Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.

Breakdown of Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.

είμαι
to be
εσύ
you
σήμερα
today
κουρασμένος
tired
τόσο ... όσο
as ... as
κι
also
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Questions & Answers about Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.

What does the τόσο … όσο construction mean here? Is it the same as English “as … as”?

The pair τόσο … όσο is the standard Modern Greek way to express an equality comparison, just like English as … as.

Structure in this sentence:
τόσο κουρασμένος όσο (κι) εσύ = as tired as you (are)

General pattern:

  • τόσο
    • adjective/adverb + όσο
      • noun/pronoun

Examples:

  • Είμαι τόσο ψηλός όσο εσύ.I am as tall as you.
  • Τρέχει τόσο γρήγορα όσο αυτός.He runs as fast as him.

Without όσο, τόσο simply means so / that much:
Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος.I am so tired.

Why do we say όσο κι εσύ and not just όσο εσύ? What is κι?

κι is just a shortened (phonetic) form of και. It’s the same word, pronounced more easily before a vowel.

  • και = and / also / too
  • κι = the same word, used mostly:
    • before vowels: κι εσύ, κι εγώ, κι αυτός
    • or after a word that ends in a vowel, for smoother pronunciation

In όσο κι εσύ, κι has the meaning too / also / as well, but in English we normally don’t translate it:
όσο κι εσύas you (are) / as tired as you.

You could say όσο εσύ and it would still be grammatical and natural; κι just adds a slight feeling of “you too” or “you as well” and helps the rhythm of the sentence.

Can I completely drop κι and say Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο εσύ? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο εσύ.

This is fully correct.

Difference in nuance:

  • όσο εσύ – neutral, straightforward “as you (are)”.
  • όσο κι εσύ – very slightly more “you too / you as well”; feels a bit more colloquial or emphatic, but the meaning is essentially the same.

In most contexts, όσο εσύ and όσο κι εσύ are interchangeable.

Why is κουρασμένος in the masculine form? What if the speaker is a woman or it’s about more people?

Greek adjectives agree with the subject in gender, number, and case.

Here the implied subject is εγώ (I), and the sentence assumes a male speaker:

  • είμαι (εγώ) → 1st person singular
  • masculine singular nominative adjective: κουρασμένος

If the subject changes, κουρασμένος must change too:

  • Female speaker:
    • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένη όσο κι εσύ.
  • A mixed or all-male group (“we”):
    • Σήμερα είμαστε τόσο κουρασμένοι όσο κι εσύ.
  • A group of only women:
    • Σήμερα είμαστε τόσο κουρασμένες όσο κι εσύ.
  • Neuter singular subject (e.g. το παιδί – “the child”):
    • Σήμερα το παιδί είναι τόσο κουρασμένο όσο κι εσύ.

So the form you see (κουρασμένος) tells you the subject is grammatically masculine singular.

Why is there no verb at the end, like είσαι? Shouldn’t it be όσο κι εσύ είσαι?

In Greek, when you compare two things with τόσο … όσο, the verb in the second part is normally omitted if it would just repeat the first verb.

Literally, the full idea would be:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ είσαι.
    Today I am as tired as you are.

But Greek almost always drops that second είσαι, because it’s obvious from context. So you say:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.

Adding είσαι at the end is grammatically possible but sounds heavy, overly explicit, and a bit unnatural in everyday speech. Native speakers strongly prefer the shorter version.

What is the role of σήμερα in the sentence, and can it move to other positions?

σήμερα means today and is an adverb of time. It sets the time frame for the whole sentence.

Standard, neutral position:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.

Other possible positions:

  • Είμαι σήμερα τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα όσο κι εσύ.

All of these are grammatically correct. Differences are subtle:

  • Putting σήμερα first (as in the original) slightly emphasizes today.
  • Moving σήμερα closer to κουρασμένος can make it feel more like “tired today (in particular)”, but in everyday speech the nuance is minimal.

The safest and most natural choice for learners is the original:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
Do I need to say εγώ for “I”? Where would εγώ go if I wanted to emphasize it?

You don’t need to say εγώ. Greek is a pro‑drop language: the verb ending on είμαι already shows 1st person singular (I am), so εγώ is normally omitted.

If you want to emphasize I (especially in contrast to someone else), you can add εγώ:

  • Εγώ σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
    → Emphasis on I, as opposed to others.
  • Σήμερα εγώ είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
    → Slight emphasis on both today and I.
  • Σήμερα είμαι εγώ τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
    → Stronger focus on I in the middle of the sentence.

For a neutral statement, just:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
How do you pronounce Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in capitals):

  • Σήμερα-me-ra
  • είμαιÍ-me
  • τόσο-so
  • κουρασμένος → koo-raz-MÉ-nos
  • όσοÓ-so
  • κι εσύ → kee e-SÍ (often flows together as kyi-SÍ)

In IPA:

  • Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ
    /ˈsimeɾa ˈime ˈtoso kuraˈzmenos ˈoso ciˈsi/

Notes:

  • η, ι, υ, ει, οι all sound like /i/ (similar to English ee).
  • ου sounds like /u/ (as in food).
  • γ before ε, ι is like a soft y-ish sound /ʝ/, but there is no γ in this particular sentence.
  • In κι εσύ, the κ is slightly palatalized because it’s before ε, so it’s closer to [c] than to a hard k, but you can treat it as kee e-SEE as a learner.
What tense is είμαι here? Is it like English present simple or present continuous?

είμαι is the present tense of the verb είμαι (to be).

Greek does not distinguish between present simple (I am) and present continuous (I am being) with the verb to be the way English sometimes can in theory. In practice, English also almost never uses “to be” in a continuous form here, so the match is simple:

  • είμαιI am

So Σήμερα είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ corresponds to:

  • Today I am as tired as you (are).

No separate continuous form is needed or possible for είμαι in Greek.

How would I say “Today I’m more tired than you” instead of “as tired as you”?

To say more … than in Greek, you use:

  • πιο
    • adjective + από (+ pronoun/noun)

So:

  • Σήμερα είμαι πιο κουρασμένος από εσένα.
    Today I am more tired than you.

Variants:

  • … από σένα. (more colloquial, very common)
  • … από εσάς. (formal or plural “you”)

Comparison patterns:

  • Equality (like your original sentence):
    • τόσο κουρασμένος όσο (κι) εσύas tired as you
  • Superiority:
    • πιο κουρασμένος από εσέναmore tired than you
  • Superlative:
    • ο πιο κουρασμένοςthe most tired
Can τόσο also just mean “so” (as in “so tired”) without όσο?

Yes. τόσο can be used on its own to mean so / so much / that much, not necessarily in a comparison.

With comparison:

  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο κι εσύ.
    I am as tired as you.

Without comparison:

  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος!
    I am so tired!

Very common pattern for “so … that …”:

  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος που δεν μπορώ να μιλήσω.
    I am so tired that I can’t speak.

So:

  • τόσο … όσο → equality comparison: as … as
  • τόσο … (που) → degree/result: so … (that)
Why is εσύ used after όσο and not εσένα or σένα? Are they interchangeable here?

εσύ is the nominative form of “you” (subject case).
εσένα / σένα is the accusative form (object case).

In equality comparisons with όσο, both are actually used in real speech:

  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο εσύ. (nominative)
  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο εσένα. (accusative)
  • Είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος όσο σένα. (more colloquial)

Grammatically:

  • Many grammars consider όσο + nominative (όσο εσύ) more “correct” when the pronoun clearly functions as a subject of the implied verb (εσύ είσαι).
  • In everyday spoken Greek, όσο εσένα/σένα is extremely common and fully accepted.

In your sentence, όσο κι εσύ is a very natural, slightly more “careful” form. If you say όσο κι εσένα, people will also understand and accept it, but it sounds more colloquial.