Η μικρή γάτα τρόμαξε μόλις χτύπησε το θυροτηλέφωνο και κρύφτηκε κάτω από την πολυθρόνα.

Because γάτα is a feminine noun in Greek, so the article and adjective must also be feminine:

• η = feminine singular the
• μικρή = feminine singular small
• γάτα = cat (often used especially for a female cat, but also commonly for cat in general)

If you wanted to say the small male cat / tomcat, you could say:

• ο μικρός γάτος

So this sentence uses the feminine form all the way through.

It agrees with γάτα, which is feminine singular.

The adjective μικρός changes form depending on gender, number, and case:

• μικρός = masculine
• μικρή = feminine
• μικρό = neuter

Since γάτα is feminine singular and is the subject of the sentence, the correct form is μικρή.

Τρόμαξε is the aorist form of τρομάζω (to frighten / to get scared).

Here it means got scared or was startled. The Greek aorist typically presents the action as a single complete event, not as an ongoing process.

So:

• τρόμαξε = got scared / was startled
• not was being scared

This fits the situation well, because the cat reacts suddenly to a sound.

In this sentence, μόλις means as soon as.

So:

• μόλις χτύπησε το θυροτηλέφωνο = as soon as the intercom rang

Be careful: μόλις can mean different things in Greek depending on context, for example:

• μόλις τώρα = just now
• μόλις έφτασα = I just arrived
• μόλις μπήκε, κάθισε = as soon as he came in, he sat down

Here it clearly has the as soon as meaning because it introduces the event that triggers the cat’s reaction.

The basic verb χτυπάω / χτυπώ can mean hit, knock, strike, ring, sound, depending on context.

Here, with το θυροτηλέφωνο (the intercom / door buzzer), χτύπησε means:

• rang
• buzzed
• sounded

So although the verb can literally mean hit, in this sentence it refers to the intercom making a sound.

Yes. Grammatically, το θυροτηλέφωνο is the subject of χτύπησε.

Greek often allows word order that may feel less straightforward to an English speaker. In this clause:

• μόλις χτύπησε το θυροτηλέφωνο

the verb comes first, and the subject comes after it. This is very natural in Greek.

So the structure is basically:

• as soon as rang the intercom
• natural English: as soon as the intercom rang

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English.

So:

• το θυροτηλέφωνο = literally the intercom
• την πολυθρόνα = literally the armchair

Even when English might prefer an intercom, the doorbell, or just no article in some contexts, Greek often uses the definite article because the object is understood as specific in the situation.

This is very normal Greek usage and usually should not be translated word-for-word.

Θυροτηλέφωνο is the device used at the entrance of a building so someone can ring and speak to a resident. Depending on context, it may be translated as:

• intercom
• door intercom
• door buzzer
• sometimes loosely doorbell, though intercom is more accurate

It is a compound word:

• θύρα / θύρα- = door
• τηλέφωνο = telephone

So the idea is literally something like door-telephone.

Κρύφτηκε means hid or more literally hid itself. It comes from κρύβομαι (to hide oneself / to hide in the middle-passive form).

This is the natural verb when the subject goes and hides:

• Η γάτα κρύφτηκε = The cat hid

By contrast:

• έκρυψε from κρύβω usually means hid something
• for example: Έκρυψε το κλειδί = He/She hid the key

So κρύφτηκε is correct because the cat itself is the one going into hiding.

After the preposition από here, πολυθρόνα appears in the accusative:

• nominative: η πολυθρόνα
• accusative: την πολυθρόνα

The phrase κάτω από means under / beneath.

So:

• κάτω από την πολυθρόνα = under the armchair

This is a very common pattern in Greek: many prepositions are followed by the accusative.

Yes. In everyday speech and writing, από is often shortened before a vowel:

• από την → απ’ την

So these mean the same thing:

• κάτω από την πολυθρόνα
• κάτω απ’ την πολυθρόνα

The full form is a bit more formal or careful; the shortened form is very common in natural speech.

Because the sentence describes a sequence of completed events:

1. the cat got startled
2. the intercom rang
3. the cat hid

Greek often uses the aorist for this kind of narrative chain of events. It gives a clear sense of actions happening as whole events rather than ongoing states.

So the aorist is exactly what you would expect in a sentence telling what happened.

Yes. Once the subject η μικρή γάτα has been introduced, Greek does not need to repeat it if it is still clear.

So:

• Η μικρή γάτα τρόμαξε ... και κρύφτηκε ...

means:

• The little cat got scared ... and hid ...

The subject of κρύφτηκε is still the little cat.

This is very common in Greek, just as in English: once the subject is established, it is often left unspoken in the following verb.

Yes, the word order is natural. Greek allows more flexibility than English because case endings and verb forms help show relationships.

This sentence is perfectly normal:

• Η μικρή γάτα τρόμαξε μόλις χτύπησε το θυροτηλέφωνο και κρύφτηκε κάτω από την πολυθρόνα.

But Greek could rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Μόλις χτύπησε το θυροτηλέφωνο, η μικρή γάτα τρόμαξε και κρύφτηκε κάτω από την πολυθρόνα.

That version puts more focus on the timing clause first: As soon as the intercom rang...

So the original order is natural, but not the only possible one.