Στο σημειωματάριό μου γράφω λέξεις που ακούω στο λεωφορείο ή στο καφέ.

Στο is a contraction of σε + το.

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the (neuter singular)

So:

• στο σημειωματάριό μου = in my notebook
• στο λεωφορείο = on the bus
• στο καφέ = at the café

This contraction is extremely common in Greek:

• σε + το → στο
• σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)

So a learner should get used to seeing στο as a very normal form, not as a separate dictionary word.

Greek normally keeps the definite article even when a possessive like μου (my) is present.

So Greek says:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• literally: the book my

And with a preposition:

• στο σημειωματάριό μου = in my notebook
• literally: in the notebook my

This is different from English, where my replaces the. In Greek, the article usually stays.

This happens because μου is an enclitic, meaning it is a short unstressed word that leans on the previous word.

The base word is:

• σημειωματάριο = notebook

When μου is added after it, Greek spelling often adds an extra accent to help preserve the correct stress pattern:

• σημειωματάριο
• σημειωματάριό μου

You will see this with other words too:

• το πρόσωπό μου = my face
• ο δάσκαλός μου = my teacher

So this extra accent is a normal spelling rule, not a different word.

Μου is the weak genitive form of εγώ and here it means my.

It can mean:

• my
• to me
• for me

depending on context.

In this sentence:

• το σημειωματάριό μου = my notebook

So although English uses a possessive adjective (my), Greek uses a genitive pronoun form after the noun.

Γράφω is I write.

The ending -ω shows:

• 1st person singular
• present tense

So the subject is understood as I, even though Greek does not need to say εγώ.

Compare:

• γράφω = I write
• γράφεις = you write
• γράφει = he/she/it writes

Greek often omits the subject pronoun because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Usually, no. Greek is a language that often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

So:

• γράφω already means I write

You only add εγώ if you want emphasis or contrast:

• Εγώ γράφω, όχι εσύ. = I’m writing, not you.

In your sentence, εγώ would be unnecessary unless the speaker wanted special emphasis.

Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

Both are possible:

• Στο σημειωματάριό μου γράφω λέξεις...
• Γράφω στο σημειωματάριό μου λέξεις...

Starting with Στο σημειωματάριό μου puts a bit of focus on the place:

• In my notebook, I write words...

This kind of fronting is very natural in Greek.

So the sentence-initial phrase is not strange; it just highlights where the writing happens.

Because the sentence is talking about words in general, not a specific set of known words.

• γράφω λέξεις = I write words
• γράφω τις λέξεις = I write the words

Using no article here makes the noun more indefinite or general. The speaker is simply saying they write down words they hear, not some particular previously mentioned words.

Λέξεις is in the accusative plural, because it is the direct object of γράφω.

The singular is:

• η λέξη = the word

Its plural forms are:

• οι λέξεις = the words (nominative plural)
• τις λέξεις = the words (accusative plural)

Here, without the article, you just see:

• λέξεις = words

For this noun, the nominative plural and accusative plural happen to look the same when there is no article.

Here που means that / which and introduces a relative clause.

So:

• λέξεις που ακούω = words that I hear

It connects λέξεις with the information that follows.

A very useful thing for learners: Greek που does not change form for gender, number, or case in the way English sometimes distinguishes who / which / that / whom.

Examples:

• ο άνθρωπος που βλέπω = the person that I see
• το βιβλίο που διαβάζω = the book that I am reading
• οι λέξεις που ακούω = the words that I hear

Because Greek does not use an infinitive the way English does.

In English, you might think in terms of words I hear. In Greek, the relative clause uses a fully conjugated verb:

• που ακούω = that I hear

So ακούω is present tense, first person singular:

• I hear

Greek generally uses normal finite verb forms where English may use other structures.

The present tense here expresses a habitual or repeated action.

So the sentence means something like:

• I write down words that I hear on the bus or at the café
• in the sense of this is something I do regularly

It is not necessarily happening only right now at this exact moment. Greek present tense, like English present tense, can describe habits.

Literally, γράφω means I write. But in this context, English often translates it more naturally as I write down.

That is because the meaning is clearly about noting words in a notebook.

So:

• γράφω λέξεις στο σημειωματάριό μου
  can naturally mean
• I write words in my notebook / I write down words in my notebook

Greek often uses the simple verb where English prefers a phrasal verb like write down.

Yes, literally σε / στο often corresponds to in / at / to, but in natural translation στο λεωφορείο is usually on the bus.

Languages do not always match prepositions exactly. Greek says:

• στο λεωφορείο
• literally: in the bus
• naturally in English: on the bus

So it is best not to translate prepositions too mechanically.

Λεωφορείο is a neuter singular noun meaning bus.

Its basic forms are:

• το λεωφορείο = the bus
• του λεωφορείου = of the bus
• στο λεωφορείο = on/in the bus

Here it appears after στο, so it is in the case used after σε, which is the accusative form. For this noun, the nominative and accusative singular look the same:

• το λεωφορείο
• στο λεωφορείο

Yes. Here καφέ means café / coffee shop.

So:

• στο καφέ = at the café

This word is a loanword, and in everyday Greek it is commonly used as a noun with this form.

Do not confuse it with the adjective/noun καφέ meaning brown in other contexts. Here the article and the meaning of the sentence make it clear that it means café.

Because ή (or) is written with an accent, partly to distinguish it from η, which is the feminine singular article the.

So:

• ή = or
• η = the

This is a very important little difference in writing.

In your sentence:

• στο λεωφορείο ή στο καφέ = on the bus or at the café

It joins the whole prepositional phrases:

• στο λεωφορείο
• στο καφέ

That is why στο is repeated.

Greek often repeats the preposition/article combination clearly:

• στο λεωφορείο ή στο καφέ

This is like saying:

• on the bus or at the café

rather than trying to share one στο across both nouns.

Sometimes Greek can omit repeated elements in certain contexts, but here στο λεωφορείο ή στο καφέ with both στο forms is the most natural and clear version.

Repeating στο sounds normal and helps keep the two alternatives parallel.

Because translation follows natural English usage, not one-for-one word matching.

Greek uses στο in both places, but English chooses different prepositions depending on the noun:

• στο λεωφορείο → on the bus
• στο καφέ → at the café

This is very common when learning prepositions between languages. The key is to learn the natural phrase, not force the same English preposition every time.

Because it comes directly after λέξεις and functions as a relative clause describing them.

Structure:

• λέξεις = words
• που ακούω στο λεωφορείο ή στο καφέ = that I hear on the bus or at the café

So the sentence is not saying:

• I hear the bus
• or I hear the café

It is saying that the words are the things heard.

No, not in standard Greek here.

You need που to introduce the relative clause:

• λέξεις που ακούω = words that I hear

Without που, the sentence would be ungrammatical.

A couple of things may help learners:

• ει is pronounced like i
• the stress is on -τά-

So roughly:

• ση-μει-ω-μα-ΤΑ-ri-o

And in σημειωματάριό μου, the original main stress remains, with the written extra accent helping mark the rhythm before μου.

Yes, very naturally.

The present tense plus the overall context strongly suggests a routine or habit:

• In my notebook, I write words that I hear on the bus or at the café.

This sounds like something the speaker regularly does while learning or collecting vocabulary.

Yes. Greek present tense can cover both:

• I write
• I am writing

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

So γράφω can mean:

• habitual: I write
• ongoing right now: I’m writing

In this sentence, the habitual meaning is the natural one.

A helpful breakdown is:

• Στο σημειωματάριό μου = prepositional phrase: in my notebook
• γράφω = main verb: I write
• λέξεις = direct object: words
• που ακούω στο λεωφορείο ή στο καφέ = relative clause: that I hear on the bus or at the café

So the full structure is:

[Where] + [verb] + [object] + [description of the object]

That makes it easier to see how the sentence is built.