Δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό σήμερα.

Greek often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• έχω = I have
• so Δεν έχω already means I don’t have

You could say Εγώ δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό σήμερα, but εγώ would add emphasis, as in I don’t have even a minute today.

Δεν is the normal word for not before a verb in Modern Greek.

• έχω = I have
• δεν έχω = I do not have / I don’t have

So the sentence begins with a very standard negated verb phrase.

Here ούτε ένα means not even one.

So:

• ούτε = not even / neither / nor depending on context
• ένα = one / a

In this sentence, ούτε ένα λεπτό means not even one minute.

This makes the statement stronger than simply saying I don’t have a minute. It emphasizes total lack of time.

Yes, from an English-speaking point of view it may look like a double negative, but in Greek this is normal.

Greek uses negative concord, which means multiple negative elements can appear in the same sentence without cancelling each other out.

So:

• Δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό is correct Greek.
• Literally it feels like I don’t have not even one minute, but in natural English that becomes I don’t have even one minute or I don’t have a single minute.

English usually avoids this structure, but Greek uses it naturally.

Because λεπτό is a neuter noun.

Greek one changes form depending on gender:

• ένας for masculine
• μία / μια for feminine
• ένα for neuter

Since λεπτό is neuter, you say:

• ένα λεπτό

If the noun were masculine, you would use έναν in the accusative singular in many cases, but that does not apply here.

It is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of έχω.

You have something, so that thing is the object:

• έχω χρόνο = I have time
• έχω ένα λεπτό = I have one minute

For neuter nouns like λεπτό, the nominative and accusative singular often look the same, so learners may not notice a visible change.

In this sentence, yes, λεπτό means minute.

That said, learners may notice related meanings in other contexts:

• λεπτός / λεπτή / λεπτό as an adjective can mean thin / fine
• as a noun, το λεπτό commonly means minute

Here, because of ένα and the time expression, the meaning is clearly minute.

Yes, σήμερα means today, and Greek word order is fairly flexible.

The version you have:

• Δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό σήμερα.

is completely natural.

You could also say:

• Σήμερα δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό.
• Δεν έχω σήμερα ούτε ένα λεπτό.

These are all grammatical, but the emphasis shifts slightly:

• Σήμερα first can highlight today
• ούτε ένα λεπτό near the end keeps the strong emphasis on not even one minute

Greek often moves words around for focus and rhythm more freely than English does.

You could, but it is less natural if you want the same strong meaning.

• Δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό σήμερα = I don’t have even one minute today
• Δεν έχω ένα λεπτό σήμερα may sound incomplete or less idiomatic in many contexts

Greek usually prefers ούτε ένα here to express not even one clearly and naturally.

Yes, that is also natural.

Compare:

• Δεν έχω ούτε λεπτό σήμερα. = I don’t have even a minute today.
• Δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό σήμερα. = I don’t have even one minute today.

The version with ένα makes the single minute idea more explicit. The version without ένα is a little more compact but means almost the same thing.

Έχω is the present tense, first person singular.

So it means:

• I have
• and with δεν: I do not have

In this sentence, the present tense is used in the same broad way English uses it: to talk about the current situation, namely today.

It is idiomatic, natural Greek.

A Greek speaker would absolutely use a sentence like this to mean they are very busy or have no free time.

It is similar in tone to English expressions such as:

• I don’t have a minute today.
• I don’t have even a minute today.
• I don’t have a single minute today.

So this is a very useful everyday pattern to learn.

The strongest stress is often placed on ούτε ένα λεπτό, because that is the key idea.

So the sentence may sound like:

• Δεν έχω ΟΥΤΕ ΕΝΑ ΛΕΠΤΟ σήμερα.

If the speaker wants to emphasize today, they might stress σήμερα more:

• Δεν έχω ούτε ένα λεπτό ΣΗΜΕΡΑ.

Greek uses word stress and intonation a lot to highlight what matters most in the message.