Learn Hardcore Greek: Νιώθω λίγο ανασφαλής, γιατί δεν ξέρω αν το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου είναι αρκετό. - I feel a bit insecure, because I don’t know if my level of Greek is enough.

νιώθω λίγο ανασφαλής = I feel a bit insecure
είμαι ανασφαλής = I am insecure (describing a more stable characteristic, not just how you feel right now)

νιώθω vs αισθάνομαι:

In everyday speech, they often overlap:
- νιώθω κουρασμένος / αισθάνομαι κουρασμένος = I feel tired.
νιώθω is generally more common and a bit more colloquial.
αισθάνομαι can sound slightly more formal or introspective, but in many contexts they are interchangeable.

In your sentence, νιώθω nicely emphasizes a current, internal emotional state.

Why is it λίγο ανασφαλής and not λίγη ανασφαλής?

Λίγο here is an adverb meaning “a little / a bit”, modifying the adjective ανασφαλής.

λίγο ανασφαλής = a bit insecure

If you said λίγη ανασφαλής, λίγη would be the feminine singular of the adjective λίγος (“few / little” in the sense of quantity of nouns), so it would sound like you’re talking about a small amount of an object, not modifying how insecure you feel. It doesn’t work with a predicate adjective like ανασφαλής.

Compare:

λίγο κουρασμένος = a bit tired (adverb + adjective)
λίγη ζάχαρη = a little sugar (adjective + noun)

So for “a bit + adjective,” use λίγο (adverb), not λίγη.

What kind of adjective is ανασφαλής, and does it change for gender?

Ανασφαλής is an adjective of the -ης, -ης, -ες type.

Masculine: ανασφαλής
Feminine: ανασφαλής
Neuter: ανασφαλές

So:

Ο Γιάννης είναι ανασφαλής. – John is insecure.
Η Μαρία είναι ανασφαλής. – Maria is insecure.
Ένα ανασφαλές άτομο. – An insecure person (neuter).

In your sentence, Νιώθω λίγο ανασφαλής, the subject (I) is understood. The adjective ανασφαλής is used in the masculine or feminine form, depending on whether the speaker is male or female, but the form ανασφαλής is the same in the nominative for both.

How can γιατί mean “because” here? I thought it meant “why”.

Γιατί can mean both:

“why” – in questions
- Γιατί δεν μιλάς; – Why aren’t you speaking?
“because” – in answers or explanations
- Δεν μιλάω, γιατί νιώθω λίγο ανασφαλής. – I’m not speaking, because I feel a bit insecure.

You tell the meaning from:

Punctuation / intonation:
- Question mark and rising tone → usually why
- In the middle of a sentence giving a reason → usually because

In your sentence:

..., γιατί δεν ξέρω αν το επίπεδο…
clearly introduces the reason → “because I don’t know if…”.

You could also use επειδή for “because,” but γιατί is more common in everyday speech.

Why do we say δεν ξέρω αν and not something like δεν ξέρω ότι?

In Greek, αν (or the slightly more formal εάν) is used after verbs like “to know, to wonder, to ask” when English uses “if / whether”:

Δεν ξέρω αν θα έρθει. = I don’t know if he will come.
Ρώτησα αν έχει χρόνο. = I asked if he has time.

So:

Δεν ξέρω αν το επίπεδο… είναι αρκετό.
= I don’t know if / whether my level of Greek is enough.

Ότι means “that” (introducing a statement you know or report):

Ξέρω ότι το επίπεδό μου είναι καλό.
= I know that my level is good.

Here, you’re uncertain, so αν (“if / whether”) is the correct conjunction.

What exactly does το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου mean grammatically?

Let’s break it down:

το επίπεδο = the level (neuter noun)
των ελληνικών = of (the) Greek
- τα ελληνικά literally = “the Greek (language)”
- In Greek, languages are often used in the neuter plural:
  - Μαθαίνω ελληνικά. = I’m learning Greek.
- των ελληνικών is the genitive plural = “of Greek (language)”.
μου = my (unstressed possessive pronoun)

So:

το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου
literally: “the level of my Greek (language)”

Structure:

Head noun: το επίπεδο
Genitive phrase modifying it: των ελληνικών μου = “of my Greek”.

This is a very natural way to say “my level of Greek” in Greek.

Why is μου placed after ελληνικών and not before, like in English “my Greek”?

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronoun (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) usually comes after the noun (or after the end of the noun phrase):

το βιβλίο μου = my book
το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου = the level of my Greek

You could not say το επίπεδο των μου ελληνικών; that word order is incorrect.

If you want to emphasize ownership, you can use the stressed forms δικός μου / δική μου / δικό μου, but that changes the structure:

το δικό μου επίπεδο στα ελληνικά = my own level in Greek (with emphasis on my).

In your sentence, the normal, neutral pattern is:

των ελληνικών μου = my Greek.

Why is it είναι αρκετό and not είναι αρκετά?

Here, αρκετό is an adjective agreeing with το επίπεδο (neuter singular):

το επίπεδο → neuter singular
αρκετό → neuter singular adjective

So:

το επίπεδο … είναι αρκετό
= the level … is enough / sufficient.

If you used αρκετά:

αρκετά can be:
- neuter plural of the adjective (not correct here), or
- an adverb meaning “quite / fairly / enough”.

You could say:

Το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου είναι αρκετά καλό.
= My level of Greek is quite good.
(Here αρκετά modifies καλό as an adverb.)

But when “enough” directly describes the noun “level”, you use the adjective:

αρκετό επίπεδο / το επίπεδο είναι αρκετό.

Is the comma before γιατί necessary, and can I change the word order?

In this sentence, the comma is both natural and recommended:

Νιώθω λίγο ανασφαλής, γιατί δεν ξέρω αν…

You have:

Main clause: Νιώθω λίγο ανασφαλής
Subordinate clause of reason: (επειδή/γιατί) δεν ξέρω αν…

Greek usually separates such clauses with a comma, especially when γιατί = “because”.

About word order:

The standard, most natural order here is:

… γιατί δεν ξέρω αν το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου είναι αρκετό.

You can slightly move things like this:

… γιατί δεν ξέρω αν είναι αρκετό το επίπεδο των ελληνικών μου.

Both are grammatical. The first version (from your sentence) is the most neutral and common, especially in spoken Greek.