Κρύβομαι όταν ακούω τον συναγερμό τη νύχτα.

I hide when I hear the alarm at night.

Breakdown of Κρύβομαι όταν ακούω τον συναγερμό τη νύχτα.

• όταν: when
• τη νύχτα: at night
• ακούω: to hear
• ο συναγερμός: the alarm
• κρύβομαι: to hide

Questions & Answers about Κρύβομαι όταν ακούω τον συναγερμό τη νύχτα.

Why does κρύβομαι look like a passive verb? Does it mean I am hidden or I hide?

κρύβομαι is the 1st person singular present in the mediopassive form of the verb κρύβομαι. In Modern Greek it’s commonly used with an active meaning: I hide (myself) / I go into hiding.
So here it’s not “someone hides me” (true passive), but a reflexive/intransitive idea: you perform the action yourself.

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What tense is κρύβομαι and ακούω? Is this “right now” or “in general”?

Both κρύβομαι and ακούω are present tense. With όταν + present, this typically expresses a habitual/repeated situation: “Whenever I hear the alarm at night, I hide.”

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Could Greek use a different tense after όταν to mean a one-time event?

Yes. If you want a single completed event in the past (or a “once” type of event), Greek often uses όταν + aorist (depending on context), e.g. Κρύφτηκα όταν άκουσα τον συναγερμό = “I hid when I heard the alarm.”
In your sentence, the present makes it sound like a repeated pattern.

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Why is there no word for “I” in the sentence?

Greek is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the person.
κρύβομαι = “(I) hide,” so εγώ is unnecessary unless you want emphasis/contrast.

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Why is it τον συναγερμό and not some other form?

Because ακούω (to hear) takes a direct object, and direct objects are in the accusative case.

• ο συναγερμός (nominative, “the alarm” as a subject)
• τον συναγερμό (accusative, “the alarm” as an object)

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What’s the difference between ακούω and ακούω κάτι vs “listen” in English?

ακούω usually corresponds to hear (perceive a sound), and it can also sometimes cover “listen” depending on context.
If you want to be explicit about listening, Greek often uses ακούω with a more deliberate sense or uses other phrasing, but in this sentence ακούω τον συναγερμό naturally means “I hear the alarm.”

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Why is it τη νύχτα and not την νύχτα?

The full feminine accusative article is την, but the final -ν often drops before many consonants in everyday Modern Greek spelling and speech.
So την νύχτα → τη νύχτα is a normal, standard reduction.

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Is τη νύχτα “at night” or “during the night”? Why no preposition?

τη νύχτα is an accusative time expression and commonly means at night / during the night depending on context. Greek often expresses “at + time” without a preposition, simply using the accusative:

• τη νύχτα = “at night”
• το πρωί = “in the morning”

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Does όταν mean “when” or “whenever”?

It can mean both. The tense helps:

• όταν
  • present often implies whenever / every time that (habitual)
• όταν
  • past (e.g., aorist) often implies when (a specific time)

In your sentence, it naturally reads as whenever.

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Is the word order fixed? Could I move τη νύχτα or όταν...?

Greek word order is fairly flexible. You could move the time phrase or the clause for emphasis, for example:

• Τη νύχτα κρύβομαι όταν ακούω τον συναγερμό. (emphasizes “at night”)
• Όταν ακούω τον συναγερμό τη νύχτα, κρύβομαι. (puts the condition first)

The meaning stays basically the same; the focus changes.

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How do I pronounce the sentence and where is the stress?

Stress is shown by the accent marks:

• Κρύβομαι (KRY-vo-me)
• όταν (O-tan)
• ακούω (a-KU-o)
• τον συναγερμό (ton si-na-yer-MO)
• τη νύχτα (ti NI-hta)

A rough flow: KRYvo-me O-tan a-KU-o ton si-na-yer-MO ti NI-hta.

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Why are there articles (τον, τη) at all? In English you might say “I hear alarm at night.”

Greek uses articles more consistently than English. With a concrete noun like συναγερμός, Greek normally uses the article: τον συναγερμό (“the alarm,” i.e., the known/expected alarm sound).
Similarly, time expressions often include an article: τη νύχτα (“at night”).