Learn Hardcore Greek: Είμαι κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι. - I am tired, so I relax in the living room.

male speaker (singular): Είμαι κουρασμένος.
female speaker (singular): Είμαι κουρασμένη.
neuter thing (singular): Είναι κουρασμένο (for a neuter noun, e.g. το παιδί).

Plural:

we (all/mostly men or mixed group): Είμαστε κουρασμένοι.
we (all women): Είμαστε κουρασμένες.

So you must change the ending of the adjective to match the gender and number of the person or thing you are describing.

Could you also say Νιώθω κουρασμένος instead of Είμαι κουρασμένος? Is there a difference?

Both are correct, but they have slightly different nuances:

Είμαι κουρασμένος = I am tired (describes your current state).
Νιώθω κουρασμένος = I feel tired (focuses on the subjective feeling).

In many everyday contexts, they are interchangeable. Είμαι κουρασμένος is more common as a simple statement of being tired. Νιώθω can sound a bit more like you’re talking about your internal perception.

What exactly does οπότε mean here? Is it “so”, “therefore”, or “because”?

Οπότε is a conjunction that usually means “so / so then / and therefore”. It introduces a result or consequence, not a cause.

Cause: επειδή, γιατί = because
Result: οπότε, γι’ αυτό, άρα = so / therefore

So in this sentence:

Είμαι κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
= I am tired, so I’m relaxing in the living room.

If you used γιατί or επειδή, the structure would flip to mean “I (do X) because I’m tired.”, not “I’m tired, so I do X.”

Can οπότε be replaced with something else like γι’ αυτό or άρα?

Yes, you can replace οπότε with other result conjunctions, with small stylistic differences:

… , γι’ αυτό χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
More explicit “for that reason / that’s why”.
… , άρα χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
Sounds a bit more formal or logical (“thus / therefore”).
… , οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
Very common and neutral in spoken language; feels natural and conversational.

All three can work in this sentence, but οπότε and γι’ αυτό are the most common in everyday speech.

Does Greek have a separate form for “I am relaxing” vs “I relax”? Is χαλαρώνω continuous or simple?

Modern Greek present tense usually covers both:

χαλαρώνω = I relax and I am relaxing, depending on context.

So:

Τώρα χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
= I’m relaxing in the living room now.
Κάθε βράδυ χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
= Every evening I relax in the living room.

There is no separate “-ing” form like English; context and time expressions (e.g. τώρα, κάθε μέρα) show whether it’s a one-time ongoing action or a habit.

What’s the difference between χαλαρώνω and ξεκουράζομαι?

Both relate to resting, but they have different nuances:

χαλαρώνω
= I relax / I unwind
Emphasises mental and physical relaxation, often doing something pleasant (watching TV, listening to music, etc.).
ξεκουράζομαι
= I rest / I recover
Emphasises resting to regain energy after work, effort, or fatigue.

In your sentence, χαλαρώνω fits very naturally, because “relaxing in the living room” suggests unwinding in a comfortable way. You could also say:

Είμαι κουρασμένος, οπότε ξεκουράζομαι στο σαλόνι.
This is correct, but it sounds a bit more about physical rest than “chilling out”.

What does στο mean exactly? Why not just σε σαλόνι?

Στο is a contraction:

σε (in, at, to) + το (the, neuter singular) → στο

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

Using the article:

στο σαλόνι = in the living room (a specific, known one, usually my living room).
σε σαλόνι (without article) would be in a living room (nonspecific) and is much less common in everyday speech here.

In Greek, it is very normal to use the definite article with parts of the house, body parts, etc., even where English might use “my”:

Πηγαίνω στο σαλόνι. = I’m going to the living room (my place).
Πονάει το κεφάλι μου. = My head hurts. (literally: “the head of me hurts”)

Why is the article το used with σαλόνι? Could it be η σαλόνι or ο σαλόνι?

Σαλόνι is a neuter noun in Greek, so it takes:

το σαλόνι (singular)
τα σαλόνια (plural)

The three basic genders:

ο = masculine
η = feminine
το = neuter

You cannot change the gender; it’s part of the word. So only το σαλόνι is correct, not η σαλόνι or ο σαλόνι.

Is σαλόνι exactly the same as “living room”? Are there other words?

Σαλόνι generally corresponds to “living room” / “sitting room” / “lounge”.

Other options:

καθιστικό – also “living room / sitting room”; sometimes feels a bit more neutral or slightly more formal.
σαλόνι – very common in everyday speech.

In most everyday contexts, σαλόνι is what people naturally say for the main living area of a house.

Is the comma before οπότε required in Greek?

In this sentence, the comma before οπότε is standard and natural:

Είμαι κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.

You’re separating two clauses:

Είμαι κουρασμένος (main clause)
οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι (result clause)

In practice, Greek punctuation is sometimes a bit looser in informal writing, but in correct written Greek you normally do put a comma before οπότε.

Can I change the word order, for example put οπότε at the beginning: Οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι, είμαι κουρασμένος?

You can move οπότε to the start of the sentence grammatically, but you must keep the logical order clear.

Οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι, γιατί είμαι κουρασμένος.
= So I relax in the living room because I’m tired.

However, the original order is much more natural for the meaning:

Είμαι κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.

Putting οπότε first is more common when the cause is already understood from previous context (previous sentence), not when you are giving both cause and result in one single sentence.

How are the key words pronounced and where is the stress?

Greek words have one stressed syllable, marked with an accent (´) in writing.

Pronunciation (stress in CAPITALS approximately):

Είμαι → Í-me (EE-meh) – stress on the first syllable.
κουρασμένος → kou-ras-MÉ-nos – stress on -μέν-.
οπότε → o-PÓ-te – stress on -πό-.
χαλαρώνω → cha-la-RÓ-no – stress on -ρώ-.
σαλόνι → sa-LÓ-ni – stress on -λό-.

The accent mark you see in Greek (´) shows you exactly which syllable to stress.

Could I also say Είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος here? Where would I put πολύ?

Yes, that’s completely natural. Πολύ means “very” and it comes before the adjective:

Είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
= I’m very tired, so I’m relaxing in the living room.

You cannot put πολύ after the adjective (Είμαι κουρασμένος πολύ sounds odd in this context, or has a different emphasis).

Is it possible to drop είμαι and just say Κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι?

In normal spoken or written Greek, you would not drop είμαι here. You say:

Είμαι κουρασμένος, οπότε χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.

A phrase like Κουρασμένος, οπότε… might appear in very literary or stylistic language (like a note, diary entry, or poem), but in everyday Greek you keep the verb είμαι.