La meva veïna no vol tocar el niu perquè diu que també hi ha un insecte sota la branca.

In Catalan, a possessive usually goes together with the definite article, so la meva veïna is the normal way to say my neighbour.

• la = the
• meva = my
• veïna = female neighbour

This is different from English, where you do not use the with my.

A few family words sometimes drop the article in some contexts, but with a word like veïna, the article is standard.

Because veïna is the feminine form, meaning female neighbour. The masculine form is veí.

• el meu veí = my male neighbour
• la meva veïna = my female neighbour

This also affects the possessive:

• meu goes with masculine singular nouns
• meva goes with feminine singular nouns

So la meva veïna matches in gender and number.

The two dots are a diaeresis: ï.

In veïna, it shows that the i is pronounced separately, not merged into a diphthong. So veïna is pronounced in separate syllables, roughly veh-EE-nuh.

Without the diaeresis, the pronunciation rules would suggest something different. So it is there to guide pronunciation.

After vol (wants), Catalan uses an infinitive, just like English often does:

• vol tocar = wants to touch

Breakdown:

• vol = she/he wants
• tocar = to touch

So no vol tocar means she doesn’t want to touch.

This is very common:

• vol menjar = wants to eat
• vol anar = wants to go
• vol veure = wants to see

No. Tocar has several meanings in Catalan, just like to play or to touch can in English depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• to touch
• to play an instrument
• to be someone’s turn
• to concern / affect

In this sentence, tocar el niu clearly means to touch the nest, not to play it.

Niu means nest, and it is a masculine singular noun, so it takes el:

• el niu = the nest

If you were using an indefinite article, it would be:

• un niu = a nest

So here:

• tocar el niu = to touch the nest

Here perquè means because.

So:

• perquè diu que... = because she says that...

Catalan distinguishes:

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

Examples:

• No ve perquè està cansat. = He isn’t coming because he is tired.
• Per què no ve? = Why isn’t he coming?

The accent matters.

In Catalan, dir que means to say that, and que is very commonly used to introduce the reported statement.

• diu que també hi ha un insecte... = she says that there is also an insect...

In English, that is often optional:

• She says that...
• She says...

In Catalan, que is much more natural and usually kept.

També means also or too.

In this sentence:

• també hi ha un insecte = there is also an insect

Its placement shows that the presence of the insect is an additional fact. The exact placement of també can vary somewhat, but here it naturally comes before hi ha.

So the idea is:

• not only is there the nest, but there is also an insect under the branch

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

Examples:

• Hi ha un llibre. = There is a book.
• Hi ha dues cadires. = There are two chairs.

It is built from:

• haver in the form ha
• the particle hi

As a learner, it is best to treat hi ha as a fixed expression meaning there is / there are.

So:

• hi ha un insecte = there is an insect

Even though un insecte is singular here, hi ha is also used with plurals:

• hi ha insectes = there are insects

Yes. Insecte is a masculine noun in Catalan.

So:

• un insecte = an insect
• l’insecte = the insect

Its grammatical gender is masculine even though the real insect could be any biological sex. This is just how the noun is classified grammatically.

Yes. Both sota la branca and sota de la branca can be used.

• sota la branca = under the branch
• sota de la branca = under the branch

In many contexts, the de is optional. Omitting it is very common and perfectly natural.

So in your sentence:

• sota la branca is completely normal

The basic structure is:

• La meva veïna = subject
• no vol tocar el niu = main verb phrase
• perquè diu que... = reason clause
• també hi ha un insecte sota la branca = reported clause

So literally, it is:

• My neighbour does not want to touch the nest because she says that there is also an insect under the branch.

Catalan word order is often similar to English here, which makes this sentence fairly approachable.

Yes, but it is usually unnecessary.

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

So:

• diu = she says / he says

In this sentence, the context strongly suggests she says, referring to la meva veïna.

You could say:

• perquè ella diu que...

But that would add emphasis, contrast, or clarity, not neutrality. The version without ella is more natural here.

A rough English-style approximation is:

lah MEH-vuh vay-EE-nuh noh VOLL toh-KAR uhl NEE-oo pur-KEH DEE-oo kuh tum-BEH ee AH oon een-SEK-tuh SOH-tuh lah BRANG-kuh

A few notes:

• veïna has separate vowels because of ï
• niu is roughly NEE-oo
• perquè has stress on the last syllable
• també also has final stress
• branca is roughly BRANG-kuh

This is only an approximation, but it can help you get started.

Yes, in meaning. També can often correspond to also or too.

Here, also sounds more natural in English:

• because she says that there is also an insect under the branch

Using too is possible in some English rephrasings, but also matches the Catalan structure better in this sentence.

So:

• també = also / too
• best natural translation here: also

Its basic meaning is branch, especially of a tree or plant.

But like English branch, it can also be used metaphorically in some contexts, such as a branch of study or a branch of an organization. In this sentence, though, it clearly means a physical branch:

• sota la branca = under the branch