Η τύχη μερικές φορές βοηθάει, αλλά η προσπάθεια είναι πιο σημαντική.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, equivalent to the.

• η τύχη = luck
• η προσπάθεια = effort

Both τύχη and προσπάθεια are feminine nouns, so they take η in the nominative singular.

Unlike English, Greek articles change depending on gender, number, and case.

In Greek, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Here, you can tell these nouns are feminine because:

• they take the article η
• their forms match common feminine noun patterns

For example:

• η τύχη
• η προσπάθεια

Gender in Greek is partly about meaning, but often it is simply a grammatical property that you learn together with the noun. So it is best to memorize nouns with their article:

• η τύχη
• η προσπάθεια

not just the bare noun alone.

Μερικές φορές means sometimes.

Literally, it is closer to some times:

• μερικές = some
• φορές = times

So Greek uses a short phrase where English often uses the single word sometimes.

You may also hear:

• κάποιες φορές = sometimes
• ορισμένες φορές = sometimes / on some occasions

Because φορές means times, and in this expression Greek is literally saying some times.

Breakdown:

• μερικές = feminine plural form of some
• φορές = plural of φορά in the sense of occasion/time

So the phrase is grammatically plural even though in English we usually translate it with the adverb sometimes.

Yes. Βοηθάει and βοηθά are both used and mean helps.

In Modern Greek, many verbs like this can appear in two common forms in the present tense:

• βοηθά
• βοηθάει

Both are correct. Βοηθάει may sound a little fuller or more explicit in everyday speech, but both are standard.

So:

• Η τύχη βοηθά
• Η τύχη βοηθάει

both mean Luck helps.

Because Greek verbs already show the person and number.

βοηθάει means he/she/it helps.
The subject is understood from the verb ending, and here it is also stated explicitly: η τύχη.

So Greek often does not need a separate subject pronoun like it.

Compare:

• Βοηθάει. = He/She/It helps.
• Η τύχη βοηθάει. = Luck helps.

This is very common in Greek.

Είναι means is.

The structure here is very similar to English:

• η προσπάθεια = effort
• είναι = is
• πιο σημαντική = more important

So the sentence literally follows the pattern:

The effort is more important.

Greek often uses είναι just like English uses to be.

Because πιο σημαντική means more important, not just important.

• σημαντική = important
• πιο σημαντική = more important

Πιο is the usual way to form the comparative in Modern Greek, much like more in English.

So:

• Η προσπάθεια είναι σημαντική. = Effort is important.
• Η προσπάθεια είναι πιο σημαντική. = Effort is more important.

Because it agrees with η προσπάθεια, which is feminine singular.

In Greek, adjectives usually agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• προσπάθεια is feminine singular
• so the adjective is also feminine singular: σημαντική

Compare:

• ο αγώνας είναι πιο σημαντικός = the struggle/match is more important
• η προσπάθεια είναι πιο σημαντική = the effort is more important
• το βήμα είναι πιο σημαντικό = the step is more important

Same adjective, different endings.

Both η τύχη and η προσπάθεια are in the nominative case.

That is because they are the subjects of the two clauses:

• Η τύχη ... βοηθάει = Luck ... helps
• η προσπάθεια είναι ... = effort is ...

The nominative is the normal case for the subject of a sentence in Greek.

Αλλά means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• Η τύχη μερικές φορές βοηθάει
• αλλά η προσπάθεια είναι πιο σημαντική

So it works very much like English but.

Greek punctuation here is also similar: a comma before αλλά is normal when it joins two full clauses.

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, although some versions sound more natural than others.

The original sentence:

• Η τύχη μερικές φορές βοηθάει, αλλά η προσπάθεια είναι πιο σημαντική.

is very natural.

You could also hear:

• Μερικές φορές η τύχη βοηθάει, αλλά η προσπάθεια είναι πιο σημαντική.

This puts a little more focus on sometimes at the beginning.

Greek uses word order for emphasis more than English does, because the endings already give a lot of grammatical information.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ee TEE-khee me-ri-KES fo-RES vo-ee-THA-ee, al-LA ee pros-PA-thee-a EE-ne pyo see-man-DEE-kee

A few helpful notes:

• χ in τύχη sounds like the h-like sound in German Bach or Scottish loch
• θ in βοηθάει sounds like th in think
• η, ι, υ, ει, οι are all pronounced like ee in Modern Greek
• the accent mark shows which syllable is stressed:
  • τύχη
  • μερικές
  • φορές
  • βοηθάει
  • αλλά
  • προσπάθεια
  • είναι
  • σημαντική

Usually yes, but like many words, it can cover slightly different shades depending on context.

Η τύχη can refer to:

• luck
• fortune
• chance

In this sentence, luck is the most natural translation. The idea is that luck may help, but effort matters more.

So while luck is the best everyday meaning here, it is useful to remember that τύχη can be a bit broader in other contexts.