English uses be in “I am twenty,” “I am hungry,” and “it is cold,” but have in “I have time.” Greek divides these meanings differently: age normally uses είμαι + number + χρονών, hunger and thirst normally use verbs, being right uses έχω δίκιο, and a general weather report commonly uses κάνει. These are lexical constructions, so translating have or be before translating the whole expression produces predictable errors.
This is a diagnostic page. The complete paradigms belong to είμαι, έχω expressions, and weather expressions.
Age: είμαι + number + χρονών
Greek presents age as a state with είμαι “be.” The number is followed by χρονών, the genitive plural of χρόνος. English omits any word corresponding to “years old” after a number, while Greek normally keeps χρονών.
Είμαι είκοσι χρονών και σπουδάζω στην Πάτρα.
íme íkosi chronón ke spudházo stin Pátra
I am twenty years old and study in Patras.
Η κόρη μας είναι έξι χρονών και πάει πρώτη δημοτικού.
i kóri mas íne éksi chronón ke pái próti dhimotikú
Our daughter is six years old and is in the first year of primary school.
Πόσων χρονών είσαι;
póson chronón íse;
How old are you?
The form έχω είκοσι χρόνια is not meaningless Greek. It means “I have twenty years” only when another noun or context supplies what those years measure, as in experience or service. It is not the neutral way to state a person's age.
Έχω είκοσι χρόνια εμπειρίας στη δημόσια διοίκηση.
écho íkosi chrónia empirías sti dhimósia dhiíkisi
I have twenty years of experience in public administration.
Hunger and thirst: Greek normally uses verbs
The everyday neutral choices are πεινάω “be hungry” and διψάω “be thirsty.” The contracted variants πεινώ and διψώ are also current Greek; this page uses the common -άω forms consistently. Grammatically, they are ordinary verbs: they change for person and tense and do not need είμαι or έχω in front of them.
Πεινάω πολύ· να παραγγείλουμε κάτι τώρα.
pináo polí; na parangílume káti tóra
I'm really hungry; let's order something now.
Τα παιδιά διψάνε μετά την προπόνηση.
ta pedhiá dhipsáne metá tin propónisi
The children are thirsty after practice.
Αν πεινάσεις αργότερα, έχει φαγητό στο ψυγείο.
an pinásis arghótera, échi fayitó sto psiyío
If you get hungry later, there is food in the fridge.
Greek also has the adjectives πεινασμένος and διψασμένος. Consequently, είμαι πεινασμένος and είμαι διψασμένος are grammatical. They describe the resulting state and can sound more descriptive, emphatic, or contrastive than the simple verbs. They must not be treated as errors.
Είμαι πεινασμένος από το πρωί, όχι απλώς λιγάκι κουρασμένος.
íme pinazménos apó to proí, óchi aplós ligháki kurazménos
I've been hungry since this morning, not just a little tired. (descriptive contrast)
Ύστερα από τόσες ώρες στον ήλιο, ήμασταν όλοι διψασμένοι.
ístera apó tóses óres ston ílio, ímastan óli dhipsazméni
After so many hours in the sun, we were all thirsty. (resulting state)
The diagnostic question is therefore not “Can Greek use είμαι here?” It can. The useful question is “What is the unmarked everyday way to report the immediate need?” Usually: πεινάω or διψάω.
Being right: έχω δίκιο
For “be right” in an argument, judgment, or prediction, Greek uses έχω δίκιο, literally “have right/justice.” The person whose claim is correct is the subject of έχω.
Έχεις δίκιο· το τελευταίο λεωφορείο φεύγει στις έντεκα.
échis dhíkio; to teleftéo leoforío févyi stis éndeka
You're right; the last bus leaves at eleven.
Τελικά είχαμε δίκιο για την καθυστέρηση της πτήσης.
teliká íchame dhíkio ya tin kathistérisi tis ptísis
In the end, we were right about the flight delay.
The adjective σωστός means “correct,” “proper,” or, of a person, “decent/upright” depending on context. A sentence such as Είσαι σωστός άνθρωπος is perfectly natural, but it does not replace έχεις δίκιο when agreeing with someone's claim.
Είσαι σωστός άνθρωπος και κράτησες τον λόγο σου.
íse sostós ánthropos ke krátises ton lógho su
You're a decent person, and you kept your word.
Weather: κάνει κρύο, but predicates remain possible
A neutral report about ambient temperature commonly uses κάνει + weather expression: κάνει κρύο “it is cold,” κάνει ζέστη “it is hot.” Greek supplies no dummy pronoun corresponding to English it.
Κάνει κρύο απόψε· πάρε μαζί σου το χοντρό μπουφάν.
káni krío apópse; páre mazí su to chondró bufán
It's cold tonight; take your thick jacket with you.
Το μεσημέρι έκανε πολλή ζέστη στο κέντρο.
to mesiméri ékane polí zésti sto kéndro
At midday it was very hot in the city centre.
However, είναι κρύο is also grammatical. It can predicate “cold” of an overt neuter noun, and it can occur as a general evaluation of a place or situation. The construction κάνει κρύο is the idiomatic default weather frame, not the only possible sequence that expresses coldness.
Το νερό είναι κρύο, άφησέ το λίγο έξω από το ψυγείο.
to neró íne krío, áfisé to lígho ékso apó to psiyío
The water is cold; leave it out of the fridge for a while. (predicate of the water)
Είναι κρύο εδώ μέσα· μπορείς να κλείσεις το παράθυρο;
íne krío edhó mésa; borís na klísis to paráthiro;
It's cold in here; can you close the window? (grammatical evaluation of the room)
A compact construction map
| Intended meaning | Neutral Greek frame | Important contrast |
|---|---|---|
| be twenty years old | είμαι είκοσι χρονών | έχω είκοσι χρόνια needs a possessed duration, such as experience |
| be hungry / thirsty | πεινάω / διψάω | είμαι πεινασμένος / διψασμένος is grammatical and more descriptive |
| be right about a claim | έχω δίκιο | είμαι σωστός has other predicate meanings |
| it is cold, as weather | κάνει κρύο | είναι κρύο remains possible as a predicate or evaluation |
Common Mistakes
Combining έχω with the age complement
The complement χρονών belongs with είμαι, not έχω.
❌ Η αδελφή μου έχει δεκαοχτώ χρονών.
Incorrect for age — έχω cannot take the age complement χρονών.
✅ Η αδελφή μου είναι δεκαοχτώ χρονών.
i adherfí mu íne dhekaochtó chronón
My sister is eighteen years old.
Adding an auxiliary before πεινάω or διψάω
These are already finite verbs; they do not need a form of “have” or “be.”
❌ Μετά τον αγώνα έχω διψάω πολύ.
Incorrect — διψάω is already the verb 'be thirsty.'
✅ Μετά τον αγώνα διψάω πολύ και θέλω νερό.
metá ton aghóna dhipsáo polí ke thélo neró
After the match I'm very thirsty and want water.
Copying English be into “be right”
❌ Σ' αυτή τη διαφωνία είμαι δίκιο.
Incorrect — the fixed expression is έχω δίκιο.
✅ Σ' αυτή τη διαφωνία έχω δίκιο για τα γεγονότα.
s' aftí ti dhiafonía écho dhíkio ya ta yeghonóta
In this disagreement, I'm right about the facts.
Making κρύος agree with the weather
In the impersonal weather expression, use the fixed neuter form κρύο after κάνει.
❌ Σήμερα ο καιρός κάνει κρύος στο βουνό.
Incorrect weather construction — use κάνει κρύο, without masculine agreement.
✅ Σήμερα κάνει κρύο στο βουνό και ίσως χιονίσει.
símera káni krío sto vunó ke ísos chionísi
Today it is cold in the mountains, and it may snow.
Key Takeaways
- Age is normally είμαι + number + χρονών; έχω + years needs a genuinely possessed duration such as experience.
- Πεινάω and διψάω are the neutral everyday verbs for hunger and thirst.
- Είμαι πεινασμένος and είναι κρύο are grammatical in suitable contexts; they are not blanket errors.
- Agreement with a claim is έχω δίκιο.
- The default ambient-weather frame is κάνει κρύο / κάνει ζέστη, with no dummy subject.
Related Topics
- είμαι (to be)A1 — The complete inventory of είμαι on one card — present, past, future, να-form and gerund — plus the unusually long list of forms this verb does not have: no aorist or perfective stem, no perfect, no separate mediopassive, no -μένος participle and no plain imperative.
- Expressions With έχωB1 — Organize high-frequency έχω expressions by appetite, mood, intention, ability, and evaluation instead of memorizing an unrelated list.
- Talking About the WeatherA2 — Ask about Greek weather and combine subjectless weather verbs, κάνει-phrases, έχει-phrases, seasonal time expressions, and simple forecasts.