Το κορίτσι λέει ότι θέλει μόνο βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα.

Because κορίτσι is grammatically neuter in Greek, even though it refers to a female person.

Greek grammatical gender does not always match natural gender. So you say:

το κορίτσι = the girl

and any adjective agreeing with it would also be neuter:

το μικρό κορίτσι = the little girl

This is completely normal in Greek.

Λέει is the 3rd person singular present form of λέω = to say.

So:

λέει = he/she/it says or is saying

In this sentence, it matches το κορίτσι, so it means the girl says.

Also, Greek present tense often covers both English says and is saying, depending on context.

Ότι introduces a clause and means that:

λέει ότι θέλει... = she says that she wants...

It connects the first verb to the statement that follows.

In natural speech, Greek sometimes drops ότι, especially after verbs like λέω, but keeping it is very common and very clear.

So both of these can be natural:

Το κορίτσι λέει ότι θέλει μόνο βανίλια.
Το κορίτσι λέει θέλει μόνο βανίλια.

The version with ότι is especially helpful for learners because it clearly marks the new clause.

This is a very common learner question.

They are different words:

• ότι = that
• ό,τι = whatever / anything that

So in your sentence:

λέει ότι θέλει... = she says that she wants...

But:

πάρε ό,τι θέλεις = take whatever you want

The comma-like mark inside ό,τι matters in writing, because it shows this is the whatever word, not the conjunction that.

Yes, very often.

After verbs like λέω, νομίζω, ξέρω, θυμάμαι, Greek commonly uses either ότι or πως to mean that.

So this would also be natural:

Το κορίτσι λέει πως θέλει μόνο βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα.

In many contexts, the difference is small. Very roughly:

• ότι can sound a bit more neutral or formal
• πως is extremely common in everyday speech

But both are correct here.

Θέλει is the 3rd person singular present of θέλω = to want.

So:

θέλει = he/she/it wants

Here it refers back to το κορίτσι, so:

ότι θέλει μόνο βανίλια = that she wants only vanilla

Like λέει, this is present tense.

Μόνο means only or just.

In this sentence, it goes right before βανίλια, so it limits that word:

θέλει μόνο βανίλια = she wants only vanilla

That means vanilla is the only option she wants.

Its position matters because μόνο usually goes near the word or phrase it focuses on.

Because here they are being used as general flavor/mass nouns, not as specific, identifiable items.

Greek often leaves out the article in this kind of context, especially with foods and drinks:

Θέλω καφέ. = I want coffee.
Τρώει σοκολάτα. = He/She eats chocolate.

So:

θέλει μόνο βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα

sounds natural as she wants only vanilla, not chocolate.

If you added an article, it could sound more specific depending on context, for example referring to a particular serving or item.

They are functioning as direct objects, so grammatically they are in the accusative.

However, for these feminine nouns, the nominative and accusative singular forms look the same:

• βανίλια
• σοκολάτα

So you do not see a change in the noun itself here.

If you added the article, the accusative would be clearer:

• τη βανίλια
• τη σοκολάτα

That is one reason Greek articles are so useful: they often show case more clearly than the noun ending does.

Because όχι and δεν do different jobs.

• δεν negates a verb
• όχι is used as no / not, often for contrast, correction, or short answers

Compare:

Δεν θέλει σοκολάτα. = She doesn’t want chocolate.
Θέλει βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα. = She wants vanilla, not chocolate.

In your sentence, the second part is a contrast between two nouns, so όχι is the natural choice.

Because Greek, like English, often leaves out repeated words when the meaning is obvious.

So:

μόνο βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα

is short for something like:

μόνο βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα [θέλει]

or in natural English:

only vanilla, not chocolate

This kind of omission is very common and sounds completely natural.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

Your sentence has a very natural, neutral order:

Το κορίτσι λέει ότι θέλει μόνο βανίλια, όχι σοκολάτα.

But Greek can move things around for emphasis. For example:

Το κορίτσι λέει ότι μόνο βανίλια θέλει, όχι σοκολάτα.

This puts stronger focus on μόνο βανίλια.

The exact emphasis changes, but the basic meaning stays the same.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

to ko-RI-tsi LE-i O-ti THE-li MO-no va-NI-lia, O-hi so-ko-LA-ta

A few useful points:

• κορίτσι = ko-RI-tsi
• λέει is usually pronounced in two syllables: LE-i
• θέλει starts with θ, like th in think
• όχι has χ, which is not English ch; it is a rough sound, like a softer version of the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• Greek stress marks matter, so the written accents help you know which syllable is stressed

Reading the accents carefully will help a lot with pronunciation.