Learn Hardcore Greek: Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά. - However much I read, today I don’t understand well.

Όσο = “as much as / how much”
αν here works like “if / no matter if”
Together with a verb, «Όσο (κι) αν + verb» expresses “no matter how much X happens”.

In English, we often translate it with “no matter how much”, even though Greek literally keeps the idea of “however much I may do X”.

Why is it «Όσο κι αν» and not just «Όσο αν» or «Όσο και αν»?

All three are connected:

Όσο και αν διαβάζω…
Όσο κι αν διαβάζω…
(Not really natural: Όσο αν διαβάζω… → we normally keep the και/κι)

και often becomes κι before a vowel sound for ease of pronunciation:

και αν → κι αν
και έτσι → κι έτσι
και όμως → κι όμως

So in writing and speech:

Όσο και αν διαβάζω… is correct.
Όσο κι αν διαβάζω… is also correct and actually more common in everyday language, because it’s smoother to say.

You would not normally drop και/κι here. The usual pattern is Όσο (και/κι) αν….

Why is the verb «διαβάζω» in the present tense and not in some kind of subjunctive or different form?

In Greek, after Όσο κι αν, you can use the present tense of the verb to talk about a repeated or general action:

Όσο κι αν διαβάζω = “No matter how much I read / study (whenever I read / in general)…”

διαβάζω here is:

Present tense
Imperfective aspect (ongoing/repeated action)

It doesn’t look like English “may read,” but functionally you can think of it as:

“however much I may read / however much I am reading”

You could see other tenses in similar structures (e.g. with future), but for a general present-time situation, present tense is normal here.

Does «διαβάζω» mean “to read” or “to study” here?

διαβάζω can mean both:

to read (literally)
- Διαβάζω μια εφημερίδα. = I’m reading a newspaper.
to study / to do homework / to revise
- Διαβάζω για τις εξετάσεις. = I’m studying for the exams.

In the sentence:

Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά.

the meaning is more like “study” (study material, a text, a lesson, etc.).
Greek often uses διαβάζω in the context of school/university study, not only casual reading.

What does «κι» mean here? Is it the same as «και»?

Yes. κι is just a shortened, phonetic form of «και».

και = “and”
Before words starting with a vowel sound (like αν), it often becomes κι in speech and writing:
- και αν → κι αν
- και έτσι → κι έτσι

So in «Όσο κι αν…», the κι is simply και in its short form, used to make pronunciation smoother.
The meaning doesn’t change.

Why is «σήμερα» placed before «δεν καταλαβαίνω»? Could I say «Δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά σήμερα»?

Both word orders are possible:

Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά.
Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά σήμερα.

They are both correct and mean essentially the same. The difference is slight emphasis:

σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά
– Slight emphasis on “today”: Today I’m not understanding well (maybe usually I do).
δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά σήμερα
– More neutral; “today” is just added information at the end.

Greek word order is relatively flexible, and adverbs of time like σήμερα can move around:

Σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά.
Δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά σήμερα.

Both are natural; use whichever feels smoother to you.

Why is it «καλά» and not «καλό» at the end?

καλά is the adverb form of the adjective καλός:

καλός (adj.) = good (masculine)
καλή (adj.) = good (feminine)
καλό (adj.) = good (neuter)
καλά (adv.) = well

After a verb like καταλαβαίνω (I understand), you need an adverb, because it describes how you understand:

Δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά. = I don’t understand well.
Saying Δεν καταλαβαίνω καλό would be ungrammatical here.

Compare:

Είναι καλός μαθητής. = He is a good student. (adjective)
Διαβάζει καλά. = He studies well. (adverb)

Why is there no object after «καταλαβαίνω»? Understand what?

The object is simply understood from context and doesn’t need to be stated.

In real conversation, it’s clear what the person is trying to understand:

maybe the lesson, the text, the material.

So Greek allows:

Δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά. = I don’t understand well.
(meaning: what I’m reading / studying now)

If needed, you can add an explicit object:

Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά το μάθημα.
= No matter how much I study, today I don’t understand the lesson well.

What exactly does «δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά» mean? Is it “I don’t understand well” or “I don’t understand it well”?

Literally, «δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά» means:

“I don’t understand well.”

But in context, it’s almost always understood as:

“I don’t understand it well” (what we’re talking about)
Or more naturally: “I don’t really get it today” / “Things aren’t clicking today.”

Greek often omits pronouns and objects when they’re clear from context.
So you can safely translate it in more natural English as:

“Today I’m not understanding things very well.”
“Today I just don’t get it.”

Could we say «Όσο και να διαβάζω» instead of «Όσο κι αν διαβάζω»? Is there a difference?

You may also hear or see:

Όσο και να διαβάζω…

In many everyday contexts, «Όσο κι αν» and «Όσο και να» are used very similarly, both essentially meaning “no matter how much”.

Some speakers feel «Όσο κι αν» is a bit more standard/formal, and «Όσο και να» leans more colloquial in some regions, but communication-wise:

Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά.
Όσο και να διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά.

Both will be understood the same way: “No matter how much I study, today I don’t understand well.”

Is «αν» here a conditional “if”? Why don’t we see a future tense like in English “no matter how much I will read”?

αν is the regular word for “if”, but in combinations like:

Όσο (κι) αν…
Ό,τι (και) αν… = whatever
Όπου (και) αν… = wherever

it often translates as “no matter if / even if / however” rather than a simple conditional “if”.

As for tense:

Greek does not use future tense here the way English sometimes does.
The present tense (διαβάζω) covers the idea of repeated / ongoing action that you get in English with “no matter how much I read” or even “no matter how much I may read”.

So the Greek structure:

Όσο κι αν διαβάζω…
is already enough to express the idea that no amount of reading now or in general will change the situation.

What is the role of the comma in «Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά.»? Is it necessary?

The comma separates:

the dependent clause: Όσο κι αν διαβάζω (No matter how much I study)
from the main clause: σήμερα δεν καταλαβαίνω καλά (today I don’t understand well)

It works much like in English:

No matter how much I study, today I don’t understand well.

In Greek, it’s standard and stylistically correct to use a comma after these introductory clauses.
In casual writing, some people might omit it, but you should include it in proper written Greek.

Is there any connection between «Όσο κι αν» here and the «Όσο… τόσο…» structure I’ve seen elsewhere?

They both start with Όσο, but they are different patterns:

Όσο κι αν…
= “No matter how much…”
- Όσο κι αν διαβάζω, δεν καταλαβαίνω.
  No matter how much I study, I don’t understand.
Όσο… τόσο…
= “The more… the more…”
- Όσο διαβάζω, τόσο καταλαβαίνω.
  The more I study, the more I understand.

So:

«Όσο κι αν» introduces a clause that says even if I do this a lot, the result doesn’t change.
«Όσο… τόσο…» shows a proportional relationship: as X increases, Y also increases.

Both are useful, but they convey different ideas.