Σήμερα έχω λίγη ζάλη όταν σηκώνομαι πολύ γρήγορα από την καρέκλα.

Because ζάλη is a feminine noun, and λίγος must agree with it.

The forms are:

• λίγος = masculine
• λίγη = feminine
• λίγο = neuter / also adverbial a little

So:

• λίγη ζάλη = a little dizziness
• λίγο νερό = a little water because νερό is neuter

This is a very common thing English speakers need to get used to in Greek: adjectives change form to match the noun.

Greek often uses έχω + a noun for physical symptoms or conditions.

Very common examples:

• έχω πονοκέφαλο = I have a headache
• έχω πυρετό = I have a fever
• έχω ζάλη = I feel dizzy / I have dizziness

So έχω λίγη ζάλη is a natural Greek way to describe the symptom.

English often uses I feel..., but Greek frequently prefers I have... with symptom nouns.

Yes. That would also be natural.

• έχω λίγη ζάλη focuses on the symptom as a condition: I have a little dizziness
• ζαλίζομαι means I get dizzy / I feel dizzy

So a very natural alternative would be:

• Σήμερα ζαλίζομαι όταν σηκώνομαι πολύ γρήγορα από την καρέκλα.

The original sentence is still completely normal; it just uses the noun ζάλη instead of the verb ζαλίζομαι.

Όταν means when. In many contexts, especially like this one, it can also feel like whenever in English.

So here the sense is:

• when / whenever I stand up too quickly from the chair

Because the sentence describes a repeated or typical situation, όταν has that habitual meaning.

Because the sentence describes something that happens generally or habitually today, not a one-time completed action.

• όταν σηκώνομαι = when I get up / when I stand up
• It means this happens whenever that action occurs

Greek commonly uses the present in this kind of repeated situation:

• Όταν τρώω πολύ, νυστάζω.
• When I eat a lot, I get sleepy.

So όταν σηκώνομαι is very natural for when I stand up in a general, repeated sense.

Σηκώνομαι is the first person singular present form of a middle/passive-type verb, and it means I get up, I stand up, or I rise.

It comes from the verb pair:

• σηκώνω = I lift / I raise something
• σηκώνομαι = I get up / I stand up

This is a very common pattern in Greek:

• active form = doing something to something
• middle/passive form = the subject undergoes the action or does it to themselves

So here:

• σηκώνω την καρέκλα = I lift the chair
• σηκώνομαι από την καρέκλα = I get up from the chair

Not really in meaning, even though it uses passive/middle endings.

In Modern Greek, forms like -ομαι are not always truly passive in the English sense. Many are just normal everyday verbs with an intransitive or reflexive meaning.

So σηκώνομαι does not mean I am being stood up. It means I stand up / get up.

This is something English speakers often notice: Greek passive-looking forms can function like ordinary active verbs in English.

Because γρήγορα is an adverb here, and it modifies the verb σηκώνομαι.

• γρήγορος / γρήγορη / γρήγορο = fast as an adjective
• γρήγορα = quickly / fast as an adverb

So:

• ένα γρήγορο αυτοκίνητο = a fast car
• τρέχω γρήγορα = I run quickly

In the sentence, the idea is I stand up very quickly, so the adverb is needed.

Also, πολύ here means very, because it modifies the adverb γρήγορα:

• πολύ γρήγορα = very quickly

After από, Modern Greek uses the accusative case.

So:

• από την καρέκλα = from the chair

Here την καρέκλα is accusative feminine singular:

• nominative: η καρέκλα
• accusative: την καρέκλα

The noun καρέκλα itself looks the same in nominative and accusative, but the article changes:

• η → nominative
• την → accusative

Because Greek uses the definite article very frequently, often more regularly than English learners expect.

Here την καρέκλα refers to the chair the speaker is sitting on, so the article sounds natural and specific.

Greek is generally more article-friendly than English, and leaving the article out here would sound unnatural.

Because Greek word order is flexible, and putting Σήμερα first highlights the time frame: today.

The sentence could also be rearranged, for example:

• Έχω λίγη ζάλη σήμερα όταν σηκώνομαι πολύ γρήγορα από την καρέκλα.

But Σήμερα at the front sounds very natural because it sets the scene immediately.

So this is mostly about emphasis and information flow, not a different meaning.

Because the verb ending already tells you the subject.

• έχω = I have
• σηκώνομαι = I get up / I stand up

In Greek, subject pronouns are often omitted unless they are needed for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

So:

• Σήμερα έχω λίγη ζάλη... = normal
• Εγώ σήμερα έχω λίγη ζάλη... = more emphatic, like I today have dizziness

English usually needs the pronoun; Greek often does not.

No. It means when I stand up from the chair.

That confusion is understandable because σηκώνω can mean I lift. But here the verb is σηκώνομαι, which means I get up / stand up.

So:

• σηκώνω την καρέκλα = I lift the chair
• σηκώνομαι από την καρέκλα = I get up from the chair

The από την καρέκλα makes the meaning especially clear: the speaker is rising from a seated position.

A helpful rough guide is:

• Σήμερα = SEE-me-ra
• έχω = EH-ho
• λίγη = LEE-ghee
• ζάλη = ZA-lee
• όταν = O-tan
• σηκώνομαι = see-KO-no-me
• πολύ γρήγορα = po-LEE GREE-go-ra
• από την καρέκλα = a-PO tin ka-RE-kla

A few useful notes:

• γ before η / ι / ε / αι often sounds like a soft voiced sound, which English speakers may hear as something like y or a soft gh
• Greek stress matters a lot, so try to keep the stressed syllables where the accent marks are: Σήμερα, λίγη, ζάλη, σηκώνομαι, γρήγορα, καρέκλα

It most naturally describes a repeated situation.

Because of όταν σηκώνομαι πολύ γρήγορα, the sense is:

• Today, I get a little dizzy whenever I stand up too quickly from the chair

So σήμερα sets the overall time frame as today, while όταν introduces the recurring trigger.

If the speaker wanted to talk about one specific single moment, Greek would usually phrase it a bit differently.