Learn Hardcore Greek: Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και να μεταφράζω συγχρόνως κάθε λέξη στο κεφάλι μου. - I cannot speak Greek and translate every word in my head at the same time.

In δεν μπορώ να μιλάω / να μεταφράζω, it’s used after μπορώ (I can / I am able (to)). English uses the particle “to” in this structure (I can’t *speak / translate), but Greek *must use να before the verb:

μπορώ να μιλάω = I can speak / I am able to speak
μπορώ να μεταφράζω = I can translate / I am able to translate

You cannot say ✗ δεν μπορώ μιλάω; without να it is ungrammatical in standard Modern Greek.

Why is να repeated (να μιλάω και να μεταφράζω)? Could I just say να μιλάω και μεταφράζω?

In practice, you normally repeat να with each verb when you have two actions:

Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και να μεταφράζω… ✅ (normal)
✗ Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και μεταφράζω… (sounds wrong/unfinished)

Speakers sometimes drop the second να in very casual speech, but the clear and natural form for learners is to keep να before both verbs. It makes the structure more transparent:

να μιλάω (first action)
και
να μεταφράζω (second action)

What’s the difference between μιλάω, μιλώ, and μιλήσω, and why is μιλάω used here?

There are two separate issues here:

μιλάω vs μιλώ
- These are just two present-tense forms of the same verb.
- μιλάω is slightly more colloquial; μιλώ is a bit more formal/literary.
- In this sentence you could say either να μιλάω or να μιλώ with the same meaning.
μιλάω vs μιλήσω (aspect: ongoing vs single/complete action)
- μιλάω = present, imperfective aspect: an ongoing, repeated, or general action
  - να μιλάω ελληνικά ≈ to be speaking Greek / to speak Greek (in general)
- μιλήσω = aorist, perfective aspect: a single, whole event
  - να μιλήσω ≈ to speak (once), to have my turn to speak

Here the idea is “I can’t be speaking Greek and be translating every word at the same time,” so the ongoing μιλάω fits perfectly. Να μιλήσω would sound more like “I can’t say something (once) in Greek…” which is a different idea.

Why is μεταφράζω (present) used and not μεταφράσω?

Same aspect idea as with μιλάω / μιλήσω:

μεταφράζω = present, imperfective: I (am) translate(ing), an ongoing process.
μεταφράσω = aorist, perfective: I (will) translate (once / as a whole).

In the sentence, you are talking about continuously translating every word in your head as you speak. This is an ongoing parallel process, so the imperfective μεταφράζω is the natural choice.

If you said δεν μπορώ να μιλήσω και να μεταφράσω…, it would sound more like “I can’t (once) say something and (once) translate it…”, not the continuous, word‑by‑word mental operation described here.

Why is ελληνικά in the plural, and why is there no article (τα) in front of it?

In Modern Greek:

Names of languages are often neuter plural:
- τα ελληνικά = (the) Greek (language)
- τα αγγλικά = (the) English
- τα ισπανικά = (the) Spanish
After verbs like μιλάω / ξέρω / μαθαίνω, the article is usually dropped, and the word functions almost like an adverb:
- Μιλάω ελληνικά. = I speak Greek.
- Ξέρεις αγγλικά; = Do you know English?

So μιλάω ελληνικά literally is “I speak (the) Greek (language)”, but it's used just like English “I speak Greek,” without τα.

That’s why we have να μιλάω ελληνικά, not ✗ να μιλάω τα ελληνικά in this context.

Why is the negative δεν placed before μπορώ and not before μιλάω or μεταφράζω?

Greek normally negates the main finite verb of the clause. Here the main verb is μπορώ (“I can / I am able”), and να μιλάω… / να μεταφράζω… is the subordinate part.

So:

Δεν μπορώ (I cannot)
- να μιλάω ελληνικά (to speak Greek)
- και να μεταφράζω… (and to translate…)

If you moved the negative, the meaning would change or the sentence would become ungrammatical:

Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω… = I am not able to be speaking… ✅
✗ Μπορώ να δεν μιλάω… (wrong word order)
Μπορώ να μη μιλάω… would mean “I can (have the option to) not speak…”, which is different.

So placing δεν before μπορώ is the normal way to say “I can’t …” in Greek.

What is the difference between δεν and μην, and why do we use δεν here?

Greek has two main negative particles:

δεν is used with indicative forms (normal present, past, future):
- δεν μπορώ, δεν θέλω, δεν μιλάω
μη(ν) is used mainly:
- with να-clauses (subjunctive): να μη μιλάω, να μην τρέχω
- with imperatives: μη μιλάς! = don’t speak!

In the sentence, μπορώ is in the indicative (present tense), so we must use δεν:

δεν μπορώ να μιλάω… ✅
✗ μην μπορώ να μιλάω… ❌ (ungrammatical in standard Greek)

Why is it δεν μπορώ and not δε μπορώ?

In careful standard writing, you normally keep the final -ν: δεν.

In speech, that -ν is sometimes dropped before certain consonants, and you’ll hear δε in casual conversation. However, before μπ (as in μπορώ), the ν is usually kept even in speech, so δεν μπορώ is both the standard written form and the most common spoken form.

As a learner, it’s safest to always write δεν.

What does συγχρόνως mean exactly, and could I use another word like ταυτόχρονα instead?

Συγχρόνως is an adverb meaning “simultaneously / at the same time.”

In this sentence it modifies both actions:

speaking Greek
translating every word in your head

You can absolutely replace it with ταυτόχρονα, which is extremely common and often sounds a bit more colloquial:

…και να μεταφράζω ταυτόχρονα κάθε λέξη στο κεφάλι μου.

In everyday speech ταυτόχρονα is probably even more frequent than συγχρόνως; both are correct.

Why is it κάθε λέξη (singular) and not κάθε λέξεις (plural)?

Κάθε in Modern Greek is always followed by a singular noun, even though it has a meaning like “each / every,” which refers to multiple items:

κάθε λέξη = every word / each word
κάθε μέρα = every day
κάθε άνθρωπος = every person

So κάθε λέξη is grammatically required; ✗ κάθε λέξεις is incorrect.

How does στο κεφάλι μου work grammatically, and why does μου come after κεφάλι?

Let’s break it down:

σε (in, at, to) + το (the, neuter singular) → στο
- στο κεφάλι = in the head
κεφάλι is neuter: το κεφάλι (the head).
Possession in Greek is usually expressed by a clitic pronoun placed after the noun:
- το κεφάλι μου = my head
- το σπίτι σου = your house

So:

στο κεφάλι μου = in my head
Literally: in the head of-me.

You can’t say ✗ στο μου κεφάλι; the possessive pronoun μου must go after the noun (κεφάλι), not before it.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move συγχρόνως or other parts around?

Greek word order is fairly flexible. Your original sentence:

Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και να μεταφράζω συγχρόνως κάθε λέξη στο κεφάλι μου.

Natural alternatives (all grammatical, slightly different emphasis) include:

Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και να μεταφράζω κάθε λέξη συγχρόνως στο κεφάλι μου.
Δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και συγχρόνως να μεταφράζω κάθε λέξη στο κεφάλι μου.
Συγχρόνως δεν μπορώ να μιλάω ελληνικά και να μεταφράζω κάθε λέξη στο κεφάλι μου. (emphasises “at the same time”)

However, the original word order is very natural and clear for a learner. The main things that should stay together are:

να μιλάω ελληνικά
να μεταφράζω (συγχρόνως) κάθε λέξη
στο κεφάλι μου (as a unit)

How do I pronounce this sentence, especially the tricky clusters?

Here is a rough phonetic guide (stress marked with ´):

Δεν → /ðen/
μπορώ → /boˈro/ (the μπ is pronounced like b)
να → /na/
μιλάω → /miˈla.o/ or /miˈlao/ (two syllables: mi‑LA‑o)
ελληνικά → /eliniˈka/ (e‑li‑ni‑KA)
και → /ce/ (like “keh”)
να → /na/
μεταφράζω → /metaˈfrazo/ (me‑ta‑FRA‑zo)
συγχρόνως → /siŋˈxronos/
- γ before χ gives a nasal sound /ŋ/ (like “ng” in “sing”) → siŋ‑XRÓ‑nos
κάθε → /ˈkaθe/ (the θ is like th in “think”)
λέξη → /ˈleksi/
στο → /sto/
κεφάλι → /ceˈfali/
μου → /mu/

Whole sentence (roughly):

/ðen boˈro na miˈlao eliniˈka ce na metaˈfrazo siŋˈxronos ˈkaθe ˈleksi sto ceˈfali mu/