La camisa blanca no és la que volia, perquè el botó de dalt està trencat.

In Catalan, adjectives usually come after the noun, so camisa blanca is the normal order for white shirt.

• camisa = shirt
• blanca = white

Putting the adjective before the noun is much less common and usually sounds literary, emphatic, or changes the nuance.

Catalan, like Spanish, often distinguishes between ser and estar.

Here, és is used because the sentence is identifying something:

• La camisa blanca no és la que volia = The white shirt is not the one I wanted

This is about identity, not condition or location.

By contrast, està is used later in the sentence because trencat describes a state/condition:

• el botó de dalt està trencat = the top button is broken

So:

• és = is, for identity/classification
• està = is, for state/condition/location

La que volia means the one that I wanted.

That la is standing in for a feminine singular noun, here camisa. Catalan often uses the article this way before que:

• la que volia = the one I wanted
• literally, something like the one that I wanted

Because camisa is feminine singular, the sentence uses la.

Compare:

• el que volia = the one/what I wanted (masculine or more general, depending on context)
• la que volia = the one I wanted (feminine)
• les que volia = the ones I wanted (feminine plural)

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• volia = I wanted / he wanted / she wanted, depending on context

Here the meaning is understood from context as I wanted. If needed, Catalan could say jo volia, but that is usually only added for emphasis or contrast.

This is very common in Catalan:

• Parlo = I speak
• Volem = we want
• Tenen = they have

Volia is the imperfect form of voler (to want). In a sentence like this, it often sounds natural because it refers to what the speaker wanted at that time, as a background state or ongoing desire.

• la que volia = the one I wanted

Catalan often uses the imperfect for mental states, desires, and background information in the past.

A more completed, one-time action could use another past form in other contexts, but here volia is very natural.

Here que is a relative pronoun meaning that/which.

It links la (the one) to the clause volia:

• la que volia = the one that I wanted

In English, that is often omitted:

• the one I wanted

Catalan still keeps que in this structure.

Perquè with an accent means because.

So:

• ..., perquè el botó de dalt està trencat.
• ..., because the top button is broken.

This is different from other similar-looking forms in Catalan:

• perquè = because
• per què = why / for what
• per a què = what for / for what purpose

This is a very common point of confusion for learners.

De dalt means from above / upper / top depending on context. In this sentence:

• el botó de dalt = the top button / the upper button

It is a very natural Catalan way to refer to something in the upper position.

You will also see similar expressions like:

• la part de dalt = the top part
• el pis de dalt = the floor upstairs / the apartment above

Because noun gender in Catalan belongs to each noun individually.

• la camisa is feminine
• el botó is masculine

The gender of botó does not depend on camisa. Each noun keeps its own article and agreement.

That is also why the adjective later is masculine:

• el botó ... està trencat
• not trencada

Trencat agrees with botó, not with camisa.

Since botó is masculine singular, the adjective/participle must also be masculine singular:

• el botó està trencat

Compare:

• la camisa està trencada = the shirt is torn/broken
• els botons estan trencats = the buttons are broken
• les mànigues estan trencades = the sleeves are torn

Agreement in Catalan is very important.

It is historically the past participle of trencar (to break), but in sentences like this it functions like an adjective describing a state:

• està trencat = is broken

This is very common in Catalan:

• està obert = is open
• està tancat = is closed
• està cansat = is tired
• està trencat = is broken

So for a learner, it is usually easiest to think of it as a descriptive form that agrees in gender and number.

The comma separates the main statement from the explanation:

• La camisa blanca no és la que volia, perquè...

This is similar to English, where a comma is often used before because when the second clause adds an explanatory comment.

In short:

• first clause: The white shirt is not the one I wanted
• second clause: because the top button is broken

The comma helps readability and marks the pause.

The accent in botó shows that the stress falls on the last syllable:

• bo-TÓ

Without the accent, Catalan stress rules would suggest a different pronunciation.

The accent in és also matters:

• és = is

So the written accents help show correct pronunciation and sometimes distinguish words.

Yes, that is grammatically possible, but it sounds more repetitive.

Catalan usually prefers the shorter, more natural version:

• La camisa blanca no és la que volia

Using la que avoids repeating camisa when it is already clear from context. This is very common and natural in everyday Catalan.