Ο δευτερεύων ρόλος ανήκει στον συμπρωταγωνιστή.

It breaks down like this:

• Ο δευτερεύων ρόλος = the subject
• ανήκει = the verb
• στον συμπρωταγωνιστή = a prepositional phrase meaning to the co-star

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + verb + complement

That is very close to normal English word order, even though Greek can be more flexible.

Ο is the masculine singular nominative definite article, so it means the.

It goes with ρόλος because:

• ρόλος is masculine
• singular
• nominative, because it is the subject of the sentence

In Greek, the article changes form depending on gender, number, and case.

Δευτερεύων is an adjective meaning secondary / supporting.

It is in the masculine singular nominative form so that it agrees with ρόλος.

What may feel strange is that this adjective belongs to a more formal, learned pattern:

• masculine: δευτερεύων
• feminine: δευτερεύουσα
• neuter: δευτερεύον

So even though δευτερεύων does not look like ρόλος, it still matches it grammatically.

This is a fairly formal or standard expression, especially in contexts like theatre, cinema, criticism, and awards.

Ρόλος is in the nominative singular.

You can tell because:

• it is the subject of the verb ανήκει
• it comes with the nominative article ο

So ο δευτερεύων ρόλος is the thing that belongs.

Ανήκει is the 3rd person singular present tense of ανήκω, which means to belong.

So ανήκει means:

• belongs
• or sometimes pertains, depending on context

Here it matches the singular subject ο ρόλος, so Greek uses the singular verb form.

A very important point for learners: ανήκω normally goes with σε + accusative for the person or thing something belongs to.

So:

• ανήκει στον συμπρωταγωνιστή = it belongs to the co-star

Στον is the normal contracted form of:

• σε
  • τον = στον

This contraction is extremely common in Modern Greek.

So:

• στον συμπρωταγωνιστή = to the co-star

You will see the same thing with other article forms too:

• στη(ν) = σε + τη(ν)
• στο = σε + το
• στους = σε + τους
• στις = σε + τις
• στα = σε + τα

Because after σε, Greek uses the accusative.

The dictionary form is:

• ο συμπρωταγωνιστής = nominative singular

But after σε / στον, it becomes:

• τον συμπρωταγωνιστή = accusative singular

Since στον already contains τον, you get:

• στον συμπρωταγωνιστή

This is a very common pattern with masculine nouns ending in -τής:

• ο μαθητής → τον μαθητή
• ο πρωταγωνιστής → τον πρωταγωνιστή
• ο συμπρωταγωνιστής → τον συμπρωταγωνιστή

It is made up of parts:

• συν- / συμ- = with, together
• πρωταγωνιστής = protagonist / leading actor

So συμπρωταγωνιστής literally means something like:

• co-star
• co-lead
• actor starring together with another

The form συμ- appears instead of συν- because Greek often changes that prefix depending on the sound that follows. Before π, it becomes συμ-.

Greek word order is more flexible than English because the case endings help show what each word is doing.

So this sentence could be rearranged for emphasis, for example:

• Στον συμπρωταγωνιστή ανήκει ο δευτερεύων ρόλος.

That would sound more like:

• It is the co-star who gets the supporting role, or
• The supporting role belongs to the co-star

The original order is neutral and straightforward.

Yes. It is a normal and standard phrase, especially in formal or artistic contexts such as:

• theatre
• film
• TV
• criticism
• award categories

It has the sense of secondary role or supporting role.

In less formal speech, Greeks may also use other expressions depending on context, but δευτερεύων ρόλος is absolutely correct and natural.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

o dhefte-REV-on RO-los a-NEE-kee ston seem-pro-ta-go-nee-STEE

A few helpful notes:

• δ sounds like th in this
• ευ before τ sounds like ef
• γγ / γκ / γχ rules are not relevant here, but γκ often differs elsewhere
• the stress falls on:
  • -ρεύ- in δευτερεύων
  • ρό- in ρόλος
  • -νή- in ανήκει
  • -στή in συμπρωταγωνιστή

If you want to sound more natural, pay close attention to the stressed syllables.