Breakdown of Δεν λέω κάτι δύσκολο, απλώς λέω την αλήθεια.
δεν
not
δύσκολος
difficult
λέω
to say
κάτι
anything
Questions & Answers about Δεν λέω κάτι δύσκολο, απλώς λέω την αλήθεια.
What does δεν do in this sentence, and where does it go?
Δεν is the basic negation particle in Greek; it makes the verb negative, like not in English.
- It always comes right before the verb:
- λέω → δεν λέω (I say → I don’t say)
- The sentence Δεν λέω κάτι δύσκολο = I’m not saying anything difficult.
In writing you usually see δεν. In speech, the final -ν often drops before many consonants, so you may hear δε λέω, but both mean the same thing.
Why is λέω used here instead of μιλάω?
Greek distinguishes between:
- λέω = to say / to tell something specific
- e.g. λέω την αλήθεια = I tell the truth
- μιλάω = to speak / to talk (more general activity, or a language)
- e.g. μιλάω με τον φίλο μου = I’m talking with my friend
- μιλάω ελληνικά = I speak Greek
In Δεν λέω κάτι δύσκολο, απλώς λέω την αλήθεια, the speaker is talking about the content of what they say (the truth), so λέω is the natural choice, not μιλάω.
Why is κάτι translated as “anything” here, when it usually means “something”?