Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν περπατάω σε ήσυχο χωριό χωρίς κίνηση, νιώθω σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο, γιατί δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος σε τόση ησυχία. - When I walk in a quiet village without traffic, I feel as if I am in another world, because I am not used to so much quiet.

Why is Όταν περπατάω in the present tense? In English I’d probably say “When I walk / When I am walking” to mean “whenever I walk”. Is that the same idea in Greek?

Yes. In Greek, όταν + present tense is commonly used to talk about:

regular, repeated situations
general truths
or situations that are true “whenever” something happens

So Όταν περπατάω σε ήσυχο χωριό… is best understood as:

Whenever I walk in a quiet village…
not just “this one time”.

Using the present here (instead of a past or future tense) makes it a general statement about how you usually feel in that situation, not a one-off event.

What’s the difference between περπατάω and περπατώ? Are both correct?

Both are correct; they’re just two forms of the same verb, περπατάω / περπατώ = to walk.

περπατάω is more colloquial and very common in modern spoken Greek.
περπατώ sounds a bit more formal or “careful”, and appears more in writing or formal speech.

You can safely use περπατάω in everyday conversation. In this sentence, Όταν περπατάω sounds very natural and modern.

Why is it σε ήσυχο χωριό and not σε ένα ήσυχο χωριό? Is the article ένα optional?

Yes, the indefinite article ένα is optional here, and both versions are possible:

σε ήσυχο χωριό
σε ένα ήσυχο χωριό

The difference is subtle:

σε ήσυχο χωριό = in a quiet village (in general / any quiet village)
→ more generic, like describing a type of place.
σε ένα ήσυχο χωριό = in a (particular) quiet village
→ slightly more specific, like “in some quiet village”.

In this sentence, the speaker is describing a general situation, so leaving out ένα feels very natural: “when I walk in a quiet village (type of place), I feel…”. Greek often drops ένα where English still says “a”.

What exactly does χωρίς κίνηση mean? I thought κίνηση just meant “movement”.

Literally, κίνηση does mean movement, but in everyday Greek it very often means traffic (cars, buses, etc.).

So:

χωρίς κίνηση = without traffic (no cars on the road)

You’ll hear:

Έχει πολλή κίνηση. = There’s a lot of traffic.
Σήμερα δεν έχει κίνηση. = Today there’s no traffic.

In this sentence, ήσυχο χωριό χωρίς κίνηση is basically “a quiet village with no traffic” (very few or no cars).

Why is there no article in χωρίς κίνηση? Why not χωρίς την κίνηση?

After χωρίς (without), Greek often omits the article when speaking generally:

χωρίς κίνηση = without (any) traffic
χωρίς θόρυβο = without noise
χωρίς νερό = without water

If you say χωρίς την κίνηση, it sounds like you mean some specific traffic you both know about (for example: without the traffic we usually have on this street). That’s much less likely here.

So χωρίς κίνηση is the natural, general way: “without traffic at all”.

What’s the difference between νιώθω and αισθάνομαι? Could I say αισθάνομαι σαν να είμαι… instead?

Both verbs can mean to feel, and there is overlap:

νιώθω – very common and a bit more colloquial/neutral.
αισθάνομαι – slightly more formal or “careful”.

Examples:

Νιώθω κουρασμένος. = I feel tired.
Αισθάνομαι κουρασμένος. = I feel tired (perfectly correct, a bit more formal).

In this sentence:

νιώθω σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο

You could say:

αισθάνομαι σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο

and it would still be correct, just a bit more formal-sounding. In everyday speech, νιώθω is the more natural choice.

How does the expression σαν να είμαι work? Why σαν να instead of just ότι είμαι?

σαν να + verb is a very common Greek structure meaning “as if / like / as though”:

νιώθω σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο
= I feel as if I’m in another world.

Compare:

νιώθω ότι είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο
= I feel that I am in another world.

σαν να:

emphasizes appearance / impression (it seems like that)
often implies it’s not literally true, or it’s an exaggerated feeling.

So σαν να είμαι here is the best choice for “it feels like I’m in another world”, not a literal statement of fact.

Why is it σε άλλο κόσμο and not σε άλλον κόσμο? Are both forms correct?

Both forms are used in modern Greek; the difference is about the optional final -ν:

σε άλλο κόσμο
σε άλλον κόσμο

κόσμο is masculine accusative singular. Traditionally, the adjective would be:

άλλον before a masculine noun starting with a consonant: άλλον κόσμο.

In everyday modern Greek:

The final -ν (ν) is often dropped before many consonants: άλλο κόσμο.
Both άλλο κόσμο and άλλον κόσμο are considered correct; άλλο κόσμο is more common in casual speech.

So σε άλλο κόσμο here is perfectly natural, informal Greek.

Why is there no έναν in σε άλλο κόσμο? Could I say σε έναν άλλο κόσμο?

You can say σε έναν άλλο κόσμο, and it’s correct. The differences:

σε άλλο κόσμο
= in another world (some other world; fairly general)
σε έναν άλλο κόσμο
= in another (specific) world; adds a little emphasis that it is a different one.

Greek often omits the indefinite article ένας/μία/ένα when the meaning is clear and general. Here, σε άλλο κόσμο already clearly means “in another world”, so έναν is not necessary.

In γιατί δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος…, how do I know γιατί means “because” and not “why”?

γιατί can mean either:

why (in questions)
because (in statements)

You know which one it is from:

Punctuation and intonation
- Question: Γιατί δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος; = Why am I not used to…?
- Statement: … γιατί δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος… = …because I’m not used to…
Position in the sentence
- At the beginning with question intonation → usually “why”.
- In the middle, giving a reason for what came before → “because”.

Here, it follows a comma and explains the previous statement, so it clearly means because.

Could I use επειδή instead of γιατί to mean “because”? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

…νιώθω σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο, επειδή δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος σε τόση ησυχία.

Both γιατί and επειδή can mean because.

Nuance:

γιατί = very common and neutral; used both for “why” and “because”.
επειδή = only means “because”; sounds a little more formal or explicit, but still completely normal in speech.

In this sentence, γιατί is very natural, everyday Greek. επειδή would not be wrong; it just has a slightly more careful/“bookish” feel.

What kind of structure is δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος σε…? Is συνηθισμένος a verb or an adjective?

Here συνηθισμένος is an adjective, derived from the verb συνηθίζω (to get used to / to be used to).

The pattern is:

είμαι συνηθισμένος σε + noun / verb
= I am used to …

Examples:

Είμαι συνηθισμένος σε θόρυβο. = I am used to noise.
Δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος να ξυπνάω νωρίς. = I’m not used to waking up early.

In your sentence:

δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος σε τόση ησυχία
= I’m not used to so much quiet.

So grammatically: είμαι (verb “to be”) + συνηθισμένος (adjective) + σε (preposition) + object.

Why is it σε τόση ησυχία and not σε τόσο ησυχία? How does τόση work here?

τόσος / τόση / τόσο is a demonstrative adjective meaning “so much / so many / such”.

It agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun:

masculine: τόσος
feminine: τόση
neuter: τόσο

ησυχία is feminine singular, so we must use:

τόση ησυχία = so much quiet / that much quiet

If it were a neuter noun, e.g. νερό (water):

τόσο νερό = so much water

So σε τόση ησυχία literally means “in so much quiet(ness)” → “with such a level of quiet”.

Could I say πολλή ησυχία instead of τόση ησυχία? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible but they focus on slightly different things:

πολλή ησυχία = a lot of quiet (quantity)
τόση ησυχία = so much quiet / that much quiet (degree, often with emotional reaction)

In context:

δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος σε πολλή ησυχία
= I’m not used to a lot of quiet.
δεν είμαι συνηθισμένος σε τόση ησυχία
= I’m not used to this level of quiet; it feels like an unusually strong amount.

τόση often carries an element of surprise, emphasis, or contrast: “so much (of it)!”

What’s the difference between ησυχία and σιωπή? Could I say σε τόση σιωπή?

You could say σε τόση σιωπή, but it doesn’t mean exactly the same thing:

ησυχία = quietness, low noise, calm atmosphere
→ Not necessarily completely silent; just no disturbing sounds.
σιωπή = (complete) silence, no one talking, no sound at all.

So:

σε τόση ησυχία = in so much quiet; a very calm, peaceful place, not noisy.
σε τόση σιωπή = in so much silence; almost no sound, might feel eerie or heavy.

For a village with no traffic, ησυχία is the more natural choice, because there may still be birds, people talking quietly, etc.

Why is there a comma after Όταν περπατάω σε ήσυχο χωριό χωρίς κίνηση?

Greek uses a comma to separate a dependent clause (introduced by όταν, when) from the main clause, especially when the dependent clause comes first:

Όταν περπατάω σε ήσυχο χωριό χωρίς κίνηση, νιώθω σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο.

This is similar to English:

“When I walk in a quiet village without traffic, I feel as if I’m in another world.”

If the order is reversed, the comma is often omitted in Greek:

Νιώθω σαν να είμαι σε άλλο κόσμο όταν περπατάω σε ήσυχο χωριό χωρίς κίνηση.

So the comma here simply marks the end of the όταν-clause.