Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί είναι ο καλύτερος. - The first coffee in the morning is the best.

Before the noun (καφές) to mark a specific coffee: the first coffee.
Before the adjective (καλύτερος) when the adjective is used “as a noun” (i.e. standing for ο καλύτερος καφές = the best coffee). In Greek this is very common:
- ο μικρός = the little (boy)
- η μεγάλη = the big (girl/woman)

So ο καλύτερος here really means ο καλύτερος καφές, but the noun is omitted because it’s understood from context.

Why is it πρώτος and not πρώτη or πρώτο?

πρώτος / πρώτη / πρώτο are the masculine / feminine / neuter forms of the ordinal adjective “first.”

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun they describe in:

Gender
Number
Case

Here the noun is καφές:

καφές is masculine, singular, nominative.
So the adjective must also be masculine, singular, nominative: πρώτος.

If the noun were feminine or neuter, it would change:

η πρώτη μπύρα = the first beer (μπύρα is feminine)
το πρώτο φαγητό = the first dish/meal (φαγητό is neuter)

Why is καφές masculine? Does that affect the rest of the sentence?

In Greek every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The word καφές (coffee, a coffee) happens to be masculine.

Because καφές is masculine:

It takes the masculine article ο: ο καφές.
It takes a masculine adjective πρώτος: ο πρώτος καφές.
It is referred to by a masculine adjective later: ο καλύτερος (standing for ο καλύτερος καφές).

So gender agreement shapes:

ο πρώτος καφές (all masculine, singular, nominative)
ο καλύτερος (masculine, singular, nominative, agreeing with the understood καφές)

Why is it το πρωί without any preposition like “in the morning”?

Greek very often uses “article + time-of-day noun” as an adverbial phrase, without a preposition:

το πρωί = (in) the morning
το βράδυ = (in) the evening
το μεσημέρι = (at) noon

So το πρωί literally is “the morning”, but it functions like “in the morning.” The preposition “in” is understood and not expressed.

You could add a preposition if you wanted a slightly different nuance:

το πρωί – in the morning (general time)
στο πρωί – very unusual here for this meaning; normally not used in this context. The natural idiomatic phrase is just το πρωί.

So the sentence uses the normal idiomatic pattern: [time] = το πρωί with just the article, no preposition.

Why is the article before πρωί neuter (το) and not masculine (ο)?

The word πρωί is a neuter noun meaning morning (in this time-expression sense). Its grammatical gender is neuter, so it always takes the neuter article in the nominative/accusative singular:

το πρωί = (in) the morning

This has nothing to do with the meaning being “time” or “part of the day”; it’s simply that the dictionary gender of πρωί is neuter, so the article must be το.

Why is there no word like “of the day” (e.g. “of the day” after “first coffee”)?

Greek could say that explicitly:

Ο πρώτος καφές της μέρας το πρωί είναι ο καλύτερος.
= The first coffee of the day in the morning is the best.

But it doesn’t have to. Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί already implies “the first coffee of the day” because:

You normally have your first coffee in the morning.
Greek often leaves such obvious details out, relying on context.

So the shorter sentence is natural and idiomatic. If you really want to emphasize “of the day,” you can add της μέρας or της ημέρας.

What exactly does είναι mean here?

είναι is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb είμαι = to be.

είμαι = I am
είσαι = you are (sing.)
είναι = he/she/it is, they are (same form for singular and plural)

In this sentence:

Subject: Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί = the first coffee in the morning
Verb: είναι = is
Complement: ο καλύτερος = the best (one)

So structurally:
[subject] + είναι + [predicative complement]

Why is it είναι ο καλύτερος and not just είναι καλύτερος?

Both are grammatically possible, but they have different nuances:

είναι καλύτερος = is better (comparative: better than something else, but not necessarily the best of all)
είναι ο καλύτερος = is the best (superlative reading: the best one of some group)

In Modern Greek, καλύτερος means “better”, but with a definite article it usually gets a superlative meaning:

ο καλύτερος καφές = the best coffee
είναι ο καλύτερος (understood: καφές) = he/it is the best (coffee)

So ο here is important because it signals “the best”, not just “better.”

Is καλύτερος “better” or “best”? How do I know?

In Modern Greek, καλύτερος is primarily the comparative of καλός (good → better). It can also serve as the basis for the superlative:

καλύτερος καφές = a better coffee
ο καλύτερος καφές = the best coffee

You tell from:

The article:
- Without article: usually comparative (better).
- With ο / η / το, often superlative (the best).
Context:
- If we’re clearly talking about “the top one” out of all possible coffees, it’s best.

Here, because of ο and the general meaning of the sentence, ο καλύτερος clearly means “the best (one).”

Could I say Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί είναι καλύτερος instead? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί είναι καλύτερος.

This would usually be understood as:

The first coffee in the morning is *better (than later coffees).*

So:

είναι ο καλύτερος → implies the best of all the coffees (superlative).
είναι καλύτερος → emphasizes a comparison (better than other coffees), but not necessarily the absolute best of all possible coffees.

Speakers might still interpret είναι καλύτερος as “kind of the best,” depending on context, but grammatically the version with ο is the clear “best” version.

Can the word order change, like in English?

Greek word order is fairly flexible. You could see variants like:

Ο πρώτος καφές είναι ο καλύτερος το πρωί.
Το πρωί ο πρώτος καφές είναι ο καλύτερος.

All of these are grammatical, but they differ slightly in emphasis:

Starting with Το πρωί emphasizes the time: In the morning, the first coffee is the best.
Keeping Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί together emphasizes that whole phrase as the subject.

The original:

Ο πρώτος καφές το πρωί είναι ο καλύτερος.

is perfectly natural and probably the most neutral-sounding.

How is each word pronounced and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in CAPS):

Ο – /o/ (like o in got), very short.
πρώτος – PRO-tos
- /ˈpro.tos/ – πρώ stressed.
καφές – ka-FES
- /kaˈfes/ – φές stressed.
το – /to/
πρωί – pro-EE
- /proˈi/ – stress on -ι; two syllables: pro-ee.
είναι – EE-ne
- /ˈi.ne/ – εί stressed.
ο – /o/
καλύτερος – ka-LEE-te-ros
- /kaˈli.te.ros/ – λύ stressed.

In Greek, the written accent (´) shows you exactly which syllable is stressed, and correct stress is important for sounding natural and for distinguishing some words.