Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο τέλος της μέρας κάθομαι πάνω στο χαλί, κοιτάω τη ντουλάπα μου και νιώθω ότι το δικό μου μικρό δωμάτιο είναι ο πιο ήρεμος χώρος στον κόσμο. - At the end of the day I sit on the carpet, look at my wardrobe and feel that my own small room is the calmest place in the world.

In Greek, the genitive often corresponds to English “of …”.
You’ll also see the more formal form της ημέρας (from η ημέρα), but της μέρας (from η μέρα) is more colloquial and very common in everyday speech.

What kind of verb is κάθομαι? Why does it end in -ομαι?

κάθομαι is a middle/passive voice verb in the present tense, 1st person singular.

It means “I sit / I am sitting” (or “I sit myself down” in a more literal sense).
Many very common Greek verbs use this -ομαι form in the present:
- θυμάμαι = I remember
- φοβάμαι = I am afraid
- κάθομαι = I sit

For learners, it’s helpful to remember that in modern Greek, these -ομαι verbs are often just normal active meanings, not passive.

So κάθομαι πάνω στο χαλί = I sit on the carpet.

Why do we say κάθομαι πάνω στο χαλί instead of just κάθομαι στο χαλί? What does πάνω add?

πάνω literally means “on (top)”.

πάνω σε = on (top of)
πάνω στο χαλί = on the carpet

In everyday Greek:

κάθομαι στο χαλί is already understood as I sit on the carpet.
κάθομαι πάνω στο χαλί makes the “on top of” idea a bit more explicit or vivid.

So πάνω is not grammatically required here, but it’s very natural.
You’ll also see the longer form επάνω, which is slightly more formal or emphatic, but πάνω is by far more common in speech.

Why is it τη ντουλάπα μου and not την ντουλάπα μου? I thought the feminine article was την.

You’re right that the feminine accusative article is την. However, in speech and in most writing, Greek often drops the final -ν when the next word begins with most consonants.

Full form: την ντουλάπα μου
Common spoken/written form: τη ντουλάπα μου

General rule of thumb: keep the -ν before vowels and certain consonants (κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, γκ, μπ, ντ, τσ, τζ), but in practice people drop it quite freely in everyday language.

So τη ντουλάπα μου is completely normal and correct in modern usage.

What’s the difference between κοιτάω and κοιτάζω? Are both correct?

Yes, both are correct and mean “I look (at)” / “I am looking (at)”.

κοιτάω and κοιτάζω are just two variant forms of the same verb.
In many contexts they are interchangeable:
- κοιτάω τη ντουλάπα μου
- κοιτάζω τη ντουλάπα μου

In modern spoken Greek, κοιτάω is very common and perhaps sounds slightly more informal, but you’ll hear and see both all the time.

Why is it νιώθω ότι and not νιώθω πως or νιώθω να? What does ότι do here?

Here ότι introduces a content clause—a clause that expresses what you feel, think, say, etc.

νιώθω ότι… = I feel that…
It works like “that” in English in sentences like I feel that my room is…

You could also say νιώθω πως… with essentially the same meaning. πως (without accent) often behaves like ότι in everyday Greek.

να is different:

νιώθω να… would typically introduce a verb in the subjunctive, often about starting to feel like doing something, e.g.
- νιώθω να λυγίζω = I feel like I’m about to collapse / I feel myself starting to bend.

So:

νιώθω ότι το δωμάτιο είναι… = I feel that the room is… (a fact/opinion)
νιώθω να…
- verb = I feel myself starting / wanting / tending to do something (different structure).

Why do we say το δικό μου μικρό δωμάτιο instead of just το μικρό μου δωμάτιο? What does δικό add?

δικό(ς/ή/ό) μου is a strong/ emphatic possessive.

το μικρό μου δωμάτιο = my small room (neutral statement)
το δικό μου μικρό δωμάτιο = my small room (as opposed to someone else’s; emphasizing that it is mine)

So δικό μου adds the nuance of contrast or emphasis on ownership, something like:

my own little room
my very own small room

Both forms are grammatically correct; the choice depends on whether you want that extra emphasis.

Why is it το δικό μου μικρό δωμάτιο and not ο δικός μου μικρός δωμάτιο? How does δικός/δική/δικό agree?

δικός/δική/δικό behaves like an adjective and must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

το δωμάτιο is neuter, singular, nominative.
So the matching form is δικό (neuter, singular, nominative).

Hence:

το δικό μου μικρό δωμάτιο

If the noun were masculine or feminine, you’d change it:

ο δικός μου φίλος (masculine) = my (own) friend
η δική μου φίλη (feminine) = my (own) female friend
τα δικά μου βιβλία (neuter plural) = my (own) books

In this sentence, neuter δικό is required to match δωμάτιο.

Why is the word order το δικό μου μικρό δωμάτιο? Could it be ordered differently?

The phrase follows a very typical Greek pattern:

[article] + [emphatic possessive (δικό)] + [weak possessive (μου)] + [adjective] + [noun]

το (article)
δικό (emphatic possessive adjective)
μου (clitic possessive pronoun)
μικρό (descriptive adjective)
δωμάτιο (noun)

You could also say:

το μικρό μου δωμάτιο (without δικό; no emphasis on “my own”)

But something like το μικρό δωμάτιο μου δικό would be ungrammatical. The usual rule is that the definite article appears once, at the beginning, and then modifiers come between the article and the noun in a relatively fixed order, with μου and δικό before the descriptive adjective in this kind of phrase.

How does ο πιο ήρεμος work? Is that a comparative or a superlative?

ο πιο ήρεμος literally means “the more calm”, but in Greek this structure is used for both comparative and superlative meanings, depending on context.

Form:

πιο + adjective = more + adjective (comparative)
ο / η / το πιο + adjective = the most + adjective (superlative)

Here:

ο = the (masculine, to match χώρος)
πιο = more/most
ήρεμος = calm

In this sentence:

ο πιο ήρεμος χώρος στον κόσμο = the calmest place in the world (superlative meaning).

There is also a “synthetic” superlative ηρεμότατος, but in modern everyday Greek ο πιο ήρεμος is much more common and sounds more natural.

Why is it στον κόσμο and not στο κόσμο?

Because κόσμος is masculine, so the article in the accusative is τον.

Preposition: σε = in, at, on
Masculine article accusative: τον
σε + τον → στον

So:

στον κόσμο = in the world

If the noun were neuter, you’d see στο again:

στο σπίτι (το σπίτι, neuter) = in the house
στο τέλος (το τέλος, neuter) = at the end

But ο κόσμος is masculine → στον κόσμο.

What’s the nuance of χώρος here? Could we say μέρος instead?

Both χώρος and μέρος can be translated as “place”, but they have slightly different nuances:

χώρος often suggests space, area, room (as in spatial area):
- ένας ήρεμος χώρος = a calm space / calm area
- can sound a bit more abstract or neutral
μέρος is more “place” / “spot” / “location”:
- το πιο ήρεμο μέρος στον κόσμο = the calmest place in the world

In your sentence, χώρος is perfectly natural and maybe a touch more “literary” or abstract.
μέρος would also be acceptable, just with a slightly different feel: more like a physical place than a conceptual “space”.

The whole sentence is in the present tense, but we say “At the end of the day” in English. Does Greek present tense here mean something habitual?

Yes. The Greek present tense is often used for habitual or repeated actions, just like the English simple present.

Στο τέλος της μέρας κάθομαι… κοιτάω… και νιώθω…
- Literally: At the end of the day I sit… I look… and I feel…
- Interpreted as: At the end of the day, I (usually) sit… / I tend to sit… / I (always) sit…

So the present here describes a regular routine, not just one single occurrence. This is very normal in Greek.