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

to be

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

• εσύ: you
• δεν: not
• αλλά: but

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 ?