Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη είναι λίγο πικρός, αλλά η σούπα σήμερα είναι πολύ αλμυρή. - Coffee without sugar is a bit bitter, but the soup today is very salty.

ο καφές = the coffee
- ο is the masculine article (nominative singular).
- καφές (kafés) is a masculine noun.
η σούπα = the soup
- η is the feminine article (nominative singular).
- σούπα (sóupa) is a feminine noun.

So you must learn the gender together with each noun:

ο καφές (masc.)
η σούπα (fem.)
η ζάχαρη (fem.)
etc.

What does χωρίς mean, and why is there no article with ζάχαρη?

χωρίς (horís) means without and it is followed by a noun in the accusative case.

χωρίς ζάχαρη = without sugar

ζάχαρη (záhari) is a feminine noun. Its nominative and accusative forms are the same (ζάχαρη), so it looks unchanged after χωρίς, but grammatically it’s accusative.

There is no article (τη ζάχαρη) here because:

English also often drops the article with substances: without sugar, without salt, without milk.
In Greek, with χωρίς + uncountable nouns / substances, it’s very common to omit the article when you mean it in a general, non-specific way.

You could say χωρίς τη ζάχαρη but that would mean without the sugar (that we talked about / that we have here) — more specific.

Why is it είναι λίγο πικρός and not something like είναι λίγος πικρός?

In είναι λίγο πικρός:

είναι = is
πικρός = bitter (masculine form, agreeing with ο καφές)
λίγο = a little / slightly (used as an adverb here)

λίγο is the neuter singular form of the adjective λίγος, λίγη, λίγο (few, little). When used to modify an adjective or a verb, it functions as an adverb and stays in the neuter singular, invariable:

είναι λίγο πικρός – he/it is a little bitter
είναι λίγο κουρασμένη – she is a little tired
τρέχει λίγο – he runs a little / a bit

You would use λίγος / λίγη / λίγο (with gender agreement) when modifying a noun:

λίγος καφές – a little coffee
λίγη ζάχαρη – a little sugar

So:

With nouns: λίγος / λίγη / λίγο + noun
With adjectives/verbs: λίγο as an adverb

Why is it πολύ αλμυρή and not πολύ αλμυρό? What changes here?

πολύ (polý) here means very and functions as an adverb of degree. As an adverb, it is invariable (doesn’t change for gender or number).
αλμυρή is the feminine form of the adjective αλμυρός, αλμυρή, αλμυρό (salty).

The adjective must agree with the noun η σούπα (feminine), so it takes the feminine form:

ο καφές είναι πολύ αλμυρός – the coffee is very salty (masc. adjective)
η σούπα είναι πολύ αλμυρή – the soup is very salty (fem. adjective)
το φαγητό είναι πολύ αλμυρό – the food is very salty (neuter adjective)

So:

πολύ stays the same (adverb).
The adjective changes form to match the gender of the noun.

Why is it πικρός but αλμυρή? Why do the endings -ός and -ή change like that?

Greek adjectives change endings to agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe.

Two adjectives in the sentence:

πικρός (pikrós, bitter)
- Basic forms: πικρός, πικρή, πικρό (masc., fem., neut.)
- Here it describes ο καφές (masc. singular nominative), so we use πικρός.
αλμυρός (almyrós, salty)
- Basic forms: αλμυρός, αλμυρή, αλμυρό
- Here it describes η σούπα (fem. singular nominative), so we use αλμυρή.

General pattern for many “-ός” adjectives:

Masculine: -ός
Feminine: -ή
Neuter: -ό

Examples:

καλός, καλή, καλό – good
ζεστός, ζεστή, ζεστό – hot/warm
πικρός, πικρή, πικρό – bitter

In the sentence:

ο καφές → masculine → πικρός
η σούπα → feminine → αλμυρή

Can σήμερα go in a different place? Why is it η σούπα σήμερα είναι... and not always σήμερα η σούπα είναι...?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs of time like σήμερα (símera, today).

All of these are natural:

Σήμερα η σούπα είναι πολύ αλμυρή.
Η σούπα σήμερα είναι πολύ αλμυρή.
Η σούπα είναι σήμερα πολύ αλμυρή.

They’re all understood as “Today the soup is very salty.”
The choice affects emphasis slightly:

Σήμερα η σούπα… – stronger focus on “today” (as opposed to other days).
Η σούπα σήμερα… – a bit more neutral; still clear it’s about today.
Η σούπα είναι σήμερα… – can emphasize the contrast “is today (not usually)”.

So the position in your sentence is natural and not fixed; σήμερα can move.

Why is there no word for “it” (like it is)? In English we say it is a little bitter.

Greek usually omits subject pronouns when they are obvious from the verb form or from context.

In είναι λίγο πικρός:

English: It is a little bitter.
Greek: (It) is a little bitter. – The “it” is understood.

Greek only uses a separate pronoun for “it” (αυτό, εκείνο, etc.) when you really need to emphasize or clarify:

Αυτό είναι λίγο πικρό. – This is a little bitter. (pointing at something specific)

In simple descriptive sentences with είναι, the subject is often:

Dropped because it’s obvious: είναι καλό – it is good / that’s good.
Or replaced by the noun itself: Ο καφές είναι λίγο πικρός.

Why do we use αλλά here? Could we also use όμως for “but”?

αλλά (allá) is the most common word for but in Greek, used to connect two contrasting clauses:

Ο καφές είναι λίγο πικρός, αλλά η σούπα είναι πολύ αλμυρή.
The coffee is a little bitter, but the soup is very salty.

όμως (ómos) can also mean but / however, but it’s often a bit more like “however / though” and its position is freer:

Ο καφές είναι λίγο πικρός. Όμως, η σούπα είναι πολύ αλμυρή.
Ο καφές είναι λίγο πικρός, όμως η σούπα είναι πολύ αλμυρή.

Both are correct; αλλά is the straightforward coordinating “but” within one sentence; όμως can feel slightly more like a separate comment or a softer contrast.

How do you say “is not” here? Where would the negative go?

To negate είναι (is), Greek uses δεν before the verb:

Ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη δεν είναι πολύ πικρός.
Coffee without sugar is not very bitter.

Position:

δεν always comes right before the verb (unless there’s a clitic pronoun, which is another topic).

Compare:

είναι λίγο πικρός – he/it is a little bitter
δεν είναι λίγο πικρός – he/it is not a little bitter

So you keep the rest of the sentence the same and just place δεν in front of είναι.

What is the pronunciation and stress pattern of the main words in this sentence?

Key words with stress (shown by the accent) and rough pronunciation:

καφές – kafés (ka-FES) – the stress is on the second syllable
χωρίς – horís (ho-REES) – stress on the second syllable
ζάχαρη – záhari (ZA-ha-ri) – stress on the first syllable
σούπα – sóupa (SOO-pa) – stress on the first syllable
σήμερα – símera (SEE-me-ra) – stress on the first syllable
πικρός – pikrós (pee-KROS) – stress on the second syllable
αλμυρή – almyrí (al-mee-REE) – stress on the last syllable

In Modern Greek:

Each word has one main stress.
The written accent (´) marks the stressed vowel.
Correct stress is important; changing it can make a word sound wrong or even mean something else.

Why do we say Ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη είναι λίγο πικρός and not just Ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη λίγο πικρός?

Greek normally keeps the verb “to be” (είμαι) in sentences that describe a state or quality:

Ο καφές είναι πικρός. – The coffee is bitter.
Η σούπα είναι πολύ αλμυρή. – The soup is very salty.

Unlike some languages, you cannot usually drop είναι in the present tense in standard Greek. Without είναι, the sentence sounds incomplete or ungrammatical:

✗ Ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη λίγο πικρός – incorrect / sounds broken
✓ Ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη είναι λίγο πικρός – correct

So here είναι is required to link the subject (ο καφές χωρίς ζάχαρη) with its description (λίγο πικρός).