La meva cosina està trista perquè ja no viu a prop dels meus avis.

Because cosina is a feminine singular noun meaning female cousin.

In Catalan, articles and possessives must agree with the noun:

• la = the (feminine singular)
• meva = my (feminine singular)
• cosina = female cousin

So:

• la meva cosina = my female cousin

Compare:

• el meu cosí = my male cousin
• la meva cosina = my female cousin

Catalan often uses estar for a temporary state or condition, and ser for something more essential or permanent.

So:

• està trista = she is sad, at the moment
• és trista = she is a sad person / she is generally sad in character or nature

In this sentence, the cousin is sad because of a situation, so està trista is the natural choice.

Here, perquè means because.

It introduces the reason:

• està trista perquè... = she is sad because...

A learner may notice similar-looking forms:

• perquè = because
• per què = why / for what reason

So in this sentence, the one-word form perquè is correct because it gives an explanation.

Ja no means no longer or not anymore.

So:

• ja no viu = she no longer lives / she doesn’t live anymore

This is a very common Catalan pattern:

• ja = already / now
• no = not

Together, ja no often expresses that something used to be true but is not true now.

Examples:

• Ja no treballa aquí. = She no longer works here.
• Ja no plou. = It’s not raining anymore.

Viu is the third person singular present tense of viure (to live):

• jo visc = I live
• tu vius = you live
• ell/ella viu = he/she lives

Catalan usually uses the simple present for ordinary facts and current situations, just like English often does:

• viu a prop = she lives nearby

A continuous form like està vivint exists, but it would sound more like is living in a temporary or ongoing sense. In this sentence, viu is the normal and natural choice.

A prop de is the fixed expression for near or close to.

So:

• a prop dels meus avis = near my grandparents

You should learn it as a unit:

• a prop de = near
• lluny de = far from

Examples:

• Visc a prop de l’escola. = I live near the school.
• És a prop de casa. = It’s near home.

Because de + els contracts to dels in Catalan.

So:

• de + els = dels

That is why:

• a prop de els meus avis becomes a prop dels meus avis

This kind of contraction is very common:

• de + el = del
• de + els = dels
• a + el = al
• a + els = als

Avis is the plural of avi, and it usually means grandparents when used in the plural.

So:

• avi = grandfather
• àvia = grandmother
• avis = grandparents

In this sentence, els meus avis means my grandparents.

Depending on context, avis could literally mean grandfathers if referring to a group of males, but in everyday use it very often means grandparents.

Because avis is masculine plural, and the possessive must agree with it.

Catalan possessives change form:

• meu = my (masculine singular)
• meva = my (feminine singular)
• meus = my (masculine plural)
• meves = my (feminine plural)

So:

• la meva cosina
• els meus avis

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

So:

• està trista already implies she is sad
• viu already implies she lives

You could say Ella està trista, but it is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Ella està trista, però ell no. = She is sad, but he isn’t.

Without emphasis, Catalan normally prefers to omit the pronoun.

Yes. The structure is very natural:

• La meva cosina = subject
• està trista = verb + adjective
• perquè = because
• ja no viu = no longer lives
• a prop dels meus avis = near my grandparents

So the sentence follows a common pattern: subject + verb + complement + perquè + clause

It is very close to English word order here, which makes this sentence relatively straightforward for an English speaker to understand.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• perquè ≈ pehr-KEH
• viu ≈ VEE-oo

A few useful notes:

• The accent in perquè shows the stress falls on the last syllable: -què
• viu has two vowel sounds together, not a silent ending

If you are learning standard Central Catalan pronunciation, those approximations will get you fairly close, even if not perfect.