Υπάρχει φαρμακείο εδώ κοντά ή πρέπει να πάω στην πόλη;

Υπάρχει means there is / is there. It is the standard Greek way to ask whether something exists or is available somewhere.

So:

• Υπάρχει φαρμακείο; = Is there a pharmacy?
• Υπάρχουν φαρμακεία; = Are there pharmacies?

In this sentence, Υπάρχει is singular because φαρμακείο is singular.

Greek often leaves out the article in this kind of there is / is there sentence when the noun is indefinite.

So:

• Υπάρχει φαρμακείο εδώ κοντά; = Is there a pharmacy nearby?

This is like asking whether any pharmacy exists nearby, not referring to a specific one.

If you said Το φαρμακείο, that would mean the pharmacy, referring to a specific pharmacy already known in the conversation.

Φαρμακείο means pharmacy or drugstore.

It is pronounced roughly far-ma-KEE-o, with the stress on -κεί-.

A few useful related words:

• το φαρμακείο = the pharmacy
• ο φαρμακοποιός = the pharmacist
• φάρμακο = medicine

They are related, but not identical.

• εδώ = here
• κοντά = near / nearby

Together, εδώ κοντά means near here or nearby.

So the phrase adds emphasis and sounds very natural:

• Υπάρχει φαρμακείο εδώ κοντά; = Is there a pharmacy near here?

You could also hear:

• Υπάρχει κοντά φαρμακείο;
• Υπάρχει κάποιο φαρμακείο κοντά;

But εδώ κοντά is a very common everyday expression.

Because ή means or, and the accent distinguishes it from η, which means the for feminine nouns.

Compare:

• ή = or
• η πόλη = the city/town

This is a very useful distinction in writing.

Modern Greek does not use an infinitive the way English does. Instead, it normally uses να + a verb form.

So:

• πρέπει = it is necessary / one must / I have to
• να πάω = that I go / to go in English meaning

Together:

• πρέπει να πάω = I have to go / must I go

This pattern is extremely common:

• Πρέπει να φύγω. = I have to leave.
• Θέλω να πάω. = I want to go.
• Μπορώ να έρθω; = Can I come?

Both πάω and πηγαίνω can mean I go.

Very roughly:

• πηγαίνω is the fuller form
• πάω is shorter and extremely common in everyday speech

After να, Greek often uses πάω very naturally:

• πρέπει να πάω στην πόλη = I have to go to town/the city

You may also hear:

• πρέπει να πηγαίνω = I have to be going / I have to go regularly

In this sentence, να πάω sounds right because it refers to a single trip: go into town.

στην is a contraction of σε + την.

• σε = to / in / at
• την = the

So:

• σε την πόλη becomes στην πόλη

This is completely normal and standard in Greek.

πόλη literally means city, but depending on context, στην πόλη can be translated as:

• to the city
• into town

In this sentence, English often says go into town, even though the Greek word is literally city.

In Greek, the semicolon (;) is used as the question mark.

So:

• Greek ; = English ?

This is one of the first punctuation differences learners notice.

So the ending:

• στην πόλη;

shows that the whole sentence is a question.

The main stress usually falls naturally on the important words:

Υπάρχει φαρμακείο εδώ κοντά ή πρέπει να πάω στην πόλη;

A natural rhythm is something like:

• Υπάρχει φαρμακείο | εδώ κοντά | ή πρέπει να πάω στην πόλη;

If the speaker wants to emphasize the choice, they may stress ή πρέπει να πάω στην πόλη more strongly, as in:

• Is there a pharmacy nearby, or do I have to go into town?

So the intonation helps show the contrast between the two possibilities.

Yes, you can absolutely use it in real life. It sounds natural and polite.

A few equally natural alternatives are:

• Υπάρχει κάποιο φαρμακείο εδώ κοντά;
  = Is there any pharmacy nearby?

• Μήπως υπάρχει φαρμακείο εδώ κοντά;
  = Is there by any chance a pharmacy nearby?

• Πού είναι το πιο κοντινό φαρμακείο;
  = Where is the nearest pharmacy?

But your original sentence is perfectly normal and useful, especially if you want to ask whether you can find one nearby or whether you need to go into town.