Όχι πως αργεί η πρεμιέρα· απλώς η πρόβα δεν είναι έτοιμη.

to be

Breakdown of Όχι πως αργεί η πρεμιέρα· απλώς η πρόβα δεν είναι έτοιμη.

• δεν: not
• έτοιμος: ready
• απλώς: simply

Questions & Answers about Όχι πως αργεί η πρεμιέρα· απλώς η πρόβα δεν είναι έτοιμη.

What does Όχι πως mean here?

Όχι πως is an idiomatic way to say not that... in Greek.

So:

• Όχι πως αργεί η πρεμιέρα = Not that the premiere is late
• It often introduces a clarification or soft correction before the speaker gives the real reason.

In this sentence, the speaker is basically saying:

• It’s not that the premiere is late
• It’s just that the rehearsal isn’t ready

This structure is very natural in spoken and written Greek.

Why is it πως and not πώς?

These are two different words:

• πως = that, as if, or part of set expressions like όχι πως
• πώς = how?

The accent matters.

Here, πως is a conjunction, not a question word, so it has no accent:

• Όχι πως αργεί...

If you wrote πώς, it would suggest how, which would not fit here.

Could I also say Όχι ότι αργεί η πρεμιέρα?