Learn Hardcore Greek: Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά με μικρή παρέα, όχι με πολύ κόσμο. - I like going to the cinema with a small group of friends, not with many people.

Μου αρέσει = “It is pleasing to me” → I like it.
- μου = to me (weak/stressed genitive pronoun, like a dative)
- αρέσει = is pleasing

So in Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά..., the thing that is “pleasing” (the grammatical subject) is το να πηγαίνω σινεμά (the action of going to the cinema).
You cannot say Εγώ αρέσω here; αρέσω means “I am pleasing (to someone)” — e.g. Αρέσω στον Γιάννη = “John likes me.”

What exactly does να do in να πηγαίνω here?

Να introduces a subordinate verb phrase that works a bit like an English “to” + verb or “that I” + verb.

Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά
≈ “I like to go to the cinema” / “I like going to the cinema.”

This is often called the subjunctive construction. After verbs of liking, wanting, needing, starting, trying, etc., Greek typically uses να + verb:

Θέλω να πάω. – I want to go.
Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω. – I like going.

Why is it να πηγαίνω and not να πάω?

Both are grammatically correct, but they mean slightly different things because of aspect:

να πηγαίνω (imperfective aspect) → repeated / habitual / ongoing action
- “I like going (in general / regularly) to the cinema.”
να πάω (perfective aspect) → single, complete action
- “I’d like to go (this time / on one occasion) to the cinema.”

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a general preference or habit, so να πηγαίνω (imperfective) is the natural choice.

Why is there no article before σινεμά? Why not στο σινεμά?

Here, σινεμά is used almost like an activity: “going to (the) cinema” = “going to the movies”.

να πηγαίνω σινεμά → “to go (to) cinema / to go to the movies” (as an activity)

Greek often omits the article when talking about activities in a general way, especially with some venues:

Πάω σχολείο. – I go to school.
Πάει εκκλησία. – He/she goes to church.
Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά. – I like going to the cinema.

You can say να πηγαίνω στο σινεμά. That tends to emphasize more the place as a location, while σινεμά without the article feels more like the activity of watching films at the cinema.

What does παρέα mean exactly in με μικρή παρέα?

Παρέα is a very common word in Greek meaning roughly:

a group of friends / a small social group,
or even the company itself (the social togetherness).

In με μικρή παρέα, it means:

“with a small group of friends / with just a few people I’m with”

So the contrast is:

με μικρή παρέα – with a small, friendly group
όχι με πολύ κόσμο – not with lots of people / a big crowd

Why is it με μικρή παρέα and not με μια μικρή παρέα?

Greek often omits the indefinite article (ένας, μία, ένα) when talking about a thing or group in general, especially after με when describing a type of company / situation:

Μου αρέσει να ταξιδεύω με φίλους. – I like travelling with friends.
Μου αρέσει να βγαίνω με καλή παρέα. – I like going out with good company.

Here, με μικρή παρέα describes the kind of company the speaker prefers, not one specific small group, so the indefinite article μια is naturally dropped.

You could say με μια μικρή παρέα but it feels more like you mean “with one small group (in particular)”, not a general preference.

What does κόσμος mean here, and why do we say πολύ κόσμο?

Literally, κόσμος means “world”, but in everyday Greek it very often means “people (in general)” or “a crowd”.

Έχει πολύ κόσμο. – There are a lot of people / It’s crowded.

In όχι με πολύ κόσμο:

κόσμο is in the accusative because it follows με (“with”), which always takes the accusative.
πολύ here means “a lot (of)” / “many”.

So με πολύ κόσμο = “with lots of people / with a big crowd,” and όχι με πολύ κόσμο = “not with a lot of people / not with a big crowd.”

Why is it όχι με πολύ κόσμο and not δεν με πολύ κόσμο?

Δεν is used to negate verbs:

Δεν πηγαίνω. – I don’t go.
Δεν μου αρέσει. – I don’t like it.

Όχι is used:

by itself as “no”, or
to negate or contrast a whole phrase / word group, not directly the verb.

Here we are contrasting two prepositional phrases:

με μικρή παρέα – with a small group
όχι με πολύ κόσμο – not with lots of people

We are not saying “I don’t go”, we’re saying “with small company, not with many people”. So όχι is correct, not δεν.

Could I say Αρέσει μου να πηγαίνω σινεμά... instead of Μου αρέσει?

Yes, Αρέσει μου is grammatically possible, but in modern spoken Greek it’s much less common and tends to sound emphatic or marked.

The neutral, everyday word order is:

Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά...

If you say Αρέσει μου να πηγαίνω σινεμά, you’re putting more stress on μου, like:

“It does please me to go to the cinema…” (maybe in contrast to someone else).

So it’s technically correct but not the default.

What’s the difference between μου αρέσει and μ’ αρέσει?

Meaning: none. Both mean “I like (it)”.

μου αρέσει – full, clear form, common in writing and careful speech
μ’ αρέσει – μου is elided to μ’ before a vowel (αρέσει), very common in natural spoken Greek and in informal writing (messages, chats, songs).

So in speech you’ll very often hear:

Μ’ αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά...

Could I replace να πηγαίνω σινεμά with an English-style noun, like το να πηγαίνω στο σινεμά or το σινεμά?

You have a few options, all correct but with slightly different feel:

Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά.
– Most natural; uses να
- verb, like “I like going to the cinema.”
Μου αρέσει το να πηγαίνω στο σινεμά.
– Grammatically fine, but sounds formal / heavy in everyday speech because of το να.
Μου αρέσει το σινεμά.
– “I like cinema / I like the cinema (as an art form or activity),” more general and less about the act of going there.

For the casual, everyday meaning of the original sentence, Μου αρέσει να πηγαίνω σινεμά με μικρή παρέα... is the most natural choice.