Το παιδί ψάχνει το παιχνιδάκι του στο σεντούκι.

Because Greek usually uses the definite article the with nouns much more regularly than English does.

• Το παιδί = the child
• το παιχνιδάκι = the little toy

So the sentence has two different nouns, and each one gets its own article.

Also, both nouns are neuter singular, so they both take το.

In this sentence:

• Το παιδί = the subject = the one doing the action
• το παιχνιδάκι του = the object = the thing being searched for

Greek often makes this clear through word order and meaning. Here, the normal reading is:

• Το παιδί = the child
• ψάχνει = is looking for
• το παιχνιδάκι του = his little toy

It is true that with many neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative forms look the same. So context and sentence structure matter.

Ψάχνει is the 3rd person singular, present tense of ψάχνω.

So it means:

• he/she/it looks for
• he/she/it is looking for

In this sentence, it matches το παιδί (the child), which is singular.

Some useful forms of ψάχνω:

• ψάχνω = I look for
• ψάχνεις = you look for
• ψάχνει = he/she/it looks for
• ψάχνουμε = we look for
• ψάχνετε = you (plural) look for
• ψάχνουν = they look for

Παιχνιδάκι is a diminutive form of παιχνίδι.

• παιχνίδι = toy / game
• παιχνιδάκι = little toy

The ending -άκι often adds the idea of something:

• small
• cute
• affectionate
• sometimes informal

So το παιχνιδάκι του means his little toy or his toy, with a more affectionate or child-related tone.

Here του means his.

So:

• το παιχνιδάκι του = his little toy

Greek commonly puts this kind of possessive word after the noun, not before it like English does.

Compare:

• English: his toy
• Greek: the toy his → το παιχνίδι του

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal Greek structure.

Yes. Του can mean different things depending on context.

It can be:

• his
• its
• to him
• of him

In this sentence, because it comes after το παιχνιδάκι, it is understood as a possessive:

• το παιχνιδάκι του = his little toy

If there is no clear male owner in context, it could sometimes also be understood as its toy, but his is the most natural interpretation here.

Στο is a contraction of:

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the

So:

• σε το becomes στο

This is very common in Greek.

Examples:

• στο σπίτι = in the house / at the house
• στο σχολείο = at school / to the school
• στο σεντούκι = in the chest / in the trunk

Literally it means in the chest or in the trunk.

• σεντούκι = chest, trunk, storage box
• στο σεντούκι = in the chest

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• in the chest
• in the toy chest
• in the trunk

The exact best translation depends on the situation.

Because that is one of the normal ways Greek expresses possession.

Greek often uses:

• article + noun + weak possessive form

So:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• ο φίλος σου = your friend
• το σπίτι μας = our house
• το παιχνιδάκι του = his little toy

This is very natural Greek word order. English learners often expect something like his toy with the possessive first, but Greek usually does not work that way.

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

The neutral order here is:

• Το παιδί ψάχνει το παιχνιδάκι του στο σεντούκι.

But you could move parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Το παιχνιδάκι του ψάχνει το παιδί στο σεντούκι.
• Στο σεντούκι ψάχνει το παιδί το παιχνιδάκι του.

These versions are possible, but the original sentence is the most straightforward and natural for a learner.

It can mean either one.

Greek present tense often covers both:

• a general present: looks for
• an ongoing action: is looking for

So Το παιδί ψάχνει το παιχνιδάκι του can mean:

• The child looks for his little toy
• The child is looking for his little toy

In most real situations, English would naturally say is looking for.

Παιδί means child and is a neuter noun in Greek.

So grammatically it is neuter:

• το παιδί

But that does not mean the actual child is neuter in real life. It can refer to:

• a boy
• a girl
• a child of unspecified gender

Greek grammatical gender and real-world gender are not always the same thing.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

to peh-THEE PSAH-khnee to peh-khnee-THAH-kee too sto sen-DOO-kee

A few notes:

• ψ in ψάχνει sounds like ps in lapse
• χ is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• The stress falls on:
  • παιδί
  • ψάχνει
  • παιχνιδάκι
  • σεντούκι

So the rhythm is: Το παιΔΙ ψΑχνει το παιχνιΔΑκι του στο σενΤΟΥκι.