Learn Hardcore Greek: Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα, αλλά εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι. - It is said that Greek is a difficult language, but you show that you are not afraid.

Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα, αλλά εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.

It is said that Greek is a difficult language, but you show that you are not afraid.

Breakdown of Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα, αλλά εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.

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Questions & Answers about Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα, αλλά εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.

What exactly does Λέγεται mean, and why is there no subject like “it”?

Λέγεται is the 3rd person singular, present tense, passive voice of λέω (to say).
Literally, it means “it is said” or “people say”.

Greek often uses this passive form impersonally, without a clear subject. So:

Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα
= It is said that Greek is a difficult language
= People say that Greek is a difficult language

In English we need a dummy subject “it”, but in Greek the verb alone (Λέγεται) is enough to express this impersonal idea.

What does ότι mean here, and how is it different from πως?

In this sentence, ότι is a conjunction meaning “that”, introducing a reported statement:

Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα
= It is said *that Greek is a difficult language*

In modern Greek, for reported speech like this:

ότι and πως are often interchangeable:
- Λέγεται ότι…
- Λέγεται πως…

Subtle points:

ότι is a bit more neutral / formal.
πως can sound a bit more colloquial or stylistic, but here both are correct.

Don’t confuse this ότι (the conjunction = “that”) with ό,τι (with a comma), which means “whatever / anything that”. That’s a different word.

Why is it τα ελληνικά and not something like η ελληνική γλώσσα?

Τα ελληνικά is the normal, everyday way to say “Greek (language)”.

Literally:

τα ελληνικά = “the Greek (things)” in neuter plural, but in usage it means “the Greek language”.
η ελληνική γλώσσα = “the Greek language” (more explicit, a bit more formal or emphatic).

All of these are possible, with slightly different style:

Τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα.
Τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα να τα μάθεις.
Η ελληνική γλώσσα είναι δύσκολη.

In conversation, τα ελληνικά is by far the most common way to refer to the Greek language.

Why is it δύσκολη γλώσσα (feminine singular) when τα ελληνικά is neuter plural? Shouldn’t it agree?

The agreement here is with γλώσσα, not with τα ελληνικά.

The structure is:

τα ελληνικά = subject (“Greek”)
είναι = verb (“is/are”)
δύσκολη γλώσσα = predicate noun phrase (“a difficult language”)

Γλώσσα is feminine singular, so the adjective must agree with γλώσσα:

δύσκολη γλώσσα (fem. sing.)

So the logic is:

Τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα.
→ “Greek is a difficult language.”

Think of it as:

“Greek” = τα ελληνικά
“(is a) difficult language” = (είναι) δύσκολη γλώσσα

The adjective and noun inside the predicate phrase agree with each other, not with the subject.

Why do we say είναι here? Is it “is” or “are”?

Είναι is both:

3rd person singular of είμαι = “he/she/it is”
3rd person plural of είμαι = “they are”

Greek uses είναι for both, and the context decides.

Here, τα ελληνικά is grammatically neuter plural, but it refers to one language. In Greek, neuter plural subjects that refer to a single abstract thing often behave like a singular idea, and είναι works fine anyway because it has the same form.

So in English we translate according to meaning, not form:

Τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα.
→ Greek *is a difficult language.*

What does αλλά do in this sentence? Is it just “but”?

Yes, αλλά is the standard conjunction meaning “but”.

The sentence has two parts:

Λέγεται ότι τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα,
→ It is said that Greek is a difficult language,
αλλά εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.
→ but you show that you are not afraid.

Αλλά links these two clauses with a contrast, just as “but” does in English.

Why is the pronoun εσύ used? Could it be omitted?

In Greek, subject pronouns are often dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person:

δείχνεις alone already means “you (singular) show”.

So you could say:

…αλλά δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.

However, using εσύ adds emphasis, similar to “but you” in English:

…αλλά εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.
→ …but *you show that you are not afraid.* (as opposed to other people)

So εσύ is not grammatically required, but it makes the contrast stronger and more personal.

What does δείχνεις mean here, and how is it formed?

Δείχνεις is:

verb: δείχνω = “to show”, “to demonstrate”
person: 2nd person singular
tense: present
voice: active
mood: indicative

So:

εσύ δείχνεις = you show / you demonstrate

In this sentence it means you demonstrate by your actions/attitude that you are not afraid:

εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι
→ you show that you are not afraid

How does δεν work with φοβάσαι? Where does the negative go?

In Greek, the basic rule is:

The negative particle δεν goes right before the verb.

Here, the verb is φοβάσαι (you are afraid), so:

φοβάσαι = you are afraid
δεν φοβάσαι = you are not afraid

The word order is:

δεν
- φοβάσαι

You almost never separate δεν from its verb.

What kind of verb is φοβάσαι? Why does it end in -άσαι instead of a simple -εις?

Φοβάσαι comes from the verb φοβάμαι, which is a mediopassive (middle/passive) verb in modern Greek. Many common verbs of feelings and states have this pattern.

Forms of φοβάμαι (present):

(εγώ) φοβάμαι – I am afraid
(εσύ) φοβάσαι – you (sg.) are afraid
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) φοβάται – he/she/it is afraid
(εμείς) φοβόμαστε
(εσείς) φοβάστε
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) φοβούνται

So φοβάσαι is:

person: 2nd singular
tense: present
voice: mediopassive
meaning: you are afraid or you fear

In everyday Greek this is just the normal way to say “to be afraid”, so you learn it as a verb that always has these mediopassive endings.

Where is the object of φοβάσαι? What are you “not afraid” of?

In the sentence:

…εσύ δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι.

the object is understood from the context: it refers back to τα ελληνικά (Greek).

If you want to say it explicitly, you can add the object:

…δείχνεις ότι δεν φοβάσαι τα ελληνικά.
→ you show that you are not afraid of Greek.

Greek often omits objects when they are clear from the previous clause or from the situation, just as English can do in casual speech (“Don’t worry, I’m not afraid.” – of what? It’s understood).