Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε, γιατί έχει σύννεφα.

Φαίνονται comes from φαίνομαι, which means to appear / to be visible / to be seen.

So:

• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται = The stars aren’t visible / can’t be seen
• Τα αστέρια δεν βλέπονται would sound different and is not the normal way to say this here

Greek usually uses φαίνομαι for something that is visible or not visible. It describes how something appears to the eye, not the action of someone looking at it.

So in this sentence, φαίνονται is the natural verb.

It has a middle/passive-style ending, but here it is not really a passive in the same way as English are seen by....

Φαίνομαι is one of those Greek verbs that often appears in the middle/passive form but has an active meaning like:

• I appear
• I seem
• I am visible

In the sentence:

• Τα αστέρια = plural subject
• so the verb is also plural: φαίνονται

A useful mini-pattern is:

• φαίνομαι = I appear / I am visible
• φαίνεσαι = you appear
• φαίνεται = it appears
• φαινόμαστε = we appear
• φαίνεστε = you appear
• φαίνονται = they appear / are visible

So yes, the form looks passive, but the meaning here is simply are visible.

In Greek, δεν is the normal negative particle used with most finite verbs, and it usually goes directly before the verb.

So:

• φαίνονται = they are visible
• δεν φαίνονται = they are not visible

This is very standard Greek word order.

Compare:

• Τον ξέρω. = I know him.
• Δεν τον ξέρω. = I don’t know him.

So δεν φαίνονται is exactly what you would expect.

Αστέρια is the plural of αστέρι.

• το αστέρι = the star
• τα αστέρια = the stars

It is a neuter noun, so it takes:

• singular article: το
• plural article: τα

That is why the sentence starts with Τα αστέρια.

Also notice that because the subject is plural, the verb is plural too:

• Το αστέρι δεν φαίνεται = The star isn’t visible
• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται = The stars aren’t visible

Because έχει σύννεφα means something like:

• there are clouds
• it’s cloudy
• literally, it has clouds

Here σύννεφα is being used in an indefinite, general way. We are not talking about specific clouds already identified in the conversation.

So Greek naturally says:

• έχει σύννεφα = there are clouds / it’s cloudy

If you said έχει τα σύννεφα, that would mean it has the clouds, which would sound wrong in this context.

This is similar to English:

• There are clouds sounds natural
• There are the clouds does not fit here

This is a very common point for learners.

In this sentence, έχει is used impersonally. Greek often uses έχει in weather and environment expressions where English might say:

• there is / there are
• it’s ...

So:

• έχει σύννεφα = there are clouds / it’s cloudy

The verb is in 3rd person singular:

• έχει = it has / there is

But the it is not a real person or thing. It works like an impersonal weather expression.

Other similar ideas in Greek are:

• Έχει ζέστη. = It’s hot.
• Έχει κρύο. = It’s cold.
• Έχει πολύ αέρα. = It’s very windy.
• Έχει κόσμο. = There are lots of people.

So although σύννεφα is plural, the verb stays singular because σύννεφα is not the grammatical subject here.

Yes, it could, but the feel is slightly different.

• Υπάρχουν σύννεφα = There are clouds
• Έχει σύννεφα = There are clouds / It’s cloudy

Both are possible, but έχει σύννεφα is especially common and natural in everyday speech when describing the weather or sky conditions.

So in this sentence, γιατί έχει σύννεφα sounds very idiomatic.

Απόψε means tonight.

It is an adverb, so it tells you when something is happening:

• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε = The stars aren’t visible tonight

It is a very common word in Greek.

You can think of it as a fixed time word, similar to:

• σήμερα = today
• αύριο = tomorrow
• απόψε = tonight

Both can refer to tonight, but απόψε is shorter and very natural.

Compare:

• απόψε = tonight
• σήμερα το βράδυ = this evening / tonight

In many cases they are close in meaning, but απόψε is the neat, standard one-word choice for tonight.

So Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε sounds smooth and idiomatic.

Here γιατί means because.

The sentence has two parts:

• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε = The stars aren’t visible tonight
• γιατί έχει σύννεφα = because there are clouds

So γιατί introduces the reason.

Important note: γιατί can also mean why, depending on the sentence.

Compare:

• Γιατί δεν φαίνονται τα αστέρια; = Why aren’t the stars visible?
• Δεν φαίνονται τα αστέρια, γιατί έχει σύννεφα. = The stars aren’t visible because there are clouds.

Same word, different function.

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, but this sentence uses a very natural, neutral order.

Standard version:

• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε, γιατί έχει σύννεφα.

You could also hear:

• Απόψε τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται, γιατί έχει σύννεφα.

That puts more emphasis on tonight.

You might even hear:

• Τα αστέρια απόψε δεν φαίνονται...

So the order can move a bit, but the original version is completely normal and clear.

Because the sentence has a main statement and then a reason clause:

• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε
• γιατί έχει σύννεφα

In Greek, it is very common to separate that second clause with a comma, especially in writing.

So the comma helps show:

• statement first
• explanation second

It is a punctuation point more than a grammar problem, but it is useful to notice.

In theory, φαίνονται can sometimes relate to appear, but in this context the natural meaning is are visible / can be seen.

Because the sentence continues with γιατί έχει σύννεφα, the meaning is clearly about visibility in the sky:

• the stars are hidden by clouds
• they cannot be seen

So an English learner should understand δεν φαίνονται here as:

• aren’t visible
• can’t be seen

not don’t show up in some more abstract sense.

Yes. ορατά means visible, so:

• Τα αστέρια δεν είναι ορατά απόψε = The stars are not visible tonight

This is correct, but it sounds a bit more formal or written.

By contrast:

• Τα αστέρια δεν φαίνονται απόψε sounds more everyday and natural in normal speech.

So both are correct, but the original sentence is the more conversational choice.