Learn Hardcore Greek: Είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα.

Κουρασμένος is an adjective meaning tired.
In Greek, adjectives change their ending to match the gender and number of the noun (or pronoun) they describe.

κουρασμένος – masculine singular (used for a man or boy)
κουρασμένη – feminine singular (used for a woman or girl)
κουρασμένο – neuter singular (used for neuter nouns, like το παιδί “the child”)

In the sentence Είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα, the speaker is implicitly masculine, so κουρασμένος is used.

How would the sentence change if the speaker is a woman?

A woman would change the adjective to the feminine form:

Είμαι κουρασμένη κι έχω άγχος σήμερα.
I am tired and I have anxiety / I’m stressed today.

Only κουρασμένος → κουρασμένη changes; the rest of the sentence stays the same.

How would I say it if I’m talking about several people, like “We are tired and stressed today”?

You need the plural forms of the verb and adjective:

Είμαστε κουρασμένοι κι έχουμε άγχος σήμερα.
We are tired and we have anxiety / we’re stressed today.

Details:

είμαι → είμαστε (I am → we are)
έχω → έχουμε (I have → we have)
κουρασμένος → κουρασμένοι (masculine plural; used for all‑male groups or mixed groups)

For an all‑female group, you’d say:

Είμαστε κουρασμένες κι έχουμε άγχος σήμερα.

Why do you say Είμαι κουρασμένος instead of something like Έχω κούραση?

Greek normally uses “to be + adjective” for physical states like tired, hungry, thirsty, etc., just like English:

Είμαι κουρασμένος/κουρασμένη. – I am tired.
Είμαι χαρούμενος/χαρούμενη. – I am happy.

You can say έχω κούραση, but it sounds more like “I have fatigue / tiredness” and is less common and more clinical or descriptive. The most natural everyday way is είμαι κουρασμένος/κουρασμένη.

Why is it έχω άγχος and not είμαι άγχος?

Άγχος is a noun meaning anxiety, stress, nervousness.
So Greek says literally “I have anxiety”:

Έχω άγχος. – I have anxiety / I’m stressed.

You can’t say είμαι άγχος, because that would mean “I am anxiety” grammatically, which doesn’t make sense.

If you want an adjective form, you can say:

Είμαι αγχωμένος / αγχωμένη. – I am anxious / I am stressed out.

Both έχω άγχος and είμαι αγχωμένος/αγχωμένη are common; the first focuses on the feeling, the second on your state/person.

Does άγχος mean the same as English “anxiety” or “stress”?

Άγχος overlaps with both:

It can mean clinical anxiety (ongoing, psychological condition).
It also very often means everyday stress / pressure / nerves.

So Έχω άγχος σήμερα can be understood as:

“I have anxiety today,”
or more naturally in English:
“I’m stressed today” / “I feel under pressure today.”

Greek also uses the borrowed word στρες for some kinds of “stress,” but άγχος is extremely common and slightly broader in meaning.

What is κι and how is it different from και?

Both κι and και mean and.

Κι is basically a spoken / phonetic variant of και. It is usually used:

Before words starting with a vowel: και έχω → κι έχω
Sometimes before certain consonants in fast or informal speech.

In your sentence:

Είμαι κουρασμένος και έχω άγχος σήμερα.
Είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα.

Both are correct and mean the same thing. Κι just makes the phrase flow a bit more smoothly.

Can I always replace κι with και in this sentence?

Yes. In this sentence, κι and και are completely interchangeable:

Είμαι κουρασμένος και έχω άγχος σήμερα.
Είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα.

There is no difference in meaning or formality here. If you’re unsure, you can always safely use και. Over time you’ll naturally start using κι in places where it sounds smoother.

How do you pronounce άγχος and κουρασμένος?

Approximate pronunciations (in simple English-like spelling):

άγχος → Ánghos
- The γ before χ is pronounced like an ng sound: [aŋxos] (ANG‑hos).
- χ is a harsh h sound, like German Bach or Scottish loch.
κουρασμένος → kooraSMÉnos
- ου is like oo in food: koo.
- Stress is on -σμέ-: κου-ρα-σμέ-νος → [kuraˈzmenos].

The accent mark (´) on άγχος and κουρασμένος shows which syllable is stressed.

Why is there no article with άγχος? Why not το άγχος?

In Έχω άγχος, άγχος is used like an uncountable mass noun (“some anxiety / some stress”), so Greek normally drops the article:

Έχω άγχος. – I have (some) anxiety / I’m stressed.

You would use το άγχος when you talk about anxiety as a specific thing or in a more general/abstract way:

Το άγχος είναι πρόβλημα. – Anxiety is a problem.
Το άγχος της δουλειάς. – The stress of work.

In your sentence, you’re describing your current state, so no article is natural.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move σήμερα around?

Word order in Greek is flexible, especially for adverbs like σήμερα (“today”). All of these are possible and natural:

Είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα.
Σήμερα είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος.
Είμαι σήμερα κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος. (a bit more marked/emphatic)

The meaning is essentially the same: you’re tired and stressed today. Placing σήμερα at the beginning (Σήμερα…) can slightly emphasize today as the contrast point.

Do I need to say εγώ at the beginning, like Εγώ είμαι κουρασμένος…?

You don’t need to. In Greek, the verb ending tells you the subject, so είμαι already implies “I am”.

Είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα. – natural, neutral.
Εγώ είμαι κουρασμένος κι έχω άγχος σήμερα. – adds emphasis on I.

Using εγώ is more like saying “I am tired and stressed today”, maybe in contrast to someone else. In normal, neutral statements, you usually leave εγώ out.

Which tense are είμαι and έχω, and how would I say it in the past?

In your sentence, both verbs are in the present tense:

είμαι – I am
έχω – I have

To say “I was tired and I had anxiety today” (for earlier today or a finished period), you’d use the past tense:

Ήμουν κουρασμένος κι είχα άγχος σήμερα. (masculine speaker)
Ήμουν κουρασμένη κι είχα άγχος σήμερα. (feminine speaker)

Here:

είμαι → ήμουν (I am → I was)
έχω → είχα (I have → I had)

What do the accent marks (´) on words like είμαι, κουρασμένος, άγχος, and σήμερα mean, and do I have to write them?

The accent mark (´) in modern Greek shows which syllable is stressed when you pronounce the word:

είμαι – ΕΙ‑μαι (stress on first syllable)
κουρασμένος – κου‑ρα‑ΣΜΕ‑νος
άγχος – ΑΝ‑χος
σήμερα – ΣΗ‑με‑ρα

Yes, you must write the accents in standard Greek spelling.
They are not optional decoration; they are part of the correct form of the word and can help distinguish between different words in some cases.