Η μαμά είπε ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό, ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the. So η μαμά literally means the mom / the mother, but in natural English we usually translate it as Mom or the mother, depending on context.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, so seeing η μαμά is completely normal.

Είπε is the 3rd person singular aorist of λέω (to say / to tell). It means said.

So:

• λέω = I say
• είπε = he/she/it said

Here it matches η μαμά, so Η μαμά είπε = Mom said.

The aorist is used because this is a completed past action: she said it at some point.

Ότι means that and introduces a content clause, just like English that in She said that...

So:

• Η μαμά είπε ότι... = Mom said that...

A very useful detail: ότι (that) is different from ό,τι (whatever / anything that). The punctuation and meaning are different.

Εμβόλιο (vaccine) is a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter singular article το.

So:

• το εμβόλιο = the vaccine

This is the nominative singular form here, because it is the subject of είναι σημαντικό.

Greek often keeps the verb in the tense that reflects the actual situation, rather than shifting it backward just because the main verb is in the past.

So:

• Η μαμά είπε ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό
  literally: Mom said that the vaccine is important

This sounds natural in Greek because the statement is still presented as generally true now. English can also do this: Mom said that the vaccine is important.

If Greek wanted to present it more as a past viewpoint, another tense might appear, but είναι is very normal here.

Because it agrees with το εμβόλιο, which is a neuter singular noun.

Greek adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• masculine: σημαντικός
• feminine: σημαντική
• neuter: σημαντικό

Since εμβόλιο is neuter singular, the sentence uses σημαντικό.

Ακόμα κι αν means even if.

It introduces a clause that expresses contrast or concession:

• ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο
  = even if the child is a little afraid

A small point:

• κι is a shortened form of και
• before a vowel, και αν often becomes κι αν

So ακόμα κι αν is a very common and natural way to say even if.

Κι is just a shorter form of και. In many contexts, especially before a vowel, Greek commonly uses κι instead of και.

So:

• ακόμα και αν
• ακόμα κι αν

Both are possible, but ακόμα κι αν sounds very natural and smooth in everyday Greek.

Παιδί (child) is also a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter article το.

So:

• το παιδί = the child

This is another example of grammatical gender in Greek not necessarily matching biological sex. Even if the child is a boy or a girl, the noun παιδί is grammatically neuter.

The dictionary form is φοβάμαι, which means I am afraid or I fear.

This verb has middle/passive-type endings, but its meaning is active. That is very common in Greek. So you should learn it as a normal verb meaning to be afraid.

Here:

• φοβάται = he/she/it is afraid

So:

• το παιδί φοβάται = the child is afraid

Λίγο here means a little or a bit, and it works adverbially, modifying φοβάται.

So:

• φοβάται λίγο = is a little afraid / is a bit scared

Greek often uses λίγο in this very natural way to soften a statement.

The comma separates the main statement from the subordinate concessive clause.

Main part:

• Η μαμά είπε ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό

Added contrasting condition:

• ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο

So the comma helps show the structure clearly, much like in English:

• Mom said that the vaccine is important, even if the child is a little afraid.

Yes. Both can mean mother, but the tone is different.

• μαμά = mom / mommy, everyday and familiar
• μητέρα = mother, more formal or neutral

In this sentence, μαμά makes the tone feel natural and conversational.

It has three layers:

1. Main clause:

   • Η μαμά είπε
   • Mom said

2. Content clause introduced by ότι:

   • ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό
   • that the vaccine is important

3. Concessive clause introduced by ακόμα κι αν:

   • ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο
   • even if the child is a little afraid

So the full structure is:

[Main clause] + [that-clause] + [even-if clause]

This is a very common and useful pattern in Greek.