Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.

I am looking at the sea from the hotel.

Breakdown of Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.

• από: from
• η θάλασσα: the sea
• το ξενοδοχείο: the hotel
• κοιτάω: to look at

Questions & Answers about Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.

What exactly does κοιτάω mean, and how is it different from βλέπω?

Κοιτάω means “I look (at), I am looking (at), I watch”.
It implies a deliberate action: you choose to direct your eyes at something.

Βλέπω means “I see / I can see”.
It can be more passive: something just appears in your field of vision.

Roughly:

• κοιτάω τη θάλασσα = I look at / I’m looking at the sea (on purpose)
• βλέπω τη θάλασσα = I see the sea (it’s visible to me)

Both are common, but κοιτάω stresses the act of looking rather than just seeing.

In English we say “look at the sea”. Why does Greek say κοιτάω τη θάλασσα without a preposition?

In Greek, many verbs that take a preposition in English instead take a direct object in the accusative.

So:

• English: I look *at the sea.*
• Greek: Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα. (verb + direct object, no preposition)

κοιτάω behaves like English see here:

• I see the sea → Βλέπω τη θάλασσα.

You can add a preposition like προς or σε for “towards”, but in basic “look at X”, Greek just uses the object:

• Κοιτάω προς τη θάλασσα. = I look toward the sea.

What case is τη θάλασσα, and how can I tell?

Τη θάλασσα is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of the verb κοιτάω.

For feminine nouns like θάλασσα:

• Nominative (subject): η θάλασσα
• Accusative (object): τη(ν) θάλασσα

The noun form θάλασσα itself doesn’t change between nominative and accusative; what changes is the article:

• η θάλασσα – the sea (as subject)
  
  • Η θάλασσα είναι μπλε. = The sea is blue.
• τη θάλασσα – the sea (as object)
  
  • Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα. = I look at the sea.

So you know it’s accusative because:

1. It follows a verb that needs a direct object.
2. The article is τη (or την), not η.

Why is it τη θάλασσα and not την θάλασσα?

The full feminine accusative article is την, but in modern Greek the final -ν is often dropped in writing and speech, depending on the next sound.

Traditional rule (for τον / την):

• Keep the final -ν before:

  • vowels (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω)
  • and the consonants: κ, π, τ, γκ, μπ, ντ, ξ, ψ, and sometimes ζ

• Drop the -ν before most other consonants.

Here the next sound is θ, which is not in that list, so the usual written form is:

• τη θάλασσα, not την θάλασσα.

In everyday speech, many Greeks keep or drop the -ν more freely, but τη θάλασσα is the standard spelling in this context.

Why does Greek use the definite article with θάλασσα here? Why not just Κοιτάω θάλασσα?

Greek uses the definite article much more than English does. In this sentence:

• τη θάλασσα = the sea

We normally refer to sea, sky, sun etc. with the article when we mean a specific, real-world thing:

• Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα. = I’m looking at the (actual) sea.
• Βλέπω τον ήλιο. = I see the sun.

Κοιτάω θάλασσα without the article sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Greek, and would only work in very special contexts (e.g. a headline snippet, or some poetic/telegraphic style).

So: with ordinary nouns like θάλασσα, assume you need the article unless you have a specific reason not to.

Why is there no subject pronoun εγώ in the sentence?

Greek is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός…) are usually omitted when they are clear from the verb ending.

In Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα:

• The ending ‑άω on κοιτάω tells you the subject is 1st person singular → “I”.
• So εγώ is not needed:
  • Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα. = I am looking at the sea.

You only add εγώ when you want emphasis or contrast:

• Εγώ κοιτάω τη θάλασσα, όχι εσύ.
  I am looking at the sea, not you.

Does κοιτάω mean “I look” or “I am looking”? Which English present is it?

Greek has one present tense that usually covers both English simple present and present continuous.

So κοιτάω can mean:

• I look (habitually, generally)
• I am looking (right now)

The exact meaning depends on context:

• Τι κάνεις; – Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα.
  What are you doing? – I’m looking at the sea. (right now)

• Κάθε βράδυ κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το μπαλκόνι.
  Every evening I (usually) look at the sea from the balcony.

So you don’t change the verb form; you add time expressions (now, every day, always, etc.) to make the meaning clear.

What does από mean in this sentence, and which case does it require?

Here από means “from”, expressing the starting point or location of the action (the place where you are when you look):

• από το ξενοδοχείο = from the hotel / from the hotel (balcony, window, etc.)

In modern Greek, από is normally followed by the accusative case:

• από το ξενοδοχείο (accusative)
• από την Αθήνα (accusative)
• από τον δρόμο (accusative)

So in this sentence:

• από
  • το ξενοδοχείο (accusative) = from the hotel.

What’s the difference between από το ξενοδοχείο and στο ξενοδοχείο here?

They express different relationships:

• από το ξενοδοχείο = from the hotel
  → the vantage point is the hotel. You are in (or at) the hotel, and from there you look at the sea.

  • Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.
    I look at the sea from the hotel.

• στο ξενοδοχείο = at/in the hotel
  → indicates location, not origin.
  If you said:

  • Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα στο ξενοδοχείο.
    This would most naturally mean “I look at the sea that is in the hotel” (e.g. a picture or model of the sea in the hotel), which is not what you want.

So to mean “from my hotel (room/balcony) I look at the sea”, you need από, not σε/στο.

Can I change the word order to Από το ξενοδοχείο κοιτάω τη θάλασσα? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

• Από το ξενοδοχείο κοιτάω τη θάλασσα.

Greek word order is flexible. The basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis shifts.

• Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.
  Neutral order; slight emphasis on the action and object (I look at the sea), then you add from where.

• Από το ξενοδοχείο κοιτάω τη θάλασσα.
  Puts more focus first on from the hotel – the location is highlighted (e.g. in contrast to some other place).

Both are correct and natural; context decides which sounds more appropriate.

Is κοιτάω the same as κοιτάζω or κοιτώ?

They are closely related:

• κοιτάω and κοιτάζω are both very common and largely interchangeable in everyday speech, both meaning “to look (at), to watch”.

  • Many speakers use them almost as free variants.

• κοιτώ is a shorter, slightly more formal or “literary” variant of κοιτάω:

  • κοιτάω → colloquial / neutral
  • κοιτώ → more formal or written style

Examples:

• Κοιτάω / Κοιτάζω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.
• Κοιτώ τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο.

All three are understandable; for everyday use, κοιτάω or κοιτάζω are the safest choices.

How do I pronounce Κοιτάω τη θάλασσα από το ξενοδοχείο?

Approximate phonetic transcription (IPA):

• Κοιτάω → [ciˈta.o] or [ciˈtao]

  • κι = [ci] (like “k” + “yee”)
  • stress on τά: κι‑ΤΑ‑ω

• τη → [ti]

• θάλασσα → [ˈθalasa]

  • θ like English th in think
  • stress on ΘΑ: ΘΑ‑λα‑σσα

• από → [aˈpo]

  • stress on πό: α‑ΠΟ

• το → [to]

• ξενοδοχείο → [ksenɔðoˈçio] or [ksenothoˈçio] (modern [o] sound)

  • ξε = [kse] (like “kse”)
  • νο = [nɔ]/[no]
  • δο = [ðo] (like English th in this
    • o)
  • χ before ι = [ç] (a soft “h” with the tongue near the palate)
  • stress on χεί: ξε‑νο‑δο‑ΧΕΙ‑ο

Main stress pattern:

• κιΤΑω τη ΘΑλασσα αΠΟ το ξενοδοΧΕΙο.