Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου έχει μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο. - My friend female has long hair and a smiling face.

Η – the feminine singular nominative definite article “the”. It marks φίλη as the subject.
φίλη – noun, “(female) friend”, feminine, singular, nominative. Subject of the sentence.
μου – unstressed possessive pronoun, “my”, genitive singular. It follows the noun and shows possession: η φίλη μου = my (female) friend.
έχει – verb, 3rd person singular, present indicative of έχω (“to have”). Here: “(she) has”.
μακριά – adjective, “long”, neuter plural accusative, agreeing with μαλλιά. Base forms: μακρύς (m), μακριά (f), μακρύ (n). Neuter plural: μακριά.
μαλλιά – noun, “hair”, neuter plural accusative, direct object of έχει. In Greek, τα μαλλιά is almost always plural.
και – conjunction, “and”, joining the two objects of έχει.
χαμογελαστό – adjective, “smiling”, neuter singular accusative, agreeing with πρόσωπο. Base forms: χαμογελαστός (m), χαμογελαστή (f), χαμογελαστό (n).
πρόσωπο – noun, “face”, neuter singular accusative, second direct object of έχει.

So structurally you have:

Subject: η φίλη μου
Verb: έχει
Direct objects: μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο

Why is “my friend” expressed as Η φίλη μου and not in the English order “my friend”?

Greek usually expresses possession with:

article + noun + unstressed possessive pronoun

So:

η φίλη μου = the friend my → “my friend”

Key points:

The definite article (η) is almost always used with nouns plus a possessive (it sounds natural and “complete” in Greek).
The possessive pronoun (μου) normally comes after the noun, not before it.
Saying μου φίλη is wrong in standard modern Greek in this meaning.
You can say η δική μου φίλη (“my own friend / that specific friend of mine”) for emphasis, but the neutral, default way is η φίλη μου.

So, even though English says “my friend”, the normal Greek pattern is “the friend my” → η φίλη μου.

Does φίλη mean simply “friend”, or does it mean “girlfriend” in a romantic sense?

φίλη primarily means “female friend”.

Whether it implies “girlfriend” (romantic partner) depends on context:

Neutral/obvious context of friendship:
- Η φίλη μου από τη δουλειά – “My friend from work” (probably not romantic).
In contexts where a romantic relationship is likely:
- Έχω φίλη. – “I have a girlfriend.” (commonly understood as romantic).
If you want to be crystal‑clear:
- η κοπέλα μου – “my girlfriend” (very strongly romantic)
- η φίλη μου – usually “my (female) friend”, but may be understood as girlfriend if the situation suggests it.

So η φίλη μου on its own is ambiguous, but in many everyday contexts it is understood as “my (female) friend”.

Why is “hair” translated as μαλλιά in the plural, and what is its gender and article?

In Greek, “hair” is usually treated as a plural noun:

τα μαλλιά – “(the) hair”

Details:

μαλλιά is neuter plural.
Strictly, the singular would be το μαλλί, but in modern usage το μαλλί often means “a strand/lock of hair” or “hair” in a colloquial/mass sense (e.g. about a hairstyle or a lot of hair).
When you talk about someone’s hair in general (like “long hair”), you almost always use the plural:
- έχει μακριά μαλλιά – “she has long hair”.

In the sentence, there’s no article before μακριά μαλλιά because it’s an indefinite, descriptive phrase: “(some) long hair”. But if you add the article:

Έχει τα μαλλιά της μακριά. – “She has her hair long.” (more specific, “her own hair”).

Why is the adjective μακριά in this form? I thought “long” was μακρύς.

The basic three‑gender pattern of the adjective “long” is:

Masculine: μακρύς
Feminine: μακριά
Neuter: μακρύ

However, in the neuter plural, the form of this type of adjective is μακριά.

So the relevant forms are:

Neuter singular: μακρύ
Neuter plural: μακριά

Since μαλλιά is neuter plural, the adjective must agree in gender, number, and case:

μακριά μαλλιά – neuter plural accusative adjective + neuter plural accusative noun.

That’s why it is μακριά μαλλιά, not μακρύ μαλλιά or μακρύς μαλλιά.

What exactly is χαμογελαστό and how does it relate to the verb “to smile”?

χαμογελαστό is an adjective meaning “smiling” or “smiley”.

It comes from the verb χαμογελάω / χαμογελώ – “to smile”. The related adjective is:

Masculine: χαμογελαστός
Feminine: χαμογελαστή
Neuter: χαμογελαστό

In the sentence:

πρόσωπο (face) is neuter singular accusative,
so the adjective must also be neuter singular accusative: χαμογελαστό.

So χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο literally means “smiling face”, a face that looks as if it is smiling or has a generally smiley expression.

Why is there no article before χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο? Shouldn’t it be ένα χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο (“a smiling face”)?

You could say ένα χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο, but leaving ένα out is very natural here.

There are two points:

Indefinite article often omitted in Greek
Greek can drop ένα / μία / ένα (the equivalents of “a/an”) in many descriptive phrases, especially after verbs like έχω (“have”), είμαι (“be”), φοράω (“wear”), etc.
So both are possible:
- Έχει χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο. – She has a smiling face.
- Έχει ένα χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο. – Same meaning, just a little more “countable”/emphatic.
Stylistic choice
Without ένα, the phrase feels a bit more general, as a description of characteristic:
“She has long hair and (a) smiling face” as general qualities.

So the version without ένα is correct and very natural Greek in this context.

Can the adjectives come after the nouns, e.g. μαλλιά μακριά and πρόσωπο χαμογελαστό? Is that correct?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct, but the nuance and style change:

Standard, neutral order:
- μακριά μαλλιά – long hair
- χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο – a smiling face
Adjective after the noun:
- μαλλιά μακριά
- πρόσωπο χαμογελαστό

Adjective‑after‑noun in modern Greek:

Is less common in everyday neutral speech.
Sounds more poetic, literary, or emphatic, or sometimes more colloquial in certain fixed patterns.
Often gives extra emphasis or a descriptive, almost “painterly” feel to the quality:
μαλλιά μακριά can sound a bit like “hair, long (they are)” – highlighting the length.

So you could say:

Η φίλη μου έχει μαλλιά μακριά και πρόσωπο χαμογελαστό.

It’s understandable and correct, but Η φίλη μου έχει μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο is more neutral and standard.

Could I say είναι instead of έχει, like “Η φίλη μου είναι μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο”?

No; είναι (“is”) cannot be used here in that way.

έχει means “has” and naturally takes direct objects:
- Η φίλη μου έχει μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο.
  “My friend has long hair and a smiling face.”
είναι means “is”, and what follows it should be a complement (e.g. an adjective or a noun phrase referring back to the subject), not just random accusative objects.

If you want to use είναι, you must change the structure, e.g.:

Η φίλη μου είναι μακρυμάλλα και χαμογελαστή.
= “My friend is long‑haired and smiling.”
Here:
- μακρυμάλλα – adjective meaning “long‑haired” (feminine).
- χαμογελαστή – feminine form of χαμογελαστός, agreeing with η φίλη.

So:

With έχει: you describe what she has (hair, face → nouns).
With είναι: you describe what she is (long‑haired, smiley → adjectives).

What cases are the nouns φίλη, μαλλιά, and πρόσωπο in, and why?

η φίλη – nominative singular feminine
- It’s the subject of the verb έχει (“has”), so it must be in the nominative.
μαλλιά – accusative plural neuter
- It’s a direct object of έχει.
πρόσωπο – accusative singular neuter
- It’s the second direct object of έχει, joined by και.

General rule:

Subject → nominative case
Direct object → accusative case

So the pattern is entirely regular:
η φίλη (nom) μου έχει μακριά μαλλιά (acc) και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο (acc).

How do you pronounce Η φίλη μου έχει μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

Η φίλη μου έχει μακριά μαλλιά και χαμογελαστό πρόσωπο
/i ˈfili mu ˈexi makriˈa maˈʎa ce xamoʝelaˈsto ˈprosopo/

Syllable‑by‑syllable:

Η – /i/ (like “ee” in “see”)
φί‑λη – /ˈfi.li/ (stress on φί)
μου – /mu/
έ‑χει – /ˈe.xi/ (χ like the “ch” in German Bach)
μα‑κριά – /ma.kriˈa/ (stress on the last syllable -ά)
μαλ‑λιά – /maˈʎa/ (λ‑λ is a palatal “ly” sound; stress on -ιά)
και – /ce/ (similar to “ke”)
χα‑μο‑γε‑λα‑στό – /xa.mo.ʝe.laˈsto/ (stress on -στό; γ before ε sounds like “y” in “yes”)
πρό‑σω‑πο – /ˈpro.so.po/ (stress on πρό)