Ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα;

to be

Breakdown of Ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα;

• το πρόβλημα: the problem
• ποιος: what

Questions & Answers about Ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα;

How do you pronounce Ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα;

A natural pronunciation is roughly:

POH-yo EE-ne to PROV-lee-ma?

A more careful breakdown:

• Ποιο = POH-yo
• είναι = EE-ne
• το = to
• πρόβλημα = PROV-lee-ma

A few notes:

• οι in Ποιο sounds like ee in Modern Greek, but because of the surrounding vowels, the word sounds like two syllables: POH-yo.
• β in Modern Greek is pronounced like v, not like English b.
• The stress falls on:
  • ΠΟΙο
  • ΕΙναι
  • ΠΡΟβλημα

What does Ποιο mean here, and why isn’t it Τι?

Ποιο here means which or what, depending on the English translation.

In this sentence, Ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα; is most naturally translated as What is the problem?

Greek often uses ποιος / ποια / ποιο where English might simply use what. Literally, the structure is closer to Which is the problem?, but in natural English that becomes What is the problem?

By contrast, Τι είναι το πρόβλημα; is not the normal way to ask this.