La meva filla té picor al braç i no ha de tocar la ferida.

This is normal in Catalan. With family members and many other nouns, Catalan often uses:

definite article + possessive + noun

So:

• la meva filla = my daughter
• el meu pare = my father
• la seva amiga = his/her friend

English usually does not do this, but Catalan does. In many contexts, leaving out the article would sound unnatural.

Because filla is feminine singular, so the possessive has to agree with it.

The forms are:

• meu = my, masculine singular
• meva = my, feminine singular
• meus = my, masculine plural
• meves = my, feminine plural

So:

• el meu fill = my son
• la meva filla = my daughter

Literally, té picor means has itchiness or has an itch.

• tenir = to have
• picor = itching, itchiness

So Catalan often expresses this idea with to have + a noun, where English might prefer to be itchy or to itch.

This is a perfectly natural structure. Another common way to express something similar is:

• Li pica el braç = Her arm itches

So té picor al braç and li pica el braç are both natural, though they are structured differently.

Because a + el contracts to al in Catalan.

So:

• a + el = al

That is why:

• al braç = to/on the arm or in the arm, depending on context

This is very common:

• al cotxe = in/to the car
• al carrer = in the street
• al metge = to the doctor

Catalan often uses the definite article with body parts and personal belongings when the owner is already clear from context.

So instead of saying:

• her arm
• her wound

Catalan often says:

• el braç
• la ferida

This is especially common with body parts:

• Em fa mal el cap = My head hurts
• Es renta les mans = He/She washes his/her hands

Since we already know we are talking about la meva filla, Catalan does not need to repeat the possessive.

In this sentence, no ha de tocar means something like:

• must not touch
• should not touch
• is not supposed to touch

The structure haver de + infinitive expresses obligation or necessity:

• ha de tocar = she has to touch / she must touch
• no ha de tocar = she must not touch / she is not to touch

English doesn’t have to touch usually means there is no need to touch it. That is a different idea. So this Catalan sentence is not about lack of necessity; it is about prohibition or instruction.

Ha de is from the verb haver plus de plus an infinitive.

Pattern:

haver + de + infinitive

Here:

• ha = third person singular of haver
• de = fixed preposition in this structure
• tocar = to touch

So:

• ha de tocar = she has to touch / she must touch
• no ha de tocar = she must not touch

Other examples:

• He de marxar = I have to leave
• Hem de parlar = We have to talk

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb form already shows the person.

In ha de tocar, the verb form tells you it is he/she/it. Since the subject is already understood as la meva filla, Catalan does not need to say ella.

You could say ella no ha de tocar la ferida, but that would usually add emphasis or contrast.

In Catalan, standard negation normally goes directly before the conjugated verb.

So:

• no ha de tocar = she must not touch
• no menja = she does not eat
• no pot venir = she cannot come

This is the normal placement for no.

Ferida means wound. It is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la.

• la ferida = the wound

Like many Catalan nouns, its gender must match the article and any adjectives used with it.

For example:

• una ferida petita = a small wound
• la ferida oberta = the open wound

The ç is called ce trencada. It represents an s sound.

So braç is pronounced roughly like bras.

A useful rule is:

• ç sounds like s
• you often see it before a, o, or u

Examples:

• braç
• plaça
• força

So the final sound in braç is not a k sound; it is an s sound.