Hi ha una dutxa al bany, al costat de la finestra.

Hi ha is the standard Catalan way to say there is or there are.

It is made up of:

• hi — an old locative element
• ha — a form of haver

For learners, the easiest and most useful thing is to treat hi ha as a fixed expression meaning there is / there are.

A very important point: hi ha does not change between singular and plural.

• Hi ha una dutxa. = There is a shower.
• Hi ha dues dutxes. = There are two showers.

So unlike English, Catalan does not change is/are here.

Because Catalan normally uses an article with a singular countable noun when introducing something that exists.

So:

• Hi ha una dutxa = There is a shower.

Using just dutxa here would sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Catalan.

This is similar to English:

• There is a shower sounds normal.
• There is shower does not.

Because a + el contracts to al in Catalan.

So:

• a + el bany → al bany

This is a very common contraction.

Other common ones are:

• de + el → del
• per + el → pel

But notice:

• a + la does not contract
  So you say a la finestra, not ala finestra.

It can mean either in the bathroom or to the bathroom, depending on context.

In this sentence, because the whole sentence is about location, al bany means in the bathroom.

Examples:

• Hi ha una dutxa al bany. = There is a shower in the bathroom.
• Vaig al bany. = I’m going to the bathroom.

So the same form can express location or direction; the verb and context tell you which meaning is intended.

Sometimes yes, but al bany is very natural here.

Catalan often uses a where English uses in. So learners should not expect a one-to-one match with English prepositions.

In this sentence:

• Hi ha una dutxa al bany is completely normal.

You may also hear other ways to make the location more explicit, such as:

• dins del bany = inside the bathroom

But for a basic sentence like this, al bany is the most natural choice.

Al costat de means next to, beside, or at the side of.

It is a fixed expression:

• al costat de + noun

So:

• al costat de la finestra = next to the window

More examples:

• al costat del llit = next to the bed
• al costat de la porta = next to the door

Notice the contraction in:

• de + el llit → del llit

But in your sentence it is:

• de + la finestra → de la finestra
  No contraction there.

Because finestra is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular definite article la.

• la finestra = the window

Catalan nouns have grammatical gender, and you have to learn the article together with the noun:

• el bany
• la finestra
• la dutxa

That helps you build correct sentences more easily.

The comma separates the second piece of location information from the first one.

The sentence gives:

1. the general location — al bany
2. a more precise location — al costat de la finestra

So the comma creates a natural pause:

• Hi ha una dutxa al bany, al costat de la finestra.

Without the comma, the sentence would still be understandable:

• Hi ha una dutxa al bany al costat de la finestra.

But the comma makes the structure clearer and sounds a bit more natural in writing.

The normal pattern is:

Hi ha + noun phrase + place

So:

• Hi ha
  • una dutxa
    • al bany, al costat de la finestra

This is the usual way to introduce something that exists somewhere.

If you put the noun first, it sounds marked or unnatural in a basic statement:

• Una dutxa hi ha... is not the neutral way to say it.

So for simple existential sentences, it is best to learn:

• Hi ha ...

Dutxa is pronounced roughly like DOO-cha.

A few helpful points:

• tx sounds like English ch
• the u is like oo
• the final a is often a weaker vowel in many accents

So:

• dutxa ≈ DOO-cha

Not exactly English pronunciation, of course, but that approximation is close enough for beginners.

The h in Catalan is silent, so ha is pronounced like a.

In careful pronunciation, hi ha is roughly:

• ee AH

In connected speech, it may sound smoother and more compact, but for a learner, ee AH is a good starting point.

So:

• Hi ha una dutxa...
  sounds roughly like
  ee AH OO-na DOO-cha...

Yes. This is one of the most important things to remember.

Catalan uses the same hi ha for:

• Hi ha una dutxa. = There is a shower.
• Hi ha dues dutxes. = There are two showers.

So you do not change the verb the way English changes is to are.

This makes the pattern very useful and easy to reuse:

• Hi ha un lavabo...
• Hi ha una finestra...
• Hi ha dues portes...