Learn Hardcore Greek: Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ. - I wake up in the middle of the night when it is very windy.

Ξυπνάω = I wake up / I am waking up.
It’s the present simple form and is very common in spoken Greek.
There is also a shorter form Ξυπνώ with the same meaning; Ξυπνάω tends to sound a bit more informal/colloquial, while Ξυπνώ can sound slightly more formal or written, but both are correct.

Why is there no word for “I” (like εγώ) in the sentence?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

The ending -ω in Ξυπνάω tells us the subject is “I”.
So Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα… is understood as “I wake up in the middle of the night…”.
You would use εγώ only for emphasis, e.g. Εγώ ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα… = I (as opposed to others) wake up in the middle of the night…

Why is the verb in the present tense? Does it describe a habit?

Yes. In Greek, the present tense is used to describe:

Habits / repeated actions:
Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ.
= I (usually) wake up in the middle of the night when it’s very windy.

If you talked about one specific incident, you’d normally use the aorist (simple past):

Ξύπνησα μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσούσε πολύ.
= I woke up in the middle of the night when it was very windy.

What does μέσα add to μέσα στη νύχτα? Could we just say στη νύχτα?

μέσα literally means “inside”, but in μέσα στη νύχτα it has an idiomatic sense:

μέσα στη νύχτα ≈ in the middle of the night (deep in the night, not just “at night”).
τη νύχτα / τη νύχτα γενικά = at night (in general), more general time.

So:

Ξυπνάω τη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ.
= I wake up at night when it’s very windy. (more general)
Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ.
= I wake up in the middle of the night when it’s very windy. (more specific, emphasises the depth of the night)

A very literal “in the middle of the night” is στη μέση της νύχτας, which you might also hear.

Why is it στη νύχτα and not σε τη νύχτα? What is στη exactly?

στη is the contracted form of σε + τη:

σε = in, at, to
τη = the (feminine, singular, accusative)
σε + τη → στη

So μέσα στη νύχτα literally breaks down as:

μέσα = inside
σε τη νύχτα → στη νύχτα = in the night

This contraction is very regular:

σε + τον → στον (to the, masc.)
σε + το → στο (to the, neuter)
σε + τις → στις (to the, fem. plural)

What can you tell me about νύχτα here (gender, case, meaning)? Why not νύχτη?

νύχτα means “night” and here it is:

Feminine, singular
In the accusative case, because it follows the preposition σε (inside στη).
For many feminine nouns in -α, the nominative and accusative singular look the same, so you just see νύχτα.

About νύχτα vs νύχτη:

νύχτα is the standard, neutral form.
νύχτη is more colloquial/regional; you will hear it in speech, but νύχτα is safer and more standard.

What does όταν mean in this sentence, and how is it different from αν or όποτε?

όταν introduces a time clause and means “when”:

όταν φυσάει πολύ = when it’s very windy / when the wind blows a lot

Differences:

όταν = when (time, can be once or repeated, depending on context)
- Ξυπνάω όταν φυσάει πολύ. = I wake up when it’s very windy.
αν = if (condition, not time)
- Ξυπνάω αν φυσάει πολύ. = I wake up if it’s very windy. (conditional)
όποτε = whenever / any time that (clearly repeated/general)
- Ξυπνάω όποτε φυσάει πολύ. = I wake up whenever it’s very windy.

In your sentence, όταν nicely fits a habitual “whenever/when this happens” meaning.

What does φυσάει mean exactly, and why that form and not something else?

φυσάει is the 3rd person singular, present tense of the verb φυσάω / φυσώ = to blow (about wind, air).

φυσάει = it blows → in weather talk, this means “it’s windy / the wind is blowing”.
Weather verbs in Greek are often impersonal and use 3rd person singular with no explicit subject:
- βρέχει = it’s raining
- χιονίζει = it’s snowing
- φυσάει = it’s windy

There is also a shorter form φυσά with the same meaning; both φυσά and φυσάει are used in everyday Greek.

What is πολύ doing here? Does it mean “very”, “a lot”, or something else?

In όταν φυσάει πολύ, πολύ is an adverb modifying the verb φυσάει:

φυσάει πολύ ≈ it blows a lot / it’s very windy / the wind blows hard.

So here πολύ can be understood as “a lot / very much” and is close in meaning to English “very”.

Related alternatives:

φυσάει δυνατά = it blows strongly / the wind blows hard.
έχει πολύ αέρα = there is a lot of wind (literally: it has a lot of air), another natural way to say it’s very windy.

Can I change the word order, for example: Όταν φυσάει πολύ, ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα?

Yes. Greek has fairly flexible word order, especially with adverbial clauses and phrases. All of these are natural:

Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ.
Όταν φυσάει πολύ, ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα.
Μέσα στη νύχτα ξυπνάω όταν φυσάει πολύ.

The basic meaning stays the same. Changing the order usually shifts emphasis:

Starting with Όταν φυσάει πολύ highlights the condition.
Starting with Μέσα στη νύχτα highlights the time frame (“in the middle of the night”).

Are there other natural ways to say “in the middle of the night” in Greek, close to μέσα στη νύχτα?

Yes, some common options:

μέσα στη νύχτα
– Natural, common, “deep in the night / in the middle of the night”.
στη μέση της νύχτας
– More literally “in the middle of the night”.
τα μεσάνυχτα
– “at midnight” (a specific time point, not the whole middle-of-the-night period).

For your sentence, both:

Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ.
Ξυπνάω στη μέση της νύχτας όταν φυσάει πολύ.

are perfectly natural; the second is just a bit more literal about “the middle”.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

Here is a simple pronunciation guide (stressed syllables in CAPS):

Ξυπνάω → ksi‑PNA‑o (or ksi‑PNAH)
μέσα → ME‑sa
στη → sti
νύχτα → NEE‑hta (the χ is like a German ch in Bach)
όταν → O‑tan
φυσάει → fi‑SA‑ee (often sounds like fi‑SAH in fast speech)
πολύ → po‑LEE

So the whole sentence:

Ξυπνάω μέσα στη νύχτα όταν φυσάει πολύ.
≈ ksi‑PNA‑o ME‑sa sti NEE‑hta O‑tan fi‑SA‑ee po‑LEE