Breakdown of Η ανιψιά μου αγαπάει να παίζει στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά.
Questions & Answers about Η ανιψιά μου αγαπάει να παίζει στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά.
In Greek, a noun with a possessive pronoun (like μου, “my”) almost always keeps the definite article:
- η ανιψιά μου = literally “the niece my” → “my niece”
- το βιβλίο μου = “my book”
- ο φίλος μου = “my friend”
So η is the feminine singular nominative definite article (“the”).
Leaving it out (ανιψιά μου) is possible only in very specific, usually poetic or highly informal contexts. In normal speech and writing you should say η ανιψιά μου.
Greek “weak” possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) are enclitics: they normally follow the noun:
- η ανιψιά μου = my niece
- το σπίτι σου = your house
- ο αδελφός της = her brother
If you put the possessive before the noun, you must use the “strong” form with δικός/δική/δικό:
η δική μου ανιψιά = my niece (with emphasis on my, as opposed to someone else’s)
So the default, neutral way is: article + noun + weak possessive → η ανιψιά μου.
Both mean “(she) loves / likes” and are 3rd person singular present of αγαπάω (“to love”).
- αγαπάει – full form, very common in spoken Greek.
- αγαπά – shorter form, more common in writing and in slightly more formal or careful speech.
You can use either; they are grammatically equivalent.
In everyday conversation, αγαπάει will sound a bit more natural; in writing (books, newspapers, etc.) you’ll see αγαπά more often.
Modern Greek doesn’t have a true infinitive. Instead it uses να + verb:
- να παίζει ≈ “to play / playing”
So the structure αγαπάει να παίζει is literally:
- “she loves to play”
You’ll see [verb of liking/wanting] + να + verb very often:
- θέλω να παίξω = I want to play
- μου αρέσει να παίζω = I like playing
You could also say αγαπάει το να παίζει, but that sounds heavier and more formal. Everyday Greek prefers αγαπάει να παίζει.
Greek verbs have two aspects in the subjunctive (να-forms):
- να παίζει – imperfective: ongoing, repeated, or habitual action (“to be playing / to play regularly”)
- να παίξει – perfective: single, complete action (“to play once / to finish playing”)
In this sentence:
- αγαπάει να παίζει στην κούνια
→ She loves (the activity of) playing on the swing, in general, habitually.
If you used να παίξει, it would sound like “she loves to (go and) have a play (once)”, which isn’t the usual meaning here.
For general likes and habits, use the imperfective: να παίζει, να διαβάζει, να τρέχει, etc.
στην is a combination of the preposition σε (“in, at, on, to”) plus the definite article την (feminine accusative singular “the”):
- σε + την = στην
So:
- στην κούνια = “on the swing”
- στην παιδική χαρά = “at the playground”
Other common combinations of σε + article:
- στον = σε + τον (masc. sg.) → στον φίλο μου (to my friend)
- στο = σε + το (neut. sg.) → στο σπίτι (at home)
- στις = σε + τις (fem. pl.) → στις καρέκλες (on the chairs)
In speech στην is pronounced [stin].
Yes, η κούνια has two common meanings:
- Swing (in a playground)
- Crib / baby cot (for a small child to sleep in)
The meaning is decided by context. In this sentence:
- στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά
→ clearly refers to a swing in a playground, not a crib.
If you want to be more explicit:
- η κούνια στην παιδική χαρά = the swing in the playground
- η παιδική κούνια or η κούνια του μωρού = the baby’s crib.
παιδική χαρά is a fixed expression meaning playground.
Literally:
- παιδική = “childish / children’s” (feminine singular form of the adjective παιδικός)
- χαρά = “joy”
So literally: “children’s joy” → idiomatically: playground.
Grammatically, it’s an adjective + noun phrase:
- παιδική (fem. sg.) agrees with χαρά (fem. sg.).
In the given sentence:
- στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά
= “on the swing at the playground”
You can think of it as:
- στην κούνια (on the swing)
- [που είναι] στην παιδική χαρά (which is at the playground) – the που είναι is just implied.
You could also say:
στην κούνια της παιδικής χαράς
= “on the playground’s swing / on the swing of the playground”This is also correct and a bit more compact; it emphasizes that the swing specifically belongs to that playground.
Repeating στην is very natural when you’re adding another location phrase: στο σχολείο στην Αθήνα, στο σπίτι στο χωριό, etc.
ανιψιά is feminine and means niece.
Basic forms (singular):
- Nominative: η ανιψιά (the niece)
- Genitive: της ανιψιάς (of the niece)
- Accusative: την ανιψιά (the niece – object)
With “my”:
- η ανιψιά μου = my niece
- της ανιψιάς μου = of my niece
- την ανιψιά μου = my niece (object)
For nephew, you use the masculine ανιψιός:
- ο ανιψιός μου = my nephew
- του ανιψιού μου = of my nephew
- τον ανιψιό μου = my nephew (object)
Greek word order is relatively flexible because grammatical roles are marked by endings and articles. Variants like the following are possible:
- Η ανιψιά μου αγαπάει να παίζει στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά.
(neutral, standard) - Η ανιψιά μου στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά αγαπάει να παίζει.
(stronger focus on “on the swing at the playground”) - Στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά αγαπάει να παίζει η ανιψιά μου.
(emphasis on place; feels a bit more marked or literary in style)
The original order is the most natural, conversation-style version:
[subject] [verb] [να + verb] [location phrase(s)].
Approximate pronunciation (stress in bold):
- Η ανιψιά μου αγαπάει να παίζει στην κούνια στην παιδική χαρά.
Broken down (IPA-like):
- η ανιψιά → [i a.niˈpsça] (or [aniˈpsça]; the initial η often cliticizes to the following word)
- μου → [mu]
- αγαπάει → [a.ɣaˈpai] (two vowel sounds at the end, -άει / -ai)
- να → [na]
- παίζει → [ˈpe.zi]
- στην → [stin]
- κούνια → [ˈku.ɲa] (the νι can sound like Spanish ñ)
- παιδική → [pe.ðiˈci] (αι → [e], δ between vowels is like English “th” in “this”)
- χαρά → [xaˈra] (χ is like the “ch” in German Bach)
Two common challenges:
- χ in χαρά: it’s a voiceless velar fricative, not like English h.
- δ in παιδική: it’s a soft “th” as in this, not like English d.