Learn Hardcore Greek: Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο στα ελληνικά. - I see that I am improving little by little in Greek.

βελτιώνω (active): I improve (something)
- Example: Βελτιώνω το σπίτι μου. – I am improving my house.
βελτιώνομαι (middle/passive): I improve (myself) / I am getting better
- Example: Βελτιώνομαι στα ελληνικά. – I am improving in Greek.

In your sentence, you’re not improving something else; you yourself are getting better in Greek, so Greek naturally uses βελτιώνομαι.

In English we often just say “I’m improving”, but Greek tends to prefer this middle/passive form for changes that happen to you / in you, without you explicitly acting on an object.

What exactly does λίγο λίγο mean? How is it different from just λίγο?

λίγο on its own usually means “a little, a bit” (quantity or degree).
- Μιλάω λίγο ελληνικά. – I speak a little Greek.
λίγο λίγο is a fixed expression meaning “little by little, bit by bit, gradually.”
It emphasizes slow, step‑by‑step progress over time.

So:

Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι λίγο.
I see that I’m improving a little (to a small extent).
Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο.
I see that I’m improving little by little (gradually, over time).

A very common synonym is σιγά σιγά (literally “slowly slowly”), which also means “gradually.”

Why do we say στα ελληνικά and not just ελληνικά or τα ελληνικά?

Greek usually uses a preposition + definite article with languages when you say “in [a language]”:

στα ελληνικά = σε + τα ελληνικά → “in Greek”
Literally: “in the Greek (language).”

Compare:

Μιλάω ελληνικά. – I speak Greek.
(Here it’s just the object of the verb μιλάω, so no preposition or article.)
Γράφω στα ελληνικά. – I write in Greek.
Διαβάζω στα αγγλικά. – I read in English.

So:

βελτιώνομαι στα ελληνικά = I am getting better in Greek (as a language).

Why is ελληνικά in the plural form? Isn’t “Greek” just one language?

Yes, Greek is one language, but grammatically:

ελληνικά is the neuter plural form of the adjective ελληνικός (Greek).
Over time, τα ελληνικά came to mean “the Greek language.”

Many languages are expressed in Greek as neuter plural:

τα ελληνικά – Greek
τα αγγλικά – English
τα γαλλικά – French
τα ισπανικά – Spanish

So here:

στα ελληνικά literally = “in the Greek (things)”, idiomatically = “in Greek (language).”
The fact that it’s plural is just how the language name is formed; it doesn’t imply multiple languages.

What is the role of ότι in this sentence? Is it the same as “that” in English?

Yes. ότι here is a subordinating conjunction meaning “that” introducing a clause:

Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι…
I see that I’m improving…

So the structure is:

Βλέπω – I see / I notice
ότι – that
βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο στα ελληνικά – I’m improving little by little in Greek.

Also:

ότι (without a comma) = that (conjunction).
ό,τι (with a comma) = whatever, anything that.

In this sentence, it must be ότι (no comma), because you mean “that.”

Could I replace ότι with πως here?

Yes, in modern spoken Greek you often hear πως used instead of ότι with verbs like λέω, νομίζω, βλέπω, πιστεύω etc.

So you can say:

Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο στα ελληνικά.
Βλέπω πως βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο στα ελληνικά.

Both are correct and natural. In more formal writing, ότι is more common; in spoken Greek, πως is very frequent. In this exact sentence, they are interchangeable.

Why is there no “I” (no εγώ) in the Greek sentence?

Greek verbs are conjugated so that the ending tells you the subject:

Βλέπω = I see
Βλέπεις = you see
Βλέπει = he/she/it sees

Because βλέπω already shows 1st person singular, you don’t need εγώ:

Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι… – I see that I’m improving…

You only add εγώ when you want to emphasize it:

Εγώ βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι… – I see that I’m improving (as opposed to someone else), with stress on I.

What exactly does Βλέπω mean here? Is it literal “I see,” or more like “I notice / I realize”?

Literally, βλέπω = I see (with my eyes).
But like in English, “see” can also mean “see / perceive / realize / notice”.

In this sentence:

Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι…
Is best understood as: “I can see / I notice / I realize that I’m improving…”

Other verbs you could use with a similar meaning:

Νιώθω ότι βελτιώνομαι… – I feel that I’m improving…
Καταλαβαίνω ότι βελτιώνομαι… – I understand / realize that I’m improving…

But βλέπω here is very natural and idiomatic.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Βλέπω ότι λίγο λίγο βελτιώνομαι στα ελληνικά?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:

Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο στα ελληνικά.
Βλέπω ότι λίγο λίγο βελτιώνομαι στα ελληνικά.
Βλέπω ότι βελτιώνομαι στα ελληνικά λίγο λίγο.

Differences are mainly in rhythm and emphasis:

Version 1 (the original) is the most neutral and natural.
Version 2 puts a bit more focus on the gradual nature of the improvement (λίγο λίγο comes earlier).
Version 3 is also possible; it sounds a bit like you’re adding “in Greek, little by little” as a softer, tail-end clarification.

For everyday speech, your original word order is ideal.

How do you conjugate βελτιώνομαι in the present tense?

Present tense of βελτιώνομαι (middle/passive):

εγώ βελτιώνομαι – I improve / I’m improving
εσύ βελτιώνεσαι – you improve
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό βελτιώνεται – he/she/it improves
εμείς βελτιωνόμαστε – we improve
εσείς βελτιώνεστε – you (pl./formal) improve
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά βελτιώνονται – they improve

Meaning-wise, it covers both “I improve” and “I am improving” (Greek doesn’t distinguish simple vs continuous the way English does in the present tense).

Is λίγο λίγο always written as two separate words, and can it appear in other positions?

Yes, always as two words, repeated:

λίγο λίγο

You can move it around in a sentence, depending on emphasis:

Λίγο λίγο βελτιώνομαι στα ελληνικά. – Little by little, I’m improving in Greek.
Βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο στα ελληνικά. – I’m improving little by little in Greek.
Στα ελληνικά βελτιώνομαι λίγο λίγο. – In Greek, I’m improving little by little.

It usually comes close to the verb it modifies (βελτιώνομαι here), but word order is quite flexible.

How do you pronounce the words in this sentence?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in bold):

Βλέπω – VLE-po → /ˈvle.po/
ότι – O-ti → /ˈo.ti/
βελτιώνομαι – vel-ti-O-no-me → /vel.tiˈo.no.me/
λίγο – LI-ɣo → /ˈli.ɣo/
λίγο – same as above
στα – sta → /sta/
ελληνικά – e-li-ni-KA → /e.li.niˈka/

Notes:

γ before o, a, u is a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/, somewhat like a softer French “r” or the Spanish “g” in “amigo”, but fricative.
Stress is important; moving the stress changes the word or makes it sound incorrect.