Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

to be

Breakdown of Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

• πολύ: very
• μου: my
• αλλά: but
• σημαντικός: important
• και: also
• η οικογένεια: the family
• η υγεία: the health
• η προτεραιότητα: the priority

Questions & Answers about Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

What is μου and why does it come after the noun instead of before, like my in English?

Μου (mou) is an unstressed possessive pronoun meaning my. In Greek it usually comes after the noun, not before it.

• η υγεία μου = my health (literally: the health my)
• η οικογένειά μου = my family (literally: the family my)

This little word μου is an enclitic – it “leans on” the word before it for stress and cannot stand alone. Other forms are:

• σου – your (singular)
• του / της / του – his / her / its
• μας – our
• σας – your (plural/polite)
• τους – their

So in Greek the normal order is:
article + noun + (maybe adjective) + μου
not my + noun as in English.

Why is there a definite article η in front of υγεία and οικογένειά? Could I leave it out?

In Greek, the definite article is used more often than “the” in English, especially with:

• abstract nouns (health, love, freedom)
• general concepts that are being talked about in a specific way

Here we have:

• η υγεία μου – literally the health my → my health
• η οικογένειά μου – literally the family my → my family

You would normally keep the article here. Saying just υγεία μου or οικογένειά μου is possible in some telegraphic or poetic styles, but in normal speech/writing you say:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα.
• Και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

So: in this sentence, don’t drop the articles.

Why is είναι used twice? Could I say «Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά και η οικογένειά μου πολύ σημαντική.» without the second είναι?

Είναι (eínai) is the 3rd-person singular form of “to be” = is.

The sentence has two clauses:

1. Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα – My health is a priority
2. (αλλά και) η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική – but my family is also very important

Each clause has its own είναι, and that’s the most natural, standard way.

In very informal speech, Greeks might occasionally drop the second είναι if the meaning is obvious, but in careful or written Greek you should keep:

• … αλλά και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

What exactly does «αλλά και» mean? Why do we need both αλλά and και?

• αλλά (allá) = but
• και (kai) = and / also / too

Together, αλλά και is usually translated as “but also”:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.
  → My health is a priority, but my family is also very important.

It does two things:

1. αλλά introduces a contrast or second point.
2. και highlights that the second thing is also included in the speaker’s priorities.

You could rephrase with επίσης (also):

• … αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι επίσης πολύ σημαντική.

That’s very similar in meaning, but αλλά και feels more compact and very natural here.

Why is πολύ used here and not πολλή? What’s the difference?

Greek distinguishes:

• πολύ (with one λ, no extra accent) as an adverb = very
• πολλή / πολύς / πολύ as an adjective = a lot of / many / much

In the sentence:

• πολύ σημαντική = very important

Here πολύ modifies the adjective σημαντική (important), so it works as an adverb and keeps the form πολύ.

Compare:

• πολύ σημαντική απόφαση – a very important decision (adverb)
• πολλή δουλειά – a lot of work (adjective, feminine singular)

So πολύ σημαντική is the correct spelling and form for very important.

Why is σημαντική in the feminine form and not σημαντικό or σημαντικός?

In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun in:

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

The nouns in this sentence are:

• η υγεία – feminine, singular, nominative
• η οικογένεια – feminine, singular, nominative
  (with enclitic: η οικογένειά μου)

The adjective σημαντικός (important) has these main forms:

• masculine: σημαντικός
• feminine: σημαντική
• neuter: σημαντικό

Since we are describing η οικογένειά μου, a feminine singular noun, we must use the feminine singular form:

• η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

If we were talking about a neuter noun, e.g.:

• Το θέμα είναι πολύ σημαντικό. – The issue is very important.

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

In Greek punctuation, a comma is normally used:

• before coordinating conjunctions like αλλά (but) when they connect two separate clauses (each with its own subject and verb).

Here we have:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα,
• αλλά και η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

Two full clauses → comma is correct and standard.

If αλλά just connects short phrases without a new clause, you may not use a comma, e.g.:

• θέλω τσάι αλλά χωρίς ζάχαρη – I want tea but without sugar.

So: before αλλά joining two full statements, yes, use a comma.

Why does οικογένειά have an accent on the last syllable as well? Isn’t it usually οικογένεια?

The base word is:

• οικογένεια (oikogéneia) – family, normally stressed on -γέ-.

But in the sentence you see:

• η οικογένειά μου

There is a spelling rule with enclitic pronouns like μου:

• If the main word is not stressed on the last syllable, and an enclitic (like μου, σου, του…) follows, a second accent is added on the last syllable of the main word.

So:

• οικογένεια (stress on -γέ-)
  
  • μου (enclitic) → οικογένειά μου

The pronunciation doesn’t really change much; the second accent mark is mainly orthographic, showing that there is an enclitic attached. You will see this pattern with many nouns + μου/σου/του etc.:

• το σπίτι μου (no extra accent because σπίτι is stressed on the first of two syllables and rules differ by length and position)
• η μαμά μου (already stressed on the last syllable, so no extra accent needed)
• η οικογένειά μου (stress pulls visual attention to both the original stress and the presence of the enclitic)

How do you pronounce υγεία and οικογένεια? The spelling looks tricky.

Approximate pronunciation (using English-like hints):

• υγεία → [iˈʝia]

  • υ → like ee in see
  • γ before ε/ι is [ʝ], like a soft y with friction, somewhere between English y and the h in Spanish hijo
  • ει / ια → both sound like ee-a
    So υγεία ≈ yee-YEE-ah (with stress on the second syllable).

• οικογένεια → [ikoˈʝenia]

  • οι → i (ee)
  • γ before ε again [ʝ]
  • Stress is on -γέ-: -γέ- = -YE-
    So οικογένεια ≈ ee-ko-YE-nya (with the ny a bit like Spanish ñ, though many speakers just say -ne-a).

With the enclitic:

• η οικογένειά μου – the stress is still felt most strongly on -γέ-, but there’s that additional accent on the last syllable for spelling reasons, as explained above.

Could I say «Η υγεία μου έχει προτεραιότητα» instead of «είναι προτεραιότητα»? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both, but there is a nuance difference:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα.
  → My health is a priority.
  This presents health as the thing that is a priority, as a label/identity.

• Η υγεία μου έχει προτεραιότητα.
  → Literally: My health has priority.
  This sounds more like “takes precedence / comes first over other things.”

In your original sentence, είναι προτεραιότητα is more neutral and typical when listing priorities. Έχει προτεραιότητα often implies “comes before X or Y in case of conflict.”

Why is there no μια (a) before προτεραιότητα? Could we say «είναι μια προτεραιότητα»?

You can say:

• Η υγεία μου είναι μια προτεραιότητα.
  → My health is a priority (one of several priorities).

But the original sentence:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα.

is more like a stronger general statement:

• My health is (the) priority / a matter of priority.

In Greek, when you’re talking about roles, jobs, or abstract “titles” of things, you can omit the indefinite article:

• Είναι γιατρός. – He/She is a doctor.
• Αυτό είναι πρόβλημα. – This is a problem.

Similarly:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα.
  → My health is (a) priority (article not needed for a natural, generic statement).

Adding μια makes it sound a bit more like one of several priorities.

Could we change the word order, for example: «Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι επίσης πολύ σημαντική.»? Is that still natural?

Yes, that version is perfectly natural:

• Η υγεία μου είναι προτεραιότητα, αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι επίσης πολύ σημαντική.

Differences:

• αλλά και η οικογένειά μου…
  → slightly emphasizes the inclusion of the family as an additional important thing (but also my family…).

• αλλά η οικογένειά μου είναι επίσης πολύ σημαντική.
  → uses επίσης (also / as well), which is a bit more explicit and feels a bit more “written” or careful in style.

Both are correct; the original αλλά και is very idiomatic in speech and writing when you list or balance important things.