Απορώ γιατί η πιατοθήκη είναι ακόμα γεμάτη, αφού έπλυνα τα πιάτα πριν από μία ώρα.

Απορώ is the 1st-person singular present of απορώ. Here it means something like I wonder, I’m puzzled, or I can’t understand.

It does not mean that the speaker is literally asking a question out loud. It describes their mental state: they are puzzled about the situation.

Greek often leaves out subject pronouns when they are obvious from the verb ending. This is called a pro-drop language.

So:

• Απορώ = I wonder / I’m puzzled
• έπλυνα = I washed

The endings already show that the subject is I, so εγώ is unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis.

Yes, γιατί can mean both why and because, depending on context.

Here it means why, because it introduces an indirect question after Απορώ:

• Απορώ γιατί... = I wonder why...

If it meant because, the structure and meaning would be different.

Πιατοθήκη is a noun meaning dish rack, plate rack, or sometimes a dish cupboard, depending on context.

It is a compound word:

• πιάτο = plate / dish
• θήκη = holder, case, container, storage place

So the word literally suggests a place where plates are kept.

Because πιατοθήκη is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular definite article η in the nominative case:

• η πιατοθήκη = the dish rack

In Greek, every noun has grammatical gender, and the article must match it.

Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Since πιατοθήκη is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• η πιατοθήκη είναι γεμάτη = the dish rack is full

Compare:

• ο νιπτήρας είναι γεμάτος = the sink is full
• το ντουλάπι είναι γεμάτο = the cupboard is full

Here ακόμα means still:

• είναι ακόμα γεμάτη = is still full

This is a very common use of ακόμα.

Depending on context, ακόμα can also mean even or more/still more, but here still is the natural meaning.

In this sentence, αφού means since, given that, or seeing that.

So:

• αφού έπλυνα τα πιάτα... = since I washed the dishes...

This is a very common Greek use of αφού to introduce a reason that the speaker sees as obvious.

Important: αφού can also have a temporal sense in other contexts, closer to after, but not here. In this sentence it is clearly causal, not temporal.

Έπλυνα is the aorist of πλένω and means I washed.

The aorist is used because the speaker refers to a completed action in the past:

• the washing happened
• it is finished
• it happened one hour ago

That makes the aorist the natural choice.

Greek would not normally use the imperfect here, because that would suggest an ongoing or repeated action in the past.

Greek often prefers the aorist when talking about a completed past action, especially when there is a clear past-time expression such as:

• πριν από μία ώρα = an hour ago

So:

• έπλυνα τα πιάτα πριν από μία ώρα sounds very natural

A form like έχω πλύνει is possible in some contexts, but it usually focuses more on the present result of a past action. With a specific finished time like an hour ago, the aorist is usually the simpler and more natural choice.

Greek uses the definite article more often than English. Here τα πιάτα means the dishes / the plates.

The article is natural because the dishes are a specific, understood set: the ones the speaker washed.

So even if English might sometimes say something a little more loosely, Greek normally keeps the article here.

Πριν από μία ώρα means an hour ago.

Literally, it is something like:

• πριν = before
• από = from
• μία ώρα = one hour

So the whole phrase means before one hour from now, which is how Greek expresses an hour ago.

Also:

• μία is feminine because ώρα is feminine
• in everyday speech, people often also say πριν μια ώρα, sometimes omitting από

Both are common, but πριν από μία ώρα is very standard and clear.

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

This sentence is natural as written because it starts with the speaker’s reaction:

• Απορώ... = I’m puzzled...

and then explains why.

But other orders are also possible, for example if you want to foreground the reason first. Greek often changes word order for focus, emphasis, or style, not because the grammar changes.

The comma separates the main idea from the explanatory clause:

• Απορώ γιατί η πιατοθήκη είναι ακόμα γεμάτη
• αφού έπλυνα τα πιάτα πριν από μία ώρα

The αφού-clause gives background/reason, so a comma is natural here. Greek punctuation in this kind of sentence is fairly similar to English punctuation.