Learn Hardcore Greek: Έχω την υποχρέωση να κάνω την εργασία μου, ακόμα κι αν δεν έχω όρεξη. - I have the obligation to do my assignment, even if I don’t feel like it.

It can be a moral duty:
- Έχω την υποχρέωση να βοηθήσω. = I have the obligation / I’m duty-bound to help.
It can also be a formal or legal obligation:
- Οι γονείς έχουν την υποχρέωση να φροντίζουν τα παιδιά τους. = Parents have the obligation to take care of their children.

So it matches English obligation/duty quite closely, slightly more formal than just “I should”.

Why do we say την υποχρέωση with the article την? Can we drop it?

Greek almost always uses a definite article with abstract nouns like υποχρέωση when they are specific and act as objects.

Έχω την υποχρέωση…
Literally: I have the obligation…

You can say:

Έχω υποχρέωση να κάνω την εργασία μου.

This is also correct, and sounds a bit more general or less “pointed”.

Difference in feel:

Έχω την υποχρέωση → a specific, clear, recognized duty (stronger, more concrete).
Έχω υποχρέωση → I have an obligation (somewhat more generic).

Both are fine; in many contexts they are interchangeable.

Why is the structure Έχω την υποχρέωση να κάνω… used instead of just Πρέπει να κάνω…?

Both are correct, but they differ in tone:

Πρέπει να κάνω την εργασία μου.
= I must / I have to do my homework.
- Very common, neutral way to express necessity or obligation.
Έχω την υποχρέωση να κάνω την εργασία μου.
= I have the obligation / I am obliged to do my homework.
- Sounds a bit more formal or emphatic.
- Highlights the existence of an obligation, almost as if it comes from a rule, role, or responsibility (e.g. as a student, I have this duty).

In everyday speech, πρέπει να κάνω… is more frequent. The given sentence is a bit more “serious” or reflective about obligation.

Why do we have να κάνω after υποχρέωση? What is this να?

Να here introduces a subjunctive clause. In Greek, many verbs and nouns that express desire, necessity, obligation, intention, etc. are followed by να + verb:

θέλω να κάνω = I want to do
πρέπει να κάνω = I must do
έχω την υποχρέωση να κάνω = I have the obligation to do

Κάνω is the 1st person singular form (“I do / I make”) and, after να, it is understood as a subjunctive/“to do” form. So να κάνω here corresponds to to do in English.

What exactly does εργασία mean here? Is it “homework” or “job”?

Εργασία is a general word meaning work, task, assignment, and in a school context often homework or written assignment.

In this sentence, depending on context, it can be:

my homework
my assignment/project
my work (e.g. work task I’m responsible for)

For school homework, speakers also often say:

η εργασία μου = my (school) assignment/homework
τα μαθήματά μου = my schoolwork (literally “my lessons”)

A more colloquial and very common word for “work” generally is δουλειά, but εργασία is more neutral/formal and fits well with υποχρέωση.

Why do we say την εργασία μου and not just εργασία μου? Does Greek always use an article with possessives?

Greek almost always uses the definite article together with a possessive pronoun when it refers to a specific thing:

η εργασία μου = my assignment / my homework
το βιβλίο μου = my book
η μητέρα μου = my mother

When it’s a direct object, it comes in the accusative:

κάνω την εργασία μου = I do my homework

Leaving the article out (κάνω εργασία μου) is either:

incorrect in standard Greek, or
extremely marked, poetic, or dialectal in some contexts.

So: verb + την εργασία μου is the normal, correct pattern.

Can I say δουλειά instead of εργασία in this sentence?

You can, but it slightly changes the tone:

Έχω την υποχρέωση να κάνω τη δουλειά μου…

Δουλειά = work, job, what you do as your occupation, or any task.

In everyday speech, δουλειά is more common and informal.
Εργασία is more formal or neutral, often used in written language, school/academic contexts, or official speech.

Both are fine grammatically; the original with εργασία just feels a bit more formal or “correct”.

What does ακόμα κι αν mean, and how is it different from just αν?

αν = if
ακόμα κι αν = even if

So ακόμα κι αν δεν έχω όρεξη means even if I don’t feel like it, not just if I don’t feel like it.

It adds emphasis, stressing that the obligation holds even in that contrary or difficult condition.

Compare:

Θα το κάνω, αν έχω χρόνο. = I’ll do it, if I have time.
Θα το κάνω, ακόμα κι αν δεν έχω χρόνο. = I’ll do it, even if I don’t have time.

What is κι here? Why not και αν?

Κι is simply a short form of και (“and / even”).

In Greek, και often becomes κι when the next word starts with a vowel sound or certain consonants, mainly for euphony (to sound smoother):

και αν → κι αν
και εγώ → κι εγώ
και έτσι → κι έτσι

Meaning doesn’t change; it’s just a phonetic contraction.
So ακόμα και αν and ακόμα κι αν mean the same; ακόμα κι αν is what people actually say and write most of the time.

What does δεν έχω όρεξη mean? Is it literally “I don’t have appetite”?

Literally, δεν έχω όρεξη = I don’t have appetite.

But idiomatically it often means:

I don’t feel like it / I have no desire / I’m not in the mood (for doing something), not only for eating.

Examples:

Δεν έχω όρεξη να βγω. = I don’t feel like going out.
Δεν έχω όρεξη για διάβασμα. = I don’t feel like studying.

It can also be used specifically about food:

Δεν έχω όρεξη για φαγητό. = I don’t have an appetite for food.

In your sentence it clearly means “even if I don’t feel like it,” not about hunger.

Why do we say δεν έχω and not μην έχω? What’s the difference between δεν and μην?

Both are negative words, but they’re used in different environments:

δεν is used with ordinary (indicative) verbs and with έχω in statements:
- Δεν έχω όρεξη. = I don’t have appetite / I don’t feel like it.
- Δεν θέλει. = He/She doesn’t want to.
μη(ν) is used mainly in:
- negative commands / prohibitions:
  - Μην το κάνεις! = Don’t do it!
- certain subjunctive/να-clauses after verbs like “to want, to fear, to prefer,” etc.:
  - Φοβάμαι μην αργήσει. = I’m afraid he/she might be late.

Here, δεν έχω όρεξη is a straightforward statement, so δεν is the correct negative.

Why does όρεξη appear without an article, when υποχρέωση and εργασία have one?

Some abstract or mass nouns in fixed expressions often appear without the article, especially with έχω:

έχω όρεξη = I have appetite / I feel like it
έχω υπομονή = I have patience
έχω τύχη = I’m lucky / I have luck

By contrast, υποχρέωση and εργασία are treated more like specific countable things here (a particular duty and a particular task), so we use the article:

την υποχρέωση (that specific duty)
την εργασία μου (that specific piece of work/homework)

You could in other contexts say έχω την όρεξη but that sounds marked, emphatic, or unusual; δεν έχω όρεξη is the normal idiom.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say the sentence in another order?

The given order is the most natural:

Έχω την υποχρέωση να κάνω την εργασία μου, ακόμα κι αν δεν έχω όρεξη.

You can make small variations without changing the meaning much, for example:

Έχω την υποχρέωση, ακόμα κι αν δεν έχω όρεξη, να κάνω την εργασία μου.
(more formal/literary)

What you cannot do is break up fixed units in unnatural ways, like:

✗ Έχω την υποχρέωση την εργασία μου να κάνω, ακόμα κι αν δεν έχω όρεξη. (possible but sounds very marked, almost poetic)

So, while Greek word order is relatively flexible, in everyday speech you usually keep:
subject/verb – object – subordinate clause
as in the original sentence.