Νομίζω ότι η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική, αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι πιο σημαντική.

I think that my career is important, but my family is more important.

Breakdown of Νομίζω ότι η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική, αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι πιο σημαντική.

• είμαι: to be
• μου: my
• αλλά: but
• πιο: more
• ότι: that
• νομίζω: to think
• σημαντικός: important
• η οικογένεια: the family
• η καριέρα: the career

Questions & Answers about Νομίζω ότι η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική, αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι πιο σημαντική.

What does Νομίζω ότι literally mean, and can I leave ότι out?

Νομίζω = I think
ότι = that (introduces a clause, like English “that” in I think that…)

So Νομίζω ότι η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική = I think (that) my career is important.

In everyday speech, you will often hear people drop ότι and just say:

• Νομίζω η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική.

This is colloquial and usually understood, but the more standard / careful form is with ότι. As a learner, it’s safer to keep ότι in.

What is the difference between Νομίζω and Πιστεύω?

Both can translate as “I think”, but they are not identical:

• Νομίζω: opinion, impression, something you think is true, often less strong or more tentative.

  • Νομίζω ότι έχεις δίκιο. = I think you’re right (that’s my impression).

• Πιστεύω: belief, conviction, often stronger; also used for religious belief (I believe in God).

  • Πιστεύω ότι έχεις δίκιο. = I believe you’re right (I’m more convinced).

In this sentence, Νομίζω is very natural because it expresses a personal opinion about priorities.

Why do we use η before καριέρα and οικογένειά? In English we don’t say “the career my” here.

Greek almost always uses an article (ο, η, το) before:

• singular countable nouns in general
• nouns with a possessive pronoun (μου, σου, του, etc.)

So:

• η καριέρα μου = literally the career my → my career
• η οικογένειά μου = the family my → my family

In Greek, η is required here; saying just καριέρα μου or οικογένεια μου without η is ungrammatical in standard modern Greek.

Why is μου after the noun (η καριέρα μου) instead of before, like English “my career”?

In Greek, the weak possessive pronouns come after the noun:

• η καριέρα μου = my career
• η οικογένειά μου = my family
• το σπίτι μου = my house

μου is an enclitic: it “leans” on the word before it and is unstressed in speech.

If you want to emphasize me/mine, you use the strong pronoun:

• η καριέρα μου = my career (neutral)
• η καριέρα η δική μου or η δική μου καριέρα = my career (as opposed to someone else’s)
• η οικογένειά μου vs. η δική μου οικογένεια, etc.

Why is it σημαντική and not σημαντικό or σημαντικός?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun in:

• gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
• number (singular/plural)
• case (nominative, genitive, accusative, etc.)

Both καριέρα and οικογένεια are feminine singular nominative, so the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• Masculine: σημαντικός (e.g. σημαντικός άνθρωπος – important man/person)
• Feminine: σημαντική (e.g. σημαντική καριέρα, σημαντική οικογένεια)
• Neuter: σημαντικό (e.g. σημαντικό θέμα – important issue)

So:

• η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική
• η οικογένειά μου είναι σημαντική

What does πιο σημαντική mean exactly, and how is the comparative formed?

πιο = more
σημαντική = important (fem. sg. nom.)

So πιο σημαντική = more important (fem. sg. nom.).

The usual, everyday way to form comparatives in modern Greek is:

• πιο
  • adjective

Examples:

• πιο μεγάλος = bigger / older (masc.)
• πιο όμορφη = more beautiful (fem.)
• πιο σημαντική = more important (fem.)

There is also a more “traditional” comparative form:

• σημαντικότερη = more important (fem.)

So you could also say:

• …η οικογένειά μου είναι σημαντικότερη.

But πιο σημαντική is more common in modern spoken Greek.

Why does οικογένειά have two accent marks: οικογένειά μου?

The basic word is οικογένεια, with one accent:

• οικογένεια (stress on -γέ-)

When you add an enclitic like μου, Greek spelling rules add a second accent on the last syllable of the word:

• η οικογένειά μου

So you see:

• one accent on γέ
• another accent on the final ά

This happens because the enclitic causes the stress to “move” toward the end, and in writing we show that with an extra accent. You pronounce it with stress still clearly on -γέ-, and the last syllable feels a bit lighter but not completely unstressed.

You don’t add this second accent with all words — it appears in certain combinations of already accented words + enclitics, as here.

Why is there a comma before αλλά? Is it always required?

αλλά means but, and in this sentence it connects two independent clauses:

• η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική
• η οικογένειά μου είναι πιο σημαντική

Just like in English, when but separates two full clauses, Greek normally uses a comma before αλλά:

• …, αλλά …

So:

• Νομίζω ότι η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική, αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι πιο σημαντική.

In shorter phrases, the comma can sometimes be omitted, but here it is standard and recommended.

Could I change the word order, for example …είναι πιο σημαντική η οικογένειά μου?

Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible. All of these are possible, with slightly different emphasis:

1. η οικογένειά μου είναι πιο σημαντική
   → neutral: my family is more important.

2. είναι πιο σημαντική η οικογένειά μου
   → emphasizes πιο σημαντική or contrasts with something previously mentioned:
   It is more important, my family (is) / What’s more important is my family.

3. You could also front career for contrast:

   • Η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική, αλλά πιο σημαντική είναι η οικογένειά μου.

The meaning stays the same, but the focus changes slightly. The original sentence is the most straightforward, neutral version.

What is the difference between ότι and πως in this kind of sentence?

Both ότι and πως can introduce a subordinate clause after verbs of saying, thinking, believing:

• Νομίζω ότι η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική.
• Νομίζω πως η καριέρα μου είναι σημαντική.

In modern Greek, here they are interchangeable in meaning: I think (that) my career is important.

Notes:

• ότι is slightly more neutral/standard.
• πως may sound a bit more informal or conversational, but it’s also perfectly correct.
• Don’t confuse ότι (that) with ό,τι (whatever, anything that) — the comma changes the meaning.

How do you pronounce the vowels η, οι, and ει in this sentence?

In modern Greek, several different spellings are pronounced with the same sound /i/ (like English “ee” in see), including:

• η: in η καριέρα, σημαντική
• οι: in οικογένειά
• ει: in είναι

So:

• είναι → /ˈine/
• σημαντική → /simanˈtikʲi/
• οικογένειά → /ikoˈʝeɲa/ (with the final -ά lightly affected by the enclitic)

Spelling shows historical differences, but pronunciation has merged these into the same /i/ sound.

Why are both καριέρα and οικογένεια feminine? Is there a rule?

Greek noun gender is partly predictable from endings, but also partly arbitrary and must be learned word by word.

• καριέρα ends in -α → many such nouns are feminine → η καριέρα
• οικογένεια ends in -εια → again, many such nouns are feminine → η οικογένεια

There are patterns (e.g. many nouns in -α, -η, -ος can be feminine), but there are also many exceptions, so:

• learn each noun together with its article:
  • η καριέρα
  • η οικογένεια

Then your adjectives and pronouns can agree correctly: σημαντική, πιο σημαντική, η καριέρα μου, η οικογένειά μου, etc.