La noia de la taquilla diu que el tren arriba amb retard.

La is the feminine singular definite article in Catalan, equivalent to the.

• la noia = the girl / the young woman
• la taquilla = the ticket window / booth

Both nouns are feminine singular, so they take la.

Noia usually means girl or young woman, depending on context. In a sentence like this, it often sounds natural in English as the woman at the ticket window or the girl at the ticket office, depending on the situation.

So noia does not always have to mean a child; it can also refer to a young adult woman.

Yes, literally de means of or from, so la noia de la taquilla is literally the girl of the ticket window. But in natural English, that becomes the girl at the ticket window or the woman at the ticket booth.

In Catalan, de is very commonly used in this kind of noun phrase to show association:

• el noi de la botiga = the guy from / at the shop
• la dona de la recepció = the woman at reception

So here de la taquilla identifies which girl/woman we mean.

Here taquilla means a ticket window, ticket booth, or sometimes a box office, depending on context.

Be careful: in some contexts taquilla can also mean locker, but in this sentence, because we are talking about a train, it clearly refers to the place where tickets are sold.

Diu is the 3rd person singular present of the verb dir, which means to say.

So:

• jo dic = I say
• tu dius = you say
• ell/ella diu = he/she says

In this sentence, the subject is la noia de la taquilla, so we use diu: the woman at the ticket window says...

Que here means that and introduces a subordinate clause:

• diu que el tren arriba amb retard
  = says that the train is arriving / will arrive late

Just like in English, that can introduce reported speech. In Catalan, que is very commonly used after verbs like dir.

Unlike English, where that is often omitted, Catalan usually keeps que:

• She says the train is late is natural in English
• Catalan normally prefers diu que..., not omitting que

Catalan uses the definite article more often than English, especially with general or specific nouns in ordinary statements.

So el tren = the train. In this context, it refers to the train being discussed, so the article is expected.

Using tren without an article here would sound incomplete or unnatural.

Yes, arribar usually means to arrive. So el tren arriba means the train arrives / is arriving.

Depending on context, English may translate the present tense in different ways:

• arriba = arrives
• arriba = is arriving
• sometimes even will arrive

Catalan present tense often covers meanings that English expresses with either the simple present or the present progressive.

Amb retard literally means with delay, and idiomatically it means late or delayed.

So:

• arriba amb retard = arrives late / is delayed

This is a very common expression in transport contexts.

You may also see:

• amb una hora de retard = an hour late
• porta retard = it is delayed

So while English often uses an adjective like late, Catalan often uses a phrase with retard.

This is the normal Catalan word order:

subject + verb + clause

• La noia de la taquilla = subject
• diu = main verb
• que el tren arriba amb retard = subordinate clause

Catalan can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but this sentence is neutral and standard as it stands.

Noia is pronounced roughly like NO-yuh.

A few details:

• oi forms a diphthong, somewhat like the oy in boy
• the final a is an unstressed uh sound in many accents

So an English-friendly approximation is NO-yuh.

Taquilla is roughly tuh-KEE-lyuh in many varieties, though pronunciation of ll can vary by dialect.

Useful points:

• qu before i gives a k sound
• ll is traditionally a palatal sound similar to the lli in some pronunciations of million, though many speakers pronounce it more like y

So for a learner, tuh-KEE-yuh is often a reasonable approximation, but tuh-KEE-lyuh may be closer in some accents or teaching traditions.

Yes. Both diu and arriba are in the present tense.

Catalan often uses the present tense for:

• things happening now
• scheduled future events
• announcements

So el tren arriba amb retard can mean:

• the train is arriving late
• the train arrives late
• the train will arrive late

The exact English version depends on context, but the Catalan present is perfectly normal here.