התמונה מטושטשת בגלל העדשה המלוכלכת.

In Hebrew, present-tense sentences like this often do not use a word for is / are.

So:

התמונה מטושטשת
literally looks like the picture blurry, but it means the picture is blurry.

This is normal in Hebrew.
If you wanted past or future, you would use a form of to be, for example:

• התמונה הייתה מטושטשת = the picture was blurry
• התמונה תהיה מטושטשת = the picture will be blurry

Because תמונה is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective has to agree with it in gender and number.

Here are the main forms:

• מטושטש = masculine singular
• מטושטשת = feminine singular
• מטושטשים = masculine plural
• מטושטשות = feminine plural

Since התמונה is feminine singular, Hebrew uses מטושטשת.

In this sentence, it functions as an adjective: blurry / blurred.

It comes from the root ט-ש-ט-ש, which is related to blurring or smudging. In many cases, forms like this are historically related to participles, but for a learner, the most useful way to think about it here is simply:

• מטושטשת = blurry / blurred

So in התמונה מטושטשת, it is describing the state of the picture.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• תמונה = a picture / picture
• התמונה = the picture

The same thing happens with many nouns:

• ספר = book
• הספר = the book

Because in Hebrew, an adjective that directly describes a noun usually comes after the noun.

So:

• עדשה מלוכלכת = a dirty lens
• העדשה המלוכלכת = the dirty lens

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

Also, the adjective must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Here, both words are feminine singular and definite.

This is a very common and important Hebrew pattern.

1. העדשה המלוכלכת

Here, המלוכלכת is an adjective inside the noun phrase:
the dirty lens

Because the noun is definite (העדשה), the adjective must also be definite:

• העדשה המלוכלכת

2. התמונה מטושטשת

Here, מטושטשת is not part of the noun phrase התמונה.
It is the predicate of the sentence: it tells you something about the picture.

So Hebrew says:

• התמונה מטושטשת = the picture is blurry

not:

• התמונה המטושטשת unless you mean the blurry picture

That difference is important:

• התמונה מטושטשת = the picture is blurry
• התמונה המטושטשת = the blurry picture

בגלל means because of or due to.

It is followed by a noun phrase, not a full clause.

So:

• בגלל העדשה המלוכלכת = because of the dirty lens

This fits the sentence well because the cause is expressed as a noun phrase.

Compare:

• התמונה מטושטשת בגלל העדשה המלוכלכת = The picture is blurry because of the dirty lens.
• התמונה מטושטשת כי העדשה מלוכלכת = The picture is blurry because the lens is dirty.

Both are natural, but:

• בגלל
  • noun phrase
• כי
  • clause

Because the sentence is talking about a specific lens: the dirty lens.

Compare:

• בגלל עדשה מלוכלכת = because of a dirty lens
• בגלל העדשה המלוכלכת = because of the dirty lens

Using ה־ makes it definite and specific.

One clue is the ending ־ה, which often marks feminine nouns in Hebrew.

Also, the adjective confirms it:

• העדשה המלוכלכת

The adjective מלוכלכת is feminine singular, so it agrees with עדשה.

If the noun were masculine singular, you would expect:

• מלוכלך

For example:

• החלון המלוכלך = the dirty window

Yes. עדשה can also mean lentil.

So the word has more than one meaning, and context tells you which one is intended.

In this sentence, because we have words like picture and blurry, the meaning is clearly lens, not lentil.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-tmu-NA me-tush-TE-shet bi-glal ha-a-da-SHA ha-me-lukh-LE-khet

A few helpful notes:

• Stress is usually near the end in these words:
  • תמונה → tmuNA
  • מטושטשת → tushTEshet
  • עדשה → adaSHA
  • מלוכלכת → lukhLEkhet
• In modern Israeli Hebrew, the letter ע in העדשה is often very weak or almost silent for many speakers.

Yes, Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible.

The original sentence is a very natural neutral order:

• התמונה מטושטשת בגלל העדשה המלוכלכת

But you could also say:

• בגלל העדשה המלוכלכת, התמונה מטושטשת

That puts more emphasis on the cause: because of the dirty lens.

Both are grammatical; the difference is mainly one of focus or style.