Breakdown of Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής και δεν καταλάβαινα τι σημαίνει να γίνω ενήλικας και να δουλεύω κάθε μέρα.
Questions & Answers about Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής και δεν καταλάβαινα τι σημαίνει να γίνω ενήλικας και να δουλεύω κάθε μέρα.
Ήμουν (ímoun) is the imperfect tense of the verb είμαι (to be), meaning “I was.”
The imperfect in Greek describes:
- a continuous state in the past, or
- something that was habitual or repeated in the past.
In the sentence:
- Όταν ήμουν παιδί = When I was a child (general past state)
- ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής = I was often insecure (repeated/ongoing quality)
Using ήμουν twice keeps both ideas clear: being a child (past period) and being often insecure (repeated state during that period). You could drop the second ήμουν in casual speech, but the original version is very natural and clear.
In Greek, the subject pronoun is usually omitted because it is already contained in the verb ending.
- ήμουν = I was
- καταλάβαινα = I understood / I used to understand
- γίνω (with να) = that I become
- δουλεύω (with να) = that I work
So, εγώ is not needed. You could say:
- Όταν εγώ ήμουν παιδί…
but that usually sounds emphatic, like “When I was a child (as for me)…”, not neutral. The neutral, natural choice is to leave εγώ out.
Όταν ήμουν παιδί (When I was a child) is a subordinate clause (a time clause) that sets the background. The main clause follows:
- ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής και δεν καταλάβαινα…
In Greek punctuation, when a clause introduced by όταν (when) comes first, it is normally followed by a comma, just like in English:
- When I was a child, I was often insecure…
→ Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής…
If the order were reversed, you would normally not use a comma:
- Ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής όταν ήμουν παιδί.
(I was often insecure when I was a child.)
Καταλάβαινα is the imperfect of καταλαβαίνω (to understand).
Κατάλαβα is the aorist (simple past).
- Δεν καταλάβαινα = I (generally) didn’t understand / I used not to understand (over a period)
- Δεν κατάλαβα = I didn’t understand (on that one specific occasion)
In the sentence, the speaker is talking about a longer period in childhood, not one moment. That’s why the imperfect is used:
- δεν καταλάβαινα τι σημαίνει…
= I didn’t understand (as a child, in general) what it means…
Σημαίνει is the present tense of σημαίνω (to mean). In Greek (and in English), when we talk about the meaning of something, we often use the present, because meaning is treated as timeless or still valid:
- Back then, I didn’t understand *what it means to be an adult.*
The Greek mirrors this:
- δεν καταλάβαινα τι σημαίνει να γίνω ενήλικας…
= I didn’t understand what it means to become an adult…
Using a past like τι σήμαινε would be possible, but it slightly shifts the focus to how you saw the meaning back then, rather than to the general meaning.
Να is a particle that is used to form the subjunctive in Modern Greek. After τι σημαίνει (what it means), Greek expresses the content with a να-clause:
- τι σημαίνει να γίνω ενήλικας
= what it means (for me) to become an adult
So:
- να γίνω = subjunctive of γίνομαι (to become)
- να δουλεύω = subjunctive of δουλεύω (to work)
English uses an infinitive (to become, to work), but Greek uses να + subjunctive in this type of “what it means to…” construction.
Both forms come from γίνομαι (to become / to be becoming), but they express different aspects:
- να γίνω = aorist subjunctive, focusing on the single event of becoming (the change of state)
- να γίνομαι = present subjunctive, focusing on a continuous / repeated process
In να γίνω ενήλικας, we are talking about the moment of becoming an adult, not an ongoing process. So the aorist subjunctive να γίνω is the natural choice.
Think:
- τι σημαίνει να γίνω ενήλικας
= what it means to become (to turn into) an adult (one transition)
Ενήλικας is a noun meaning “an adult (person)”.
In να γίνω ενήλικας, ενήλικας is a predicate noun after the verb γίνομαι (to become). In Greek, this usually stays in the nominative case, agreeing with the subject:
- να γίνω ενήλικας = literally to become (an) adult (I)
Compare:
- Είμαι γιατρός. – I am a doctor.
- Θέλω να γίνω γιατρός. – I want to become a doctor.
You may also see the adjective ενήλικος, -η, -ο (adult, grown-up), but here the noun ενήλικας is more natural because it clearly means “adult person.”
Again this is an aspect choice:
- να δουλέψω = aorist subjunctive, focusing on a single, complete act of working
- να δουλεύω = present subjunctive, focusing on ongoing / repeated / habitual working
The phrase is:
- να δουλεύω κάθε μέρα = to work every day
The adverb κάθε μέρα (every day) clearly indicates something regular and repeated, so the present subjunctive να δουλεύω is the correct and natural form here.
Greek often repeats να when two subjunctive verbs are joined with και:
- να γίνω ενήλικας και να δουλεύω κάθε μέρα
You can say:
- τι σημαίνει να γίνω ενήλικας και δουλεύω κάθε μέρα
and people will understand, but it’s less standard and can sound a bit less clear, because δουλεύω could be misread as indicative (I work) instead of subjunctive.
Repeating να:
- keeps the grammar clear,
- makes the sentence feel balanced and natural,
- is the safest choice in writing.
Ανασφαλής means “insecure”, usually emotionally (lacking self-confidence, feeling unsure).
Grammatically, it is an adjective of the type:
- ανασφαλής (masculine & feminine singular nominative)
- ανασφαλές (neuter singular nominative)
- plural: ανασφαλείς, ανασφαλή, etc.
In the sentence:
- ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής
the subject is “I” (a person), so ανασφαλής is used in the masculine (or feminine) singular nominative, agreeing with the implicit εγώ.
It behaves like other -ης adjectives such as ευγενής (polite), δυστυχής (unfortunate).
Συχνά means “often.” It’s an adverb of frequency, and it has some flexibility in position:
- ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής
- συχνά ήμουν ανασφαλής
- ήμουν ανασφαλής συχνά
All are possible and mean roughly “I was often insecure.”
Some nuances:
- Συχνά ήμουν ανασφαλής – slight emphasis on often.
- Ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής – very neutral and common.
- Ήμουν ανασφαλής συχνά – also acceptable, sometimes with a slight afterthought feel.
In everyday speech, ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής is probably the most natural word order.
Both are correct:
- μέρα = colloquial / everyday word for day
- ημέρα = more formal / standard word for day
So:
- κάθε μέρα – very common in spoken and informal written Greek
- κάθε ημέρα – a bit more formal, may appear in more formal writing, news, etc.
In this sentence, κάθε μέρα fits the informal, personal tone perfectly.
These words have different uses:
- όταν = when (for time), especially for repeated or general situations
- πότε = when? only in questions
- αν = if (condition)
In the sentence:
- Όταν ήμουν παιδί… = When I was a child…
This is a time clause, not a question and not a condition, so όταν is the correct conjunction.
You could not say:
- Πότε ήμουν παιδί, ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής… – incorrect here
- Αν ήμουν παιδί, ήμουν συχνά ανασφαλής… – would mean If I were a child, I was often insecure… which changes the meaning completely.
Greek word order is fairly flexible, but the original order is very natural:
- δεν καταλάβαινα – I did not understand
- τι σημαίνει – what it means
- να γίνω ενήλικας και να δουλεύω κάθε μέρα – to become an adult and to work every day
You could move some parts slightly, but major changes either sound unnatural or change the meaning. For example:
- Δεν καταλάβαινα τι να γίνω ενήλικας σημαίνει – unnatural
- Δεν καταλάβαινα να γίνω ενήλικας τι σημαίνει – also unnatural
The pattern:
- δεν καταλάβαινα + τι σημαίνει + (να‑clause)
is the standard structure for “I didn’t understand what it means to…” in Greek. It’s best to keep that order.