This is the normal way to say X is Y in the present tense in Arabic.

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So instead of saying:

• قصر النظر هو مشكلة

Arabic normally just says:

• قصر النظر مشكلة

Literally, it looks like shortsightedness — a problem, but the meaning is Shortsightedness is a problem.

If you wanted past or future, Arabic would use a verb such as كان.

It is an iḍāfa construction, often called a genitive construct or possessive construction.

It consists of:

• قصر = shortness / deficiency / short
• النظر = sight, vision, looking

Together:

• قصر النظر = literally shortness of sight/vision

This is how Arabic often builds compact noun phrases.

Important features of iḍāfa here:

• the first noun (قصر) does not take ال
• the second noun (النظر) can be definite, and that makes the whole phrase definite

So قصر النظر functions as one complete noun phrase.

Because this is how iḍāfa works.

In an iḍāfa:

• the first noun normally does not take الـ
• definiteness is usually shown on the second noun

So:

• قصر النظر = the shortness of vision / shortsightedness

Since النظر is definite, the whole phrase is definite.

You would generally not say:

• القصر النظر ❌

That would break the normal iḍāfa pattern.

Because the sentence is making a classification:

• قصر النظر مشكلة
• Shortsightedness is a problem

In Arabic, when the predicate is a general label or category, it is often indefinite.

Compare:

• زيد طالب = Zayd is a student
• هذا كتاب = This is a book
• قصر النظر مشكلة = Shortsightedness is a problem

If you said المشكلة, that would more likely mean something like:

• the problem
• or imply a more specific identification depending on context

So مشكلة is the natural choice here.

With full case endings, the sentence would be read approximately as:

• قِصَرُ النَّظَرِ مُشْكِلَةٌ

Breakdown:

• قِصَرُ = nominative, because it is the subject and the first part of the iḍāfa
• النَّظَرِ = genitive, because it is the second part of the iḍāfa
• مُشْكِلَةٌ = nominative, because it is the predicate of the nominal sentence

In normal everyday writing, these short vowels are usually omitted, so you just see:

• قصر النظر مشكلة

A careful MSA pronunciation is:

• qiṣaru n-naẓari mushkilatun

A few notes:

• قصر here is read qiṣar, not qaṣr meaning palace
• ال in النظر assimilates to ن, because ن is a sun letter
  So النظر is pronounced an-naẓar / n-naẓar, not al-naẓar
• ظ is an emphatic consonant, often approximated by learners as a heavy z
• ة in مشكلة is pronounced as -a in pause, but -atun with full case ending

If stopping naturally at the end, many speakers would say something closer to:

• qiṣar in-naẓar mushkila

Because Arabic spelling often omits short vowels, so the same consonants can represent different words.

• قَصْر = palace
• قِصَر = shortness

In this sentence, context tells you it must be قِصَر because:

• قِصَر النظر is a known expression meaning shortsightedness / myopia
• palace of vision would not make sense here

This is very common in unvocalized Arabic: context determines the correct reading.

It can be both.

Depending on context, قصر النظر can mean:

• myopia / nearsightedness in the literal, medical sense
• short-sightedness in the figurative sense, meaning lack of foresight

So in another context, it could refer to someone not thinking ahead.

But if the meaning has already been given to the learner, that context will decide which sense is intended.

The noun مشكلة is inherently a feminine noun in Arabic, and you can often recognize that from the ـة ending.

Its grammatical gender is feminine regardless of whether the thing it refers to is abstract.

So:

• مشكلة = a problem
• المشكلة = the problem

This does not mean the subject قصر النظر has to be feminine in any special way here. In a nominal sentence like this, the predicate noun can simply be a feminine noun because that is the word’s normal gender.

Yes, but the meaning or emphasis may shift.

The basic neutral order is:

• قصر النظر مشكلة

You could also say:

• مشكلةٌ قصرُ النظر

But that sounds more marked or rhetorical, and it is less likely to be the first form taught to learners.

For most learning purposes, treat:

• قصر النظر مشكلة

as the standard, straightforward version.

Yes. Arabic very often uses short nominal sentences that are fully complete.

This sentence has everything it needs:

• a subject: قصر النظر
• a predicate: مشكلة

So even though it is only two parts, it is a full sentence in Arabic.

Not always. قصر النظر is a standard and understandable MSA expression, especially in formal or educational contexts.

You may also encounter:

• قِصَرُ النَّظَر in fully vocalized formal Arabic
• more technical medical phrasing in specialized texts

But for Modern Standard Arabic, قصر النظر is a normal and useful expression to know.

Usually, no.

In ordinary MSA writing, you normally write:

• قصر النظر مشكلة

without the final vowels and tanwīn.

In fully vocalized or educational text, you might see:

• قِصَرُ النَّظَرِ مُشْكِلَةٌ

So as a learner, it is good to know the endings, but you usually will not see them written in everyday texts.