Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, απλώς θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά τόσο καλά όσο αυτός.

I don’t envy my friend, I just want to speak Greek as well as he does.

Breakdown of Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, απλώς θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά τόσο καλά όσο αυτός.

• καλά: well
• θέλω: to want
• μιλάω: to speak
• ελληνικά: in Greek
• δεν: not
• να: to
• μου: my
• ο φίλος: the male friend
• αυτός: he
• τόσο ... όσο: as ... as
• ζηλεύω: to envy
• απλώς: just

Questions & Answers about Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, απλώς θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά τόσο καλά όσο αυτός.

What does «Δεν ζηλεύω» literally mean, and why is there no separate word for “do” like in English?

«Δεν ζηλεύω» literally means “I don’t envy / I’m not jealous”.

• Δεν = not / don’t (negative particle)
• ζηλεύω = I envy / I am jealous (1st person singular of ζηλεύω)

Modern Greek does not use an auxiliary verb like English “do” for negation.
You simply put δεν in front of the verb:

• Μιλάω. = I speak.
• Δεν μιλάω. = I don’t speak.

So “I don’t envy” is just Δεν ζηλεύω (literally: not I-envy).

Why is it «τον φίλο μου» and not «ο φίλος μου»?

Because «τον φίλο μου» is the object of the verb, not the subject.

• Ο φίλος μου = my friend (subject / nominative case)
  
  • Example: Ο φίλος μου μιλάει ελληνικά. = My friend speaks Greek.
• Τον φίλο μου = my friend (object / accusative case)
  
  • Example: Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου. = I don’t envy my friend.

In your sentence, I (εγώ, implied) is the subject, and my friend is who I (don’t) envy, so it must be in the accusative: τον φίλο μου.

What’s the difference between ζηλεύω and something like είμαι ζηλιάρης?

Both relate to jealousy, but they’re used a bit differently:

• ζηλεύω = I envy / I am jealous (of someone / something)

  • Focus on the feeling or action in that moment.
  • Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου. = I don’t envy my friend.

• είμαι ζηλιάρης / ζηλιάρα = I am (a) jealous (person)

  • Adjective describing character or usual behavior.
  • Είναι πολύ ζηλιάρης. = He is very jealous (by nature).

In your sentence, we’re talking about a specific feeling toward the friend, so ζηλεύω is the natural choice.

What does «απλώς» mean here, and how is it different from «αλλά» (“but”)?

In the sentence,

… δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, απλώς θέλω…

απλώς means “simply / just” (in the sense of merely).

• Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, απλώς θέλω…
  = I don’t envy my friend, I just / simply want…

By contrast, αλλά means “but” and introduces a contrast:

• Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, αλλά θέλω…
  = I don’t envy my friend, but I want…

You can use αλλά here; it slightly emphasizes the contrast more.
απλώς softens it: it sounds like you’re clarifying your intentions (“I don’t envy him; I only want…”).

I often see «απλά» instead of «απλώς». Could I say «απλά θέλω…» instead?

Yes.

• απλώς = the “traditional” adverb (simply)
• απλά = originally the adjective απλός (simple) used adverbially, very common in everyday speech

Both are widely used. In writing, απλώς is sometimes considered a bit more “proper”, but απλά is completely natural in spoken Greek:

• … απλώς θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά…
• … απλά θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά…

Both mean: I just want to speak Greek…

Why do we need «να» in «θέλω να μιλάω»? Why not just «θέλω μιλάω»?

After many verbs like θέλω (I want), Greek normally uses να + verb.
This να introduces what’s called the subjunctive (a type of subordinate verb form).

Structure:

• θέλω + να + [subjunctive]
  • θέλω να πάω = I want to go
  • θέλει να διαβάσει = He/she wants to read
  • θέλω να μιλάω = I want to speak (habitually / well etc.)

So θέλω μιλάω is incorrect; you must say θέλω να μιλάω.

What’s the difference between «να μιλάω» and «να μιλήσω» here?

It’s a difference in aspect (kind of like “ongoing vs. one-time action”):

• να μιλάω (imperfective)
  
  • Focus on a general, ongoing ability or repeated action
  • In this sentence: to be able to speak Greek well in general
• να μιλήσω (aorist)
  
  • Focus on one specific act of speaking / one occasion
  • Example: Θέλω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μαζί σου.
    = I want to speak Greek (once, on this occasion) with you.

So:

• Θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά τόσο καλά όσο αυτός.
  = I want to (generally) speak Greek as well as he does.

Using να μιλήσω here would sound wrong, because you’re not talking about a single instance of speaking, but about how well you speak overall.

Is there any difference between «μιλάω» and «μιλώ»?

They are just two forms of the same verb, both meaning “I speak”.

• μιλάω = more colloquial/spoken, very common
• μιλώ = a bit more “formal” or compact, often in writing, but also used in speech

You can say either:

• Θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά.
• Θέλω να μιλώ ελληνικά.

Both are correct and mean I want to speak Greek.
In everyday conversation, μιλάω is probably more frequent.

Why is «ελληνικά» in the plural and with no article? Why not «την ελληνική» etc.?

In Modern Greek, when talking about languages after verbs like “speak”, you usually use the neuter plural form without an article:

• Μιλάω ελληνικά. = I speak Greek.
• Μιλάει αγγλικά. = He/she speaks English.
• Μαθαίνουμε γαλλικά. = We are learning French.

So:

• ελληνικά is literally “Greek (things)” (neuter plural), but it functions as “the Greek language” here.
• No article (τα ελληνικά) is needed in this pattern.

You can say τα ελληνικά when you mean “the Greek language” more as a school subject or object of study:

• Τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα.
  = Greek is a difficult language.

Why is it «τόσο καλά» and not «τόσο καλό»?

Because καλά here is an adverb meaning “well”, not an adjective meaning “good”.

• καλός / καλή / καλό = good (adjective: describes nouns)
• καλά = well (adverb: describes verbs, how you do something)

In your sentence, καλά describes how you speak (μιλάω):

• να μιλάω… καλά = to speak well

So:

• τόσο καλά = that well / so well
  (degree of how well you speak)

τόσο καλό would be neuter singular adjectival (so good), used with a noun:

• τόσο καλό ελληνικό (if there were some neuter noun like Greek [something]).

Correct in your sentence is τόσο καλά.

What exactly does «τόσο καλά όσο» mean? Is it like English “as well as”?

Yes. The pattern τόσο … όσο … expresses equality of degree, equivalent to:

• “as … as …”
• “so … as …” (in older or more formal English)

In your sentence:

• τόσο καλά όσο αυτός
  = as well as he (does)

So the full idea is:

θέλω να μιλάω ελληνικά τόσο καλά όσο αυτός (μιλάει)
I want to speak Greek as well as he (speaks [Greek]).

Why do we say «όσο αυτός» (nominative) and not «όσο αυτόν»?

Because αυτός here stands for the subject of an implied verb:

• τόσο καλά όσο αυτός (μιλάει)
  = as well as he speaks.

In Greek, in such comparisons, the pronoun is typically in the nominative, matching the subject it stands for.

Compare in English:

• Formal: as well as he (does) → “he” (subject form)
• Colloquial: as well as him → “him” (object form)

Greek stays with the “he”-type form: αυτός, not αυτόν.

So:

• σωστό (correct): τόσο καλά όσο αυτός
• λάθος: τόσο καλά όσο αυτόν

Could I replace «όσο αυτός» with something like «όσο ο φίλος μου» or «όσο εκείνος»?

Yes, you have some flexibility:

• … τόσο καλά όσο αυτός.
  = as well as he (does).
• … τόσο καλά όσο ο φίλος μου.
  = as well as my friend (does).
• … τόσο καλά όσο εκείνος.
  = as well as that guy / he (more pointing / contrastive).

All are grammatically fine.
In your context, since τον φίλο μου was just mentioned, the natural pronoun is αυτός (“he”).
Repeating ο φίλος μου is also fine, just a bit more repetitive.

Why is there a comma before «απλώς» in this sentence?

The comma marks a pause between two closely connected clauses:

Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, απλώς θέλω να μιλάω…

Similar in English: > I don’t envy my friend, I just want to speak Greek…

You could also write it with “but”:

• Δεν ζηλεύω τον φίλο μου, αλλά απλώς θέλω…

The comma is standard here because you’re moving from one complete idea (I don’t envy my friend) to another (I simply want…). It reflects natural spoken rhythm and clarifies the structure.