La pota és bruta.

In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article where English might not. La means the, and pota is a feminine singular noun, so la pota means the paw / the leg.

Dropping the article is usually not natural here. La pota és bruta is the normal way to say The paw is dirty or The leg is dirty.

Pota often means an animal’s leg or paw. It can also be used for the leg of a piece of furniture, like a table leg.

A learner may notice that Catalan distinguishes between:

• pota = paw, animal leg, furniture leg
• cama = a human leg

So Catalan does not always use the same word as English does.

És is the third-person singular form of the verb ser (to be):

• és = is

The accent is important because it distinguishes és from es, which is a different word used as a pronoun in many constructions.

So:

• és = is
• es = reflexive / unstressed pronoun, depending on context

Because bruta is an adjective describing pota, and in Catalan adjectives usually agree with the noun in gender and number.

Since pota is:

• feminine
• singular

the adjective must also be:

• feminine
• singular

So:

• masculine singular: brut
• feminine singular: bruta
• masculine plural: bruts
• feminine plural: brutes

In this sentence, bruta means dirty. That is the most direct meaning here.

Depending on context, forms of brut can sometimes also suggest something like filthy, gross, or even coarse in certain expressions, but in a simple sentence like La pota és bruta, the natural meaning is just The paw/leg is dirty.

In Catalan, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they are giving a straightforward description.

So:

• la pota bruta = the dirty paw / leg

This is more normal than putting the adjective before the noun. English does the opposite much more often, so this is something English speakers need to get used to.

Yes, and in many everyday contexts that may sound more natural.

Catalan has two main verbs for to be:

• ser
• estar

Very broadly:

• ser often identifies or describes something
• estar often emphasizes a state or condition

So both can appear, but:

• La pota és bruta can sound like a descriptive statement about the paw/leg
• La pota està bruta often sounds more like The paw/leg is dirty right now

In real speech, with dirty, many speakers commonly use estar.

No. Catalan usually does not require a subject pronoun if the verb form already makes the subject clear.

So La pota és bruta is complete by itself. Adding a pronoun would usually be unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

lah POH-tuh es BROO-tuh

A few helpful notes:

• pota has the stress on the first syllable: PO-ta
• és sounds like ess
• bruta has the stress on bru: BRU-ta

Pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect, but that approximation is a good start.

The normal order is:

La pota és bruta.

Catalan word order is somewhat flexible, but this is the most neutral and natural version. Changing the order is usually done for emphasis, contrast, or in special contexts. For a basic sentence, stick with subject + verb + adjective here.