Tira el dau abans de moure la fitxa.

Tira is the informal singular imperative of tirar: it is the form used when telling one person what to do.

• (tu) tira = roll / throw
• (vosaltres) tireu = roll / throw, addressed to more than one person
• Negative commands are different: no tiris

So in a game instruction, Tira el dau means Roll the die.

Not literally. The basic verb tirar often means to throw or to toss. In the context of dice, Catalan commonly uses tirar el dau, which corresponds to English roll the die.

So this is a good example where you should translate by context, not word-for-word.

Catalan often uses the definite article in instructions and game rules when referring to the standard object involved in the action.

So:

• Tira el dau = roll the die
• Mou la fitxa = move the token/piece

This does not necessarily mean a specific unique die in a strict logical sense; it is just the normal way to refer to the game object being used.

Dau means die (the singular of dice in careful English).

Its plural is daus.

A useful note for English speakers: Catalan dau is the normal word here. If you know Spanish, do not replace it with dado in Catalan.

Because Catalan nouns have grammatical gender.

• el dau is masculine
• la fitxa is feminine

The article must match the noun:

• el
  • masculine singular noun
• la
  • feminine singular noun

This gender is something you usually need to learn together with the noun.

In this sentence, fitxa means a game piece, token, or counter.

In other contexts, fitxa can have other meanings, but in board-game language it normally refers to the piece a player moves around the board.

Because abans de means before when it is followed by an infinitive verb.

So:

• abans de moure la fitxa = before moving the token / before you move the token

This is the normal structure when the action is expressed with an infinitive.

A useful comparison:

• Abans de moure la fitxa = before moving the token
• Abans que moguis la fitxa = before you move the token

The second structure uses abans que + a conjugated verb.

Because moure is a verb, not an article + noun combination.

In Catalan, de contracts with articles:

• de + el = del
• de + els = dels

For example:

• abans del joc = before the game

But here you have:

• de moure

Since moure is an infinitive verb, there is no contraction.

After the preposition de in abans de, Catalan uses the infinitive when you are talking about an action in a general way.

So:

• abans de moure la fitxa

is structurally similar to English:

• before moving the token
• before you move the token

The infinitive is the normal form after abans de.

Yes, but that is normal in Catalan.

Catalan often omits subject pronouns when they are understood from the verb form. In an imperative sentence, the command itself already shows that the subject is you.

So:

• Tira el dau = (You) roll the die

You could include a pronoun for emphasis in some contexts, but normally you do not.

Yes. Catalan word order is somewhat flexible, especially in instructions.

For example, this is also natural:

• Abans de moure la fitxa, tira el dau.

This means the same thing. The original version starts with the command, while this version starts with the time phrase before moving the token.

The key part is tx, which is pronounced like English ch in chair.

So fitxa sounds approximately like FEET-cha.

A rough English-style pronunciation of the full sentence is:

TEE-rah el DOW ah-BAHNZ deh MOH-reh lah FEET-cha

The exact vowels vary by dialect, but that approximation is good enough for a learner.