החולצה עשויה מכותנה.

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.

So:

• חולצה = a shirt / shirt
• החולצה = the shirt

In this sentence, the noun is definite, so the translation is the shirt rather than just a shirt.

Here, עשויה means made or is made.

It comes from the verb לעשות, which usually means to do or to make. In this sentence, though, עשויה is not being used as a simple action verb like she made. It is being used like an adjective/participle meaning made.

So the structure is basically:

• החולצה = the shirt
• עשויה = made
• מכותנה = of cotton / from cotton

Together: The shirt is made of cotton.

Because חולצה is a feminine singular noun.

In Hebrew, words like עשוי / עשויה / עשויים / עשויות must agree with the noun in gender and number.

Here are the matching forms:

• עשוי = masculine singular
• עשויה = feminine singular
• עשויים = masculine plural
• עשויות = feminine plural

Since חולצה is feminine singular, the correct form is עשויה.

A very common clue is the ending ־ה or ־ת, and חולצה is a feminine noun.

In Hebrew, grammatical gender is something you usually have to learn with each noun, but many feminine nouns do have common feminine endings.

Because חולצה is feminine, other words connected to it must match it, which is why you get עשויה.

It is not written as a separate word in the present tense.

In Hebrew, present-tense sentences often leave out the verb to be. English says:

• The shirt is made of cotton

Hebrew simply says:

• החולצה עשויה מכותנה

Literally, it looks more like:

• The shirt made of cotton

But in natural English, we add is.

This is a very important Hebrew pattern:

• in the present tense, to be is usually omitted
• in the past or future, forms of to be may appear differently

The מ־ here means from or of, depending on how we translate it naturally in English.

So:

• כותנה = cotton
• מכותנה = from cotton / of cotton

With materials, Hebrew often uses עשוי מ־ to mean made of or made from.

So:

• עשויה מכותנה = made of cotton

Even though מ־ often literally means from, English usually says made of cotton.

Because when talking about a material in general, Hebrew usually uses the bare noun without the.

So:

• כותנה = cotton, as a material
• הכותנה = the cotton, referring to some specific cotton already known in the conversation

In this sentence, the meaning is general: the shirt is made of cotton as a material. So מכותנה is the normal choice.

In this sentence, it behaves very much like an adjective/participle.

That is why it agrees with חולצה in gender and number. You can think of it as meaning made.

This is a helpful way to understand it:

• החולצה יפה = The shirt is pretty
• החולצה גדולה = The shirt is big
• החולצה עשויה מכותנה = The shirt is made of cotton

So עשויה functions similarly to descriptive words, even though it comes from a verb root.

The basic form you will usually see is עשוי.

That is the masculine singular form, which is often how adjectives and participles are listed.

Related forms:

• עשוי = masculine singular
• עשויה = feminine singular
• עשויים = masculine plural
• עשויות = feminine plural

And it comes from the root ע-ש-ה, the same root as לעשות (to do / to make).

A common pronunciation is:

ha-khultsa asuya mi-kutna

A rough breakdown:

• החולצה = ha-khultsa
• עשויה = asuya
• מכותנה = mi-kutna

Notes:

• ח is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• צ sounds like ts

This is a very normal Hebrew sentence pattern:

noun + description/complement

So:

• החולצה = the shirt
• עשויה = made
• מכותנה = of cotton

This is similar to many simple Hebrew present-tense sentences, where you put the subject first and then describe it.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in feel.

• החולצה עשויה מכותנה = The shirt is made of cotton
• חולצת כותנה = a cotton shirt

The first is a full sentence. The second is a noun phrase.

So if you are describing what kind of shirt something is, חולצת כותנה is very common. If you are making a statement about the shirt’s material, החולצה עשויה מכותנה is the clearer full sentence.

Only עשוי changes to match the noun.

Examples:

• השולחן עשוי מעץ = The table is made of wood
  (שולחן is masculine singular, so עשוי)

• החולצות עשויות מכותנה = The shirts are made of cotton
  (חולצות is feminine plural, so עשויות)

• הבגדים עשויים מכותנה = The clothes are made of cotton
  (בגדים is masculine plural, so עשויים)

This agreement pattern is very important in Hebrew.