Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε την στο τετράδιό σου.

Any word that you don't understand, write it in your notebook.

Breakdown of Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε την στο τετράδιό σου.

• δεν: not
• σου: your
• καταλαβαίνω: to understand
• σε: in
• γράφω: to write
• η λέξη: the word
• το τετράδιο: the notebook
• την: it
• όποιος: any

Questions & Answers about Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε την στο τετράδιό σου.

What exactly does Όποια mean here, and why is it in that form?

Όποια comes from the pronoun όποιος / όποια / όποιο, which means whoever / whichever / any … that.

• όποια is:
  • feminine
  • singular
  • accusative case

It has to agree with λέξη (word), which is also feminine singular accusative (τη λέξη).

So Όποια λέξη literally means whichever word / any word that… in the sense of any word that you don’t understand.

Why is λέξη in the accusative case?

In this structure, λέξη is the direct object of the verb καταλαβαίνεις (you understand):

• (Δεν) καταλαβαίνεις (ποια;) λέξη → (You don’t understand which word?)

Direct objects in Greek take the accusative case, so λέξη must be accusative.
The phrase Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις is like saying Any word you don’t understand.

What is the role of δεν, and why does it come before καταλαβαίνεις?

δεν is the standard negation particle in Greek for most verbs in the indicative mood.

• The normal order is: δεν + verb
  
  • δεν καταλαβαίνεις = you don’t understand

So Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις = Any word (that) you don’t understand.
Putting δεν after the verb would be wrong in standard Greek.

Why is it καταλαβαίνεις (present) and not something like κατάλαβες or καταλάβεις?

καταλαβαίνεις is:

• present tense
• 2nd person singular
• indicative mood

Here it describes a general, repeated situation: whenever there is a word you do not understand.

• Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις ≈ Any word that you don’t understand (in general / as it appears).

Using κατάλαβες (aorist indicative) or καταλάβεις (subjunctive) would shift the meaning to a more specific or hypothetical event, which is not what we want in this general instruction.

What form is γράψε, and what is the difference from γράφε?

γράψε is:

• aorist imperative
• 2nd person singular
• from the verb γράφω (to write)

In modern Greek:

• Aorist imperative (γράψε) → do it once / as a single, complete action
• Present imperative (γράφε) → keep doing it / do it repeatedly or habitually

In this sentence, γράψε την means write it down (each time it happens) as a complete action each time a new unknown word appears. That is the natural choice for instructions like this.

Why do we need the pronoun την? Could we just say Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε στο τετράδιό σου?

The pronoun την is the direct object of γράψε and refers back to λέξη.

• Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε την…
  = Any word you don’t understand, write it…

In Greek, when you front an object for emphasis (here Όποια λέξη is at the beginning), it is very common (almost required in many cases) to repeat it with a weak pronoun:

• Όποιο βιβλίο θέλεις, πάρε το.
  = Any book you want, take it.

So, γράψε την is much more natural than leaving the object of γράψε completely unexpressed. Without την, the second part feels incomplete or unclear in Greek, even though it might be understandable from context.

Why is the pronoun την and not το?

Greek object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.

• λέξη is feminine, singular: η λέξη
• The matching feminine singular accusative pronoun is την (or τη before many consonants).

So:

• Όποια λέξη… γράψε την…
  = Any (feminine) word… write it (feminine)…

If the noun were neuter (e.g. το πράγμα), we would use το instead.

Why does the pronoun την come after γράψε? Can it come before?

With affirmative imperatives, weak object pronouns normally come after the verb:

• Γράψε την.
• Πάρε το.
• Δώσε μου το.

With negatives, you do not use the imperative form but the subjunctive with μη(ν), and then the pronoun goes before the verb:

• Μην την γράψεις στο τετράδιό σου.
  = Don’t write it in your notebook.

So:

• Positive command: Γράψε την
• Negative command: Μην την γράψεις

In your sentence, it’s a positive command, so γράψε την is the normal order.

What exactly is στο τετράδιό σου made of?

στο τετράδιό σου breaks down as:

• σε = in / at / on
• το = the (neuter singular article)
• σε + το → στο (a standard contraction)
• τετράδιο = notebook (neuter noun)
• σου = your (2nd person singular, weak possessive pronoun)

So:

• στο τετράδιό σου = in your notebook

Literally: in-the notebook-of-you.

Why does τετράδιό have an accent on the last syllable as well (τετράδιό σου)?

The base word is τετράδιο, stressed on the antepenultimate syllable (-ρά-).

Greek has a rule for enclitics (like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους):

• When a proparoxytone word (stressed on the third-from-last syllable) is followed by an enclitic, it gets an extra written accent on the last syllable.

So:

• τετράδιο (alone)
• τετράδιό σου (with enclitic σου) → accents on -ρά- and -διό

This prevents the stress from shifting and keeps the original stress pattern audible.

Why is there a comma after καταλαβαίνεις?

The structure is:

• Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε την στο τετράδιό σου.
  = [Subordinate clause], [main clause].

When a subordinate clause (here, Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις) comes before the main clause, Greek typically uses a comma to separate them, just like in English:

• When you don’t understand a word, write it in your notebook.

If we reversed the order, the comma would usually disappear:

• Γράψε την στο τετράδιό σου όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις.

Could the word order be different? For example: Γράψε στο τετράδιό σου όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις.

Yes, that is also correct:

• Γράψε στο τετράδιό σου όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις.

This sounds a bit more neutral and less “fronted for emphasis”.
Differences in feel:

• Όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις, γράψε την στο τετράδιό σου.
  → Slight emphasis on any word you don’t understand.

• Γράψε στο τετράδιό σου όποια λέξη δεν καταλαβαίνεις.
  → Slight emphasis on the action: write (in your notebook) any word you don’t understand.

Both are natural; they just highlight different parts of the sentence.