Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.

If you were talking about one specific future situation (“when I win this one time”), you’d normally change the verb tense in Greek (see also the later question on όταν κερδίσω).

Why are the verbs κερδίζω and νιώθω in the present tense if in English we might say “when I win, I will feel…”?

Greek uses the present tense in time clauses with όταν to express:

general truths / habits / repeated actions

So:

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.
literally: When I win, I feel great joy.
functionally: Whenever I win, I feel great joy.

If you specifically wanted to talk about a single future occasion, you’d usually say:

Όταν κερδίσω, θα νιώσω μεγάλη χαρά.
When I win (that one time), I will feel great joy.

So:

όταν + present → habitual / general
όταν + aorist subjunctive + θα → one specific future event

What’s the difference between κερδίζω and νικάω / νικώ? Can I replace κερδίζω here?

Both κερδίζω and νικάω / νικώ can mean “to win”, but there’s a nuance:

κερδίζω:
- win (a game, prize, money, etc.)
- earn (money, a salary, someone’s trust)
- gain (time, advantage, experience)
νικάω / νικώ:
- defeat someone, be victorious over someone/something
- win (emphasis on beating the opponent)

In your sentence:

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.

you could also say:

Όταν νικάω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.

Both are understandable and natural.
κερδίζω is a bit more neutral (“when I win”), while νικάω can slightly emphasize the victory aspect (“when I beat the others / when I win”). Context usually decides which sounds better.

Why is there a comma in Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά? Is it required?

The structure is:

Όταν κερδίζω = subordinate clause (“when I win”)
νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά = main clause (“I feel great joy”)

In Greek, when a dependent clause comes first (here, the όταν clause), it is very common and generally recommended to put a comma before the main clause:

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.

If you reverse the order, you normally don’t put a comma:

Νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά όταν κερδίζω.

So the comma is not arbitrary; it marks the end of the όταν clause when it comes first.

Can I change the word order? For example, say Νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά όταν κερδίζω?

Yes, absolutely. Both are correct:

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.
Νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά όταν κερδίζω.

The basic meaning is the same: Whenever I win, I feel great joy.

Slight nuance:

Version 1 puts focus first on the condition (“when I win…”).
Version 2 puts focus first on the feeling (“I feel great joy when I win.”).

In everyday speech, both are very natural. Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially with time clauses like όταν…

Why is there no article before μεγάλη χαρά? Why not νιώθω τη μεγάλη χαρά?

In Greek, abstract feelings used as objects of verbs like νιώθω (to feel) often appear without an article when we’re speaking generally:

νιώθω χαρά – I feel joy
νιώθω λύπη – I feel sadness
νιώθω φόβο – I feel fear

Adding an adjective doesn’t change this pattern:

νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά – I feel great joy
νιώθω βαθιά λύπη – I feel deep sadness

If you say τη μεγάλη χαρά, you’re pointing to some specific joy already known in the context, e.g.:

Θυμάμαι τη μεγάλη χαρά που ένιωσα τότε.
I remember the great joy I felt back then.

So here, μεγάλη χαρά without the article is the natural, general expression: “great joy (in general, each time).”

What case is μεγάλη χαρά in, and how is the adjective agreeing with the noun?

Grammatically, μεγάλη χαρά here is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of νιώθω.

Noun: η χαρά (feminine)
- nominative sg: η χαρά
- accusative sg: τη χαρά
Adjective: μεγάλος, μεγάλη, μεγάλο
- feminine nominative sg: μεγάλη
- feminine accusative sg: μεγάλη

In the feminine singular, nominative and accusative have the same form for both the noun χαρά and the adjective μεγάλη. That’s why it looks like nominative, but functionally it’s accusative, agreeing in:

gender: feminine
number: singular
case: accusative

What’s the difference between νιώθω and αισθάνομαι? Could I say αισθάνομαι μεγάλη χαρά instead?

Both verbs can express feeling:

νιώθω:
- very common, slightly more informal / everyday
- used for:
  - emotions: νιώθω χαρά, νιώθω λύπη
  - physical sensations: νιώθω πόνο (I feel pain)
  - psychological states: νιώθω άσχημα (I feel bad)
αισθάνομαι:
- a bit more formal / neutral, also very common
- commonly used for emotions and states:
  - αισθάνομαι χαρά / λύπη / ντροπή
  - αισθάνομαι κουρασμένος (I feel tired)

In your sentence, you can say:

Όταν κερδίζω, αισθάνομαι μεγάλη χαρά.

It’s correct and natural. νιώθω is just slightly more colloquial and very frequent in spoken Greek.

Could I say “I feel happy” with an adjective, like νιώθω χαρούμενος, instead of νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά?

Yes, that’s a different but related structure:

νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά = I feel great joy (noun)
νιώθω χαρούμενος = I feel happy (adjective, masculine)
νιώθω χαρούμενη = I feel happy (adjective, feminine)

So you could say:

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω πολύ χαρούμενος. (if you are male)
Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω πολύ χαρούμενη. (if you are female)

Both ways are natural:

noun phrase: νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά
adjective: νιώθω (πολύ) χαρούμενος/χαρούμενη

They’re close in meaning; the original emphasizes the “joy” as a thing”, the second emphasizes your state of being happy.

How are κερδίζω and νιώθω conjugated in the present tense?

Both are regular in the present tense.

κερδίζω (I win / I earn):

εγώ κερδίζω – I win
εσύ κερδίζεις – you win (singular)
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό κερδίζει – he/she/it wins
εμείς κερδίζουμε – we win
εσείς κερδίζετε – you win (plural/polite)
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά κερδίζουν(ε) – they win

νιώθω (I feel):

εγώ νιώθω – I feel
εσύ νιώθεις – you feel
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό νιώθει – he/she/it feels
εμείς νιώθουμε – we feel
εσείς νιώθετε – you feel
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά νιώθουν(ε) – they feel

The sentence uses 1st person singular for both:
κερδίζω (I win), νιώθω (I feel).

How do you pronounce the whole sentence, and where is the stress?

Phonetic-style transcription (approximate):

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.
/ˈotan kerˈðizo ˈɲoθo meˈɣali xaˈra/

Stress marks (capitalized stressed syllables):

Ό-ταν κερ-ΔΙ-ζω, ΝΙΩ-θω με-ΓΑ-λη χα-ΡΑ.

Notes:

δ in κερδίζω is voiced, like th in this.
νιώθω starts with a palatal νι sound (νι
- ο blended: like “nyo-tho”).
χ in χαρά is like a German/Scottish ch ( or [ç]), not like English h.
Accent marks in Greek (όταν, κερδίζω, νιώθω, μεγάλη, χαρά) show where the stress falls; they are part of the spelling.

What gender is χαρά, and how is it used in other common phrases?

χαρά is feminine:

η χαρά – the joy
της χαράς – of joy
τη χαρά – the joy (object)

Common expressions:

με μεγάλη χαρά – with great pleasure / gladly
έχω μεγάλη χαρά – I am very happy / I have great joy
γεμάτος χαρά – full of joy
για χαρά! – bye! (colloquial farewell)

In your sentence:

νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά – I feel great joy

Could I say Όταν κερδίσω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά instead of Όταν κερδίζω? What’s the difference?

No, Όταν κερδίσω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά is not natural, because κερδίσω (aorist subjunctive) usually pairs with a future meaning:

Όταν κερδίσω, θα νιώσω μεγάλη χαρά.
When I win (that one time in the future), I will feel great joy.

Compare:

Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.
- Present tense in both clauses
- Habitual / every time: Whenever I win, I (always) feel great joy.
Όταν κερδίσω, θα νιώσω μεγάλη χαρά.
- Aorist subjunctive + future
- Single future event: When I win (that future match/contest), I will feel great joy.

So use:

κερδίζω for repeated, general situations, as in your sentence.
κερδίσω (with θα νιώσω) for one specific future win.

What’s the difference between όταν, αν, and όποτε in sentences like this?

All three can appear in conditional/time-like clauses, but with different nuances:

όταν – when / whenever
- time-focused: at the time when…
- Όταν κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.
  Whenever I win, I feel great joy.
αν – if
- condition-focused: if it happens (or not)…
- Αν κερδίσω, θα νιώσω μεγάλη χαρά.
  If I win, I will feel great joy.
όποτε – whenever (any time that)
- also habitual, but with a stronger “any time that” sense
- Όποτε κερδίζω, νιώθω μεγάλη χαρά.
  Whenever I win, I feel great joy. (very close in meaning to Όταν κερδίζω)

In your original sentence, όταν is perfect, and όποτε would also be acceptable with a very similar meaning. αν would change it from “when(ever)” to “if”.