Breakdown of Ακόμα και όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά.
Questions & Answers about Ακόμα και όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά.
Ακόμα και όταν is a fixed expression meaning even when.
- ακόμα = still / even
- και = and / also (here it works together with ακόμα to mean even)
- όταν = when
So the structure is: ακόμα και + clause = even + clause.
You cannot normally drop και here.
❌ Ακόμα όταν είμαι κουρασμένος… sounds wrong.
You will also often see it as ακόμα κι όταν (with κι instead of και before a vowel sound):
- Ακόμα κι όταν είμαι κουρασμένος… = perfectly natural, same meaning.
Yes, the comma works very similarly to English in this type of sentence.
- Ακόμα και όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, = dependent (subordinate) clause
- διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά. = main clause
Greek normally uses a comma between a dependent clause that comes first and the main clause that follows, just like English:
- Όταν τελειώσω, θα σε πάρω τηλέφωνο.
When I finish, I’ll call you.
So the comma here separates “even when I’m tired” from “I read a bit of Greek.”
In Greek, subject pronouns like εγώ (I), εσύ (you), αυτός (he) are usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person.
- είμαι already tells you it’s I am.
- διαβάζω already tells you it’s I read / I am reading.
You would only add εγώ for emphasis or contrast:
- Ακόμα και όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, εγώ διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά.
= Even when I’m tired, *I (as opposed to others) read a bit of Greek.*
So the sentence without εγώ is the normal, neutral version.
Κουρασμένος is an adjective meaning tired. In Greek, adjectives must agree with the subject in gender, number, and case.
Here the implied subject is εγώ (I), and we are imagining a male speaker, so we use the masculine form:
- masculine: κουρασμένος
- feminine: κουρασμένη
- neuter: κουρασμένο
So:
- A man: Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, διαβάζω…
- A woman: Όταν είμαι κουρασμένη, διαβάζω…
Plural:
- a group of men / mixed group: κουρασμένοι
- a group of women: κουρασμένες
είμαι κουρασμένος = I am tired (state, like English “be tired”).
- είμαι = I am
- κουρασμένος = tired
κουράζομαι = I get tired / I tire (myself), a verb about the process of becoming tired.
Examples:
- Κουράζομαι εύκολα. = I get tired easily.
- Είμαι κουρασμένος. = I am (already) tired.
In your sentence, we’re describing the state, so είμαι κουρασμένος is the natural choice.
Greek είμαι is the verb to be, and it doesn’t have a separate continuous form. The present tense covers both simple and continuous meanings:
Present of είμαι:
- (εγώ) είμαι = I am
- (εσύ) είσαι = you are
- (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) είναι = he/she/it is
- (εμείς) είμαστε = we are
- (εσείς) είστε = you (pl./pol.) are
- (αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) είναι = they are
So όταν είμαι κουρασμένος can correspond to both
- when I am tired and
- when I’m being tired (if English used that),
but in normal English we just say when I’m tired.
Διαβάζω has both meanings in Greek, depending on context:
- read (a text)
- Διαβάζω ένα βιβλίο. = I’m reading a book.
- study / do homework / review
- Πάω να διαβάσω για τις εξετάσεις. = I’m going to study for the exams.
With a language, διαβάζω ελληνικά usually means “study Greek” (e.g. doing exercises, reading texts, working on the language). It can also literally mean read some Greek, but learners normally understand it as study Greek.
Yes. The Greek present tense typically covers both:
- present continuous: I am reading
- present habitual / general: I (usually) read / I read regularly
In this sentence, with ακόμα και όταν είμαι κουρασμένος (even when I’m tired), it clearly describes a habit:
- διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά = I (still) read / study a bit of Greek (as a regular practice).
If you wanted to stress that you are doing it right now, you’d normally add a time expression:
- Τώρα διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά. = Right now I’m reading/studying a bit of Greek.
In διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά, λίγο is an adverb that mainly qualifies the verb:
- διαβάζω λίγο = I read a little / a bit (not much).
Because ελληνικά is the object (I read Greek), you can understand the whole as:
- I read Greek a little (not a lot)
or - I read a small amount of Greek.
If you say:
- διαβάζω ελληνικά λίγο, you are putting more focus on how much Greek you read, but it still sounds less natural; διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά is the standard order.
Ελληνικά (neuter plural) is the usual way to refer to the Greek language:
- τα ελληνικά = (the) Greek (language).
Greek names of languages are:
- neuter plural
- normally not capitalized (unlike English), unless they start a sentence.
Examples:
- Μιλάω ελληνικά. = I speak Greek.
- Μαθαίνω γαλλικά. = I’m learning French.
So διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά literally is I read a bit (of) Greek (language), and the lower-case ε is standard.
Greek word order is more flexible than English, but some orders are more natural than others.
Neutral, most natural here:
- διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά
Possible but marked (with emphasis):
- Λίγο ελληνικά διαβάζω.
→ putting focus on “a little Greek” (e.g. in contrast to another subject). - Ελληνικά διαβάζω λίγο.
→ stressing Greek as the thing you read.
Some combinations will sound awkward or poetic. As a learner, it’s safest to keep:
- [verb] + λίγο + [object]
for this kind of sentence.
Ακόμα and ακόμη are basically interchangeable in modern Greek, and both can mean:
- still
- even
In your sentence, you could also say:
- Ακόμη και όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, διαβάζω λίγο ελληνικά.
This is fully correct and means the same. Many speakers feel ακόμη is a bit more formal or “bookish,” while ακόμα is slightly more colloquial, but the difference is small and often just personal preference.
Approximate pronunciation (stress in bold):
- Ακόμα → a-KO-ma
- και → ke (or ki before a vowel: κι όταν)
- όταν → O-tan
- είμαι → I-me (like EE-meh)
- κουρασμένος → kou-ras-ME-nos
- διαβάζω → thia-VÁ-zo (the δ is like th in this)
- λίγο → LI-go
- ελληνικά → e-llee-nee-KA
Two common issues:
- δ in διαβάζω is not /d/ but a voiced th, like English this.
- Double λ in ελληνικά gives a slightly longer l sound, but you don’t need to exaggerate it; just avoid turning it into an r.