Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος.

The είμαι ending tells us the subject is I (first person singular), so εγώ is not needed unless you want to emphasize I (for example, Εγώ σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος, όχι εσύ. – I am really tired today, not you).

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος σήμερα?

Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible. All of these are natural, with only small differences in emphasis:

Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος.
Slight focus on σήμερα (today).
Είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος σήμερα.
More neutral; could be focusing a bit on how you feel today compared to other days.
Σήμερα είμαι κουρασμένος, πραγματικά.
Sounds like adding really at the end for extra emphasis, almost like an afterthought.

However, you would not normally say Είμαι κουρασμένος πραγματικά σήμερα – that sounds awkward. The safest patterns are:

Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος.
Είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος σήμερα.

Why does κουρασμένος end in -ος? What if the speaker is a woman?

Κουρασμένος is an adjective, and adjectives in Greek change their ending to agree with the gender and number of the noun (or the person) they describe.

The basic forms are:

Masculine: κουρασμένος
Feminine: κουρασμένη
Neuter: κουρασμένο

So:

A man would say: Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος.
A woman would say: Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένη.
Talking about a neuter noun, e.g. το παιδί (the child):
Σήμερα το παιδί είναι πραγματικά κουρασμένο.

The ending must match the gender of the subject.

Is κουρασμένος an adjective or some kind of participle from a verb?

Historically, κουρασμένος comes from the passive participle of the verb κουράζω / κουράζομαι (to tire / to get tired).

In modern Greek:

Grammatically, it behaves like a regular adjective.
Semantically, it still feels related to the verb κουράζομαι.

You can think of it similarly to English tired (which comes from a verb but is now just an adjective).

Compare:

Είμαι κουρασμένος. – I am tired.
Κουράστηκα. – I got tired / I became tired.

The first is a state, the second is the event of becoming tired.

What exactly does πραγματικά mean here? Is it like really or truly?

Πραγματικά is an adverb meaning really / truly / actually.
It comes from the adjective πραγματικός (real).

In this sentence, it works just like English really:

Είμαι κουρασμένος. – I am tired.
Είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος. – I am really / truly tired.

Depending on context, πραγματικά can mean:

really / truly (emphasis on truth):
Πραγματικά, δεν ξέρω. – Honestly, I don’t know.
actually / in fact (contrast with expectation):
Πραγματικά, έχει δίκιο. – Actually, he/she is right.

Here, it mostly adds emphasis: really tired.

What is the difference between πραγματικά and πολύ in this sentence?

Both are common, but they feel slightly different:

Είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος.
Literally: I am very tired.
Focus on degree (how much you are tired).
Είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος.
More like: I am really / genuinely tired.
Focus on truth / sincerity or contrast (e.g. “not pretending”).

In everyday speech, they often overlap, and you will hear both a lot. You can even combine them:

Είμαι πραγματικά πολύ κουρασμένος. – I am really very tired.

Does πραγματικά go with είμαι or with κουρασμένος?

In practice, it emphasizes the whole idea “being tired”.

Grammatically, πραγματικά is an adverb that modifies the verb είμαι, but with verbs like είμαι (to be), γίνομαι (to become), etc., the adverb often feels like it is modifying the complement (here, κουρασμένος).

So you can understand:

είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος as
“I really am tired”
or
“I am really tired”

Both readings are natural, and Greek does not distinguish them as clearly as English here.

How do you pronounce Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος?

Approximate pronunciation (in IPA):

Σήμερα – /ˈsimeɾa/
είμαι – /ˈime/
πραγματικά – /pɾaɣmatiˈka/
κουρασμένος – /kuɾazˈmenos/

Whole sentence:
/ˈsimeɾa ˈime pɾaɣmatiˈka kuɾazˈmenos/

A few notes:

η, ι, υ, ει, οι are usually pronounced the same: /i/ (like ee in see).
γ before α, ο, ου is a soft gh sound, like in Spanish amigo: /ɣ/.
ρ is a tapped or slightly rolled r.
Stress falls where you see the accent mark: ΣΉ-με-ρα, ΕΊ-μαι, πραγ-μα-τι-ΚΆ, κου-ρα-ΣΜΈ-νος.

Why do these words have accent marks? What do they show?

In modern Greek, the written accent (´) shows the stressed syllable of a word with more than one syllable.

In the sentence:

Σήμερα – stressed on Σή: ΣΉ-με-ρα
είμαι – stressed on Εί: ΕΊ-μαι
πραγματικά – stressed on κά: πρα-γμα-τι-ΚΆ
κουρασμένος – stressed on σμέ: κου-ρα-ΣΜΈ-νος

The accent mark is essential for:

Correct pronunciation
Distinguishing some words that would otherwise look the same (e.g. πως vs πώς).

Every multi-syllable word will have exactly one accent mark.

What tense is είμαι here, and how would I say I was really tired?

Είμαι is the present tense of to be (I am).

The main forms you will use are:

Present: είμαι – I am
Past (imperfect): ήμουν – I was
Future: θα είμαι – I will be

So:

Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος. – Today I am really tired.
Χθες ήμουν πραγματικά κουρασμένος. – Yesterday I was really tired.
Αύριο θα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος. – Tomorrow I will be really tired.

Could I leave out είμαι and just say Σήμερα πραγματικά κουρασμένος?

No, not in standard Greek. In this kind of sentence, you normally must use είμαι.

Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος. – correct
Σήμερα πραγματικά κουρασμένος. – incomplete / wrong in normal speech

Unlike some languages that can drop the verb to be in the present (e.g. Russian in some cases), Greek keeps είμαι in these sentences.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

Σήμερα είμαι πραγματικά κουρασμένος. is neutral. You can use it:

With friends and family
At work
In relatively formal situations

It’s just a normal, everyday way to say you are tired. There is no slang or special politeness marking in this sentence.