Learn Hardcore Greek: Το Σάββατο έχω ραντεβού σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο στη γειτονιά. - On Saturday I have an appointment at a small hair salon in the neighborhood.

Literally it is “the Saturday”, but in Greek this is simply how you refer to a specific day as a time expression:
Τη Δευτέρα, την Τρίτη, την Τετάρτη, το Σάββατο, etc. → all mean on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Saturday.

Why is έχω ραντεβού used instead of έχω ένα ραντεβού?

In Greek, ραντεβού often appears without an article when it means “an appointment” in general.

Έχω ραντεβού = I have an appointment / I have a (scheduled) meeting.
Έχω ένα ραντεβού is not wrong, but it sounds like you’re emphasizing “one appointment” (e.g. “I have one appointment, not more”).

Also, ραντεβού is an indeclinable neuter noun (borrowed from French), and in its basic, generic use for appointments, it frequently drops the indefinite article.

Does ραντεβού always mean a romantic “date”, or can it also mean a normal appointment?

Ραντεβού can mean either:

A regular appointment:
- Έχω ραντεβού στον γιατρό.
  I have a doctor’s appointment.
- Έχω ραντεβού στο κομμωτήριο.
  I have a hairdresser’s appointment.
A romantic date:
- Βγήκα ραντεβού μαζί της.
  I went on a date with her.

In your sentence with κομμωτήριο, the meaning is clearly a non-romantic appointment (hair appointment).

Why is it σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο and not στο μικρό κομμωτήριο?

Two separate points:

σε + ένα (indefinite)
- σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο = in/at a small hair salon (unspecified, any small salon)
- σε ένα does not contract, because ένα is the indefinite article.
σε + το → στο (definite)
- στο μικρό κομμωτήριο = in/at the small hair salon (a specific one you and the listener both know)
- Here σε
  - το contracts to στο.

In your sentence, the speaker is just saying they have an appointment at a small salon in the neighborhood, not emphasizing one particular well-known place, so σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο fits well.

What exactly does κομμωτήριο mean? Is it more like “barbershop” or “hair salon”?

Κομμωτήριο is usually best translated as hair salon or hairdresser’s.

It can be:
- unisex (men and women),
- or mainly for women,
- or just a small neighborhood place.

For a more traditionally male barbershop, Greek also has κουρείο. But in everyday speech, many people just say κομμωτήριο for most kinds of hair salons, especially when the focus is on getting your hair done (cut, dyed, styled, etc.).

Why is μικρό placed before κομμωτήριο? Could it come after the noun?

The normal, neutral position for adjectives in Greek is before the noun:

ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο = a small hair salon

You can put an adjective after the noun, but it usually sounds either:

more emphatic, or
more poetic/literary, or
slightly marked in everyday speech.

For example:

ένα κομμωτήριο μικρό could work in a context where you’re contrasting it with bigger ones, but it doesn’t sound like the default way to describe it.

So here ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο is the natural choice.

What case and gender are the nouns Σάββατο, ραντεβού, κομμωτήριο, and γειτονιά in this sentence?

In this sentence:

το Σάββατο
- Gender: neuter
- Case: accusative (used as a time expression: “on Saturday”)
- Singular
- Basic pattern:
  - το Σάββατο – του Σαββάτου – στο Σάββατο (rare); we mostly use it as a time word.
ραντεβού
- Gender: neuter
- Case: accusative (direct object of έχω)
- Number: grammatically it looks the same in singular and plural, and doesn’t change form:
  - το ραντεβού – τα ραντεβού
κομμωτήριο
- Gender: neuter
- Case: accusative (object of the preposition σε)
- Singular
- Pattern:
  - το κομμωτήριο – του κομμωτηρίου – στο κομμωτήριο
γειτονιά
- Gender: feminine
- Case: accusative (object of the preposition σε → στη)
- Singular
- Pattern:
  - η γειτονιά – της γειτονιάς – στη γειτονιά

Why is it στη γειτονιά and not σε τη γειτονιά?

In Greek, σε + definite article commonly contracts:

σε + τη → στη
σε + την → στην
σε + το → στο
σε + τον → στον
σε + τις → στις

So:

σε τη γειτονιά → στη γειτονιά

You almost always use the contracted form in normal speech and writing: στη γειτονιά = in the neighborhood.

Why is it στη γειτονιά in the accusative if it means “in the neighborhood”? Shouldn’t location use something like a dative?

Modern Greek does not have a separate dative case in regular nouns. Instead, it uses:

The preposition σε
- accusative to express:
  - location (in, at, on)
  - direction (to, into)

So:

στη γειτονιά can mean:
- in the neighborhood (location)
- or to the neighborhood (direction), depending on the verb and context.

Here, with έχω ραντεβού, it is clearly location:
σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο στη γειτονιά = at a small hair salon in the neighborhood (not going to it right now, just describing where it is).

How is γείτονιά pronounced, especially the combination γει and νιά?

Pronunciation (rough IPA): γειτονιά → /ʝitoˈɲa/

Key points:

γ before ει is pronounced like a voiced “y” sound, similar to English yes, but a bit fricative: /ʝ/.
ει here sounds like ι (like English ee in see).
νι before ά can combine to make a palatal sound, roughly like ny in Spanish niño → /ɲa/.

So γειτονιά is roughly like yee-to-NYA, with stress on the last syllable:
γειτονιά → γει-το-νιά.

Why does έχω ραντεβού (present tense) refer to a future appointment on Saturday?

Greek commonly uses the present tense to talk about scheduled future events, especially when:

the future event is fixed (timetable, appointment, plan), and
there is a future time expression in the sentence.

For example:

Αύριο δουλεύω. → I’m working tomorrow.
Το βράδυ βγαίνω με φίλους. → Tonight I’m going out with friends.

Similarly:

Το Σάββατο έχω ραντεβού… → On Saturday I have an appointment…

If you wanted, you could also say:

Το Σάββατο θα έχω ραντεβού…
but the simple present is very natural here and does not sound incomplete.

Why is Σάββατο capitalized? Are days of the week normally written with a capital letter in Greek?

In standard modern Greek, days of the week are usually not capitalized:

το Σάββατο is often written as το Σάββατο in practice, but the more strictly correct, traditional spelling is το Σάββατο with a lowercase initial:
- τη Δευτέρα
- την Τρίτη
- το Σάββατο

However, many people (influenced by English) do write them with a capital, especially in informal contexts. You’ll see both, but if you aim for standard Greek, write days of the week without a capital: το Σάββατο → το Σάββατο.

Is the word order σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο στη γειτονιά fixed, or could I say στη γειτονιά σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο?

The word order is flexible, but the version in your sentence is the most natural:

σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο στη γειτονιά
→ at a small hair salon in the neighborhood

You could say:

στη γειτονιά, σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο

This would be understood and can sound fine, especially with a pause (comma) in speech. The difference is very small and more about rhythm and focus:

Original order focuses first on what kind of place (a small hair salon), then specifies where it is (in the neighborhood).
Reversed order would slightly foreground “in the neighborhood” first, then add “at a small hair salon” as a detail.

Both are grammatical; the original is just more typical.

Can you give the full pronunciation of the whole sentence?

Approximate pronunciation in IPA:

Το Σάββατο έχω ραντεβού σε ένα μικρό κομμωτήριο στη γειτονιά.

/to ˈsavato ˈexo ɾandeˈvu se ˈena miˈkro komoˈtirio sti ʝitoˈɲa/

Broken down:

Το → /to/
Σάββατο → /ˈsavato/ (stress on Σά)
έχω → /ˈexo/ (like “E-cho”, stress on έ)
ραντεβού → /ɾandeˈvu/ (stress on βού)
σε → /se/
ένα → /ˈena/
μικρό → /miˈkro/ (stress on κρό)
κομμωτήριο → /komoˈtirio/ (stress on τή)
στη → /sti/
γειτονιά → /ʝitoˈɲa/ (stress on νιά)