Learn Hardcore Greek: Χρειάζομαι κι εγώ υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου όταν κάνω πολλά λάθη. - I also need patience with myself when I make many mistakes.

και εγώ → perfectly correct
κι εγώ → the same meaning, just the common spoken form before vowels (like saying “an apple” instead of “a apple” in English).

In this sentence, κι εγώ emphasizes that the speaker, too, needs patience, in comparison to someone else.

Why is the subject εγώ placed after the verb Χρειάζομαι? Could we say Κι εγώ χρειάζομαι… instead?

Both orders are possible and correct:

Χρειάζομαι κι εγώ υπομονή…
Κι εγώ χρειάζομαι υπομονή…

Greek word order is flexible. The difference is mainly one of emphasis and rhythm:

Κι εγώ χρειάζομαι… → emphasizes “I too” right at the start (more parallel to English “I also need…”).
Χρειάζομαι κι εγώ… → starts with the verb and then adds “me too”, often sounding a bit more conversational or explanatory, like: “I need patience too, myself…”

In both cases the meaning is essentially the same.

Why is there no article before υπομονή? Why not την υπομονή?

υπομονή means “patience”, an abstract, uncountable noun.

When we talk about patience in general, Greek often uses it without an article, just like English:

Χρειάζομαι υπομονή. = I need (some) patience.

Using an article can change the nuance:

Χρειάζομαι την υπομονή σου. = I need your patience. (a specific person’s patience)
Χρειάζομαι την υπομονή ενός αγίου. = I need the patience of a saint.

Here, the speaker means patience in general with myself, not some specific, defined “portion” of patience, so no article is used.

What does υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου literally mean?

Literally:

υπομονή = patience
με = with
τον εαυτό μου = my self / myself

So υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου = “patience with myself”.

The whole phrase Χρειάζομαι υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου corresponds to English “I need to be patient with myself.”

Why is it τον εαυτό μου and not just εαυτό μου or εαυτός μου?

εαυτός is the base form meaning “self”, but in actual sentences it almost always appears with:

the definite article, and
a possessive (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους).

Here:

τον = the (masculine, accusative, singular)
εαυτό = self (masculine, accusative singular form)
μου = my

So τον εαυτό μου = “myself” (literally “the self of me”).

εαυτός μου is wrong here because εαυτός is nominative, but the sentence needs the accusative (object of the preposition με).
Omitting the article (εαυτό μου) is ungrammatical in standard Modern Greek in this reflexive use.

What gender and case is τον εαυτό μου, and why?

εαυτός is a masculine noun.
In τον εαυτό μου, τον εαυτό is masculine, singular, accusative.

Why accusative?

Because it’s the object of the preposition με (with), and also conceptually the object of the patience: I need patience with whom? With myself → accusative case.

So the structure is:

με + τον εαυτό μου = with + the (accusative) self + my → with myself

Why is the possessive μου placed after the noun (εαυτό) instead of before it?

In Greek, short possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun:

ο φίλος μου = my friend
η μητέρα σου = your mother
το βιβλίο της = her book
τον εαυτό μου = myself

Putting them before the noun (like μου εαυτό) is not correct in standard Modern Greek. So the natural order is:

article + noun + possessive → τον εαυτό μου.

Could we say χρειάζομαι υπομονή από τον εαυτό μου or για τον εαυτό μου? What’s the difference from με τον εαυτό μου?

The usual, natural expression is:

υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου = patience with myself (I must be patient towards myself).

Other prepositions would change the meaning:

υπομονή από τον εαυτό μου
Literally: patience from myself → sounds odd; it would mean I want my own self to show patience (towards others), not I want to be patient with myself.
υπομονή για τον εαυτό μου
Literally: patience for myself → could be interpreted as patience on my behalf, but it is not the standard way to say “with myself.”

So to express the idea “I need to be patient with myself,” Greek uses με:
Χρειάζομαι υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου.

Why do we say κάνω λάθη (literally “I do/make mistakes”) instead of using a specific verb like “to mistake”?

In Greek, the very common way to express “to make a mistake” is:

κάνω λάθος (singular) = I make a mistake / I am wrong
κάνω λάθη (plural) = I make mistakes

There is no single everyday verb meaning exactly “to mis-make” or “to mistake” in this general sense, so Greek uses the verb κάνω (“do/make”) plus the noun λάθος / λάθη, just like English often says “make a mistake” rather than using another verb.

So όταν κάνω πολλά λάθη = “when I make many / a lot of mistakes.”

Why is it πολλά λάθη and not πολλές λάθες?

Because λάθος is a neuter noun.

Singular: το λάθος = the mistake
Plural: τα λάθη = the mistakes

The adjective πολύς (much/many) in the neuter plural accusative is πολλά, to agree with λάθη:

πολλά λάθη = many mistakes / a lot of mistakes

So:

πολλές is feminine plural (e.g. πολλές γυναίκες = many women).
πολλά is neuter plural (e.g. πολλά βιβλία, πολλά λάθη).

Since λάθη is neuter plural, it must be πολλά λάθη, not πολλές λάθες.

What tense is κάνω in όταν κάνω πολλά λάθη, and why not έκανα or θα κάνω?

κάνω is present tense, simple (imperfective) aspect:

όταν κάνω πολλά λάθη = “when I make a lot of mistakes / when I’m making a lot of mistakes.”

It expresses a general, repeated, or typical situation, not one specific past or future event.

όταν έκανα πολλά λάθη = when I used to make / when I made many mistakes (in the past).
όταν θα κάνω πολλά λάθη = when I will make many mistakes (more clearly in the future, though Greek often still prefers the present in such “when” clauses).

So in this sentence, present tense is used because it talks about any time the speaker makes many mistakes, not just a specific time.

Could we leave out εγώ and just say Χρειάζομαι κι υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου…? Would that mean the same thing?

No, that would change the meaning.

Χρειάζομαι κι εγώ υπομονή… = I also need patience… (I too, in addition to others, need patience.)
Χρειάζομαι κι υπομονή… (without εγώ) would be understood as:
“I also need patience (in addition to other things I need).”

In the second version, κι attaches to υπομονή (“also patience”), not to εγώ (“I also”). So if you want the meaning “I also (me too) need patience with myself”, you should keep κι εγώ.

How does Χρειάζομαι work here, and how is it different from using πρέπει να?

Χρειάζομαι means “I need” (literally: I am in need of). It’s followed directly by a noun:

Χρειάζομαι υπομονή. = I need patience.

πρέπει να means “I must / I have to / I should” and is followed by a verb:

Πρέπει να έχω υπομονή. = I must have patience.
Πρέπει να είμαι υπομονετικός με τον εαυτό μου. = I must be patient with myself.

So:

Χρειάζομαι υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου = I need patience with myself.
Πρέπει να έχω υπομονή με τον εαυτό μου = I must / should have patience with myself.

They’re close in meaning but not identical: χρειάζομαι focuses on the need, πρέπει να on the obligation or necessity to act.