Μου αρέσει να χορεύω όταν ακούω μουσική στο σαλόνι.

In Greek, the verb αρέσω works the opposite way from English to like.

• Literally, Μου αρέσει means “It pleases me”, not “I like it”.
• αρέσει = “(it) pleases”
• μου = “to me” (indirect object, genitive form of εγώ)

So:

• Μου αρέσει = It is pleasing to me → I like it
• We don’t say Εγώ αρέσω to mean I like; εγώ αρέσω would mean I am liked (by others), not I like (something).

μου and με are two different cases of the same pronoun “I / me”.

• μου = “to me / my” → genitive case
  Used for possession or as an indirect object:

  • μου αρέσει = it pleases me
  • το βιβλίο μου = my book

• με = “me” → accusative case
  Used as a direct object:

  • με βλέπεις = you see me
  • με αγαπά = he/she loves me

In Μου αρέσει, we need μου, because the meaning is “it is pleasing to me”, not “it sees me / hits me / etc.”

The form of αρέσει / αρέσουν depends on what is liked (the grammatical subject), not on the person who likes it.

• Μου αρέσει ο χορός. → I like dance / dancing.
  (ο χορός = singular → αρέσει)

• Μου αρέσουν οι ταινίες. → I like movies.
  (οι ταινίες = plural → αρέσουν)

In Μου αρέσει να χορεύω, the subject is the whole action το να χορεύω (“the dancing”), which is treated as singular, so we use αρέσει.

Modern Greek doesn’t have a true infinitive (“to dance”) like English.
Instead, it uses να + verb to express:

• “to do something”
• “that I do something”
• or a general verbal idea

So:

• να χορεύω ≈ “to dance” / “(that) I dance”

You cannot say Μου αρέσει χορεύω; it’s ungrammatical.
You must use να:

• Μου αρέσει να χορεύω. = I like to dance.

These two forms show aspect (kind of like “ongoing” vs “one-off”):

• να χορεύω (imperfective) → ongoing, habitual, repeated

  • Μου αρέσει να χορεύω. = I like dancing (in general / as an activity).

• να χορέψω (perfective) → single, complete event

  • Θέλω να χορέψω. = I want to dance (once, now / on this occasion).

In this sentence, we’re talking about what you like as a general habit, so να χορεύω is the natural choice.

Yes, both are correct but they feel slightly different:

• Μου αρέσει ο χορός.
  Literally: “Dance (as a thing) pleases me.”
  → Like saying “I like dance / dancing (as a concept, hobby, art form).”

• Μου αρέσει να χορεύω.
  Literally: “It pleases me to dance.”
  → Emphasizes the activity of me dancing, the action.

In most everyday contexts, they can both translate as “I like dancing,” but:

• Use ο χορός if you mean dance in general, as a field or hobby.
• Use να χορεύω if you focus more on you doing the activity.

• όταν = when / whenever (for real times / situations)
• αν = if (for conditions or possibilities)

In this sentence, you’re talking about what you do when something actually happens:

• όταν ακούω μουσική = when(ever) I listen to music

If you used αν:

• αν ακούω μουσική would sound like “if I happen to be listening to music” – more hypothetical, and not the usual way to express a general habit here.

Greek present tense can express:

• ongoing action right now
• or a general, repeated habit

In όταν ακούω μουσική, with όταν, the present usually means:

• “whenever I listen to music” / “when I listen to music (in general)”

So the whole sentence means something like:

• I like to dance when(ever) I listen to music in the living room
  (a general habit, not just this very moment).

μουσική is a mass / abstract noun, like “music” in English.
Greek often omits the article in a general sense:

• Ακούω μουσική. = I listen to music (music in general).
• Μου αρέσει η μουσική. = I like music (more like “music as a whole”).

You would use the article τη μουσική when talking about specific music:

• Ακούω τη μουσική που μου έστειλες.
  I’m listening to the music you sent me.

In your sentence, it’s clearly “music in general”, so μουσική without an article is natural.

• σε = in / at / to
• το σαλόνι = the living room

In spoken and written Greek, σε + το almost always contracts to στο:

• σε + το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι = in the living room

Similarly:

• σε + τον κήπο → στον κήπο (in the garden)
• σε + την κουζίνα → στην κουζίνα (in the kitchen)

So στο σαλόνι literally = “in the living room”.

το σαλόνι usually means:

• living room, sitting room, or lounge in a house

It can also mean:

• the lounge / salon area in some public spaces (e.g. on a ship, in some venues)

In everyday home context, στο σαλόνι is just “in the living room”.

Greek word order is relatively flexible, but not all orders sound equally natural.

• Μου αρέσει να χορεύω όταν ακούω μουσική στο σαλόνι.
  → very natural.

• Μου αρέσει όταν ακούω μουσική στο σαλόνι να χορεύω.
  → grammatically possible, but sounds heavier / less natural in everyday speech.

The common pattern is:

Μου αρέσει + να-clause (what you like) + όταν-clause (when).

So it’s better to keep να χορεύω right after Μου αρέσει.

Stress marks show which syllable is stressed:

• Μου αρέσει → mou a-RE-si
• να χορεύω → na cho-RE-vo
• όταν → O-tan
• ακούω → a-KOU-o (the “ου” is like “oo”)
• μουσική → mou-si-KI
• στο σαλόνι → sto sa-LO-ni

Spoken smoothly:

Mou a-RE-si na cho-RE-vo O-tan a-KOU-o mou-si-KI sto sa-LO-ni.

Yes:

• Μου αρέσει να χορεύω όταν ακούω μουσική.
  is a perfectly good sentence: “I like to dance when I listen to music.”

You can also move στο σαλόνι a bit:

• Μου αρέσει να χορεύω στο σαλόνι όταν ακούω μουσική.
• Όταν ακούω μουσική στο σαλόνι, μου αρέσει να χορεύω.

All are grammatical. The original just happens to put στο σαλόνι at the end, which is very natural in Greek.