Η ζαριά ήταν χάλια.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, so here it means the.

It matches ζαριά, which is a feminine singular noun.

• η ζαριά = the roll / the throw
• Compare:
  • ο = masculine the
  • η = feminine the
  • το = neuter the

So Η ζαριά is simply the roll.

Ζαριά usually means a throw/roll of the dice.

It comes from ζάρι (die, singular) / ζάρια (dice, plural), but ζαριά refers to the act or result of throwing them.

Depending on context, it can also have a more figurative sense, like:

• a gamble
• a risky move
• a shot

But in a basic sentence like this, the most natural meaning is the dice roll.

Yes. Ήταν is the past form of είμαι (to be) and here it means was.

So:

• είναι = is
• ήταν = was

In this sentence:

• Η ζαριά ήταν χάλια.
• The roll was awful.

A useful thing to know is that ήταν is commonly used for both:

• he/she/it was
• they were

The subject tells you which one is meant.

Because χάλια is a very common indeclinable colloquial word. It does not change form for gender or number here.

That means you can say:

• Η ζαριά ήταν χάλια. = The roll was awful.
• Το φαγητό ήταν χάλια. = The food was awful.
• Οι διακοπές ήταν χάλια. = The holidays were awful.

So unlike many adjectives in Greek, χάλια stays the same.

In everyday Greek, χάλια is a very common informal word meaning things like:

• awful
• terrible
• bad
• a mess
• in terrible shape

It can describe quality, condition, or performance.

Examples:

• Είμαι χάλια. = I feel awful / I’m a mess.
• Το δωμάτιο είναι χάλια. = The room is a mess.
• Η ταινία ήταν χάλια. = The movie was terrible.

So in your sentence, it means the dice roll was really bad.

It is mostly informal / colloquial.

It is extremely common in spoken Greek, but it sounds more casual than more standard alternatives.

Some more neutral or formal options would be:

• Η ζαριά ήταν κακή. = The roll was bad.
• Η ζαριά ήταν πολύ κακή. = The roll was very bad.
• Η ζαριά ήταν απαίσια. = The roll was awful.

So χάλια is natural and common, but it has a casual spoken feel.

Yes. Χάλια is already quite strong on its own.

It usually means more than just a bit bad. It often suggests:

• really bad
• awful
• terrible

If you want to make it even stronger, Greek can add intensifiers, for example:

• Ήταν πολύ χάλια. = It was very awful / really bad.
• Ήταν εντελώς χάλια. = It was completely awful.
• Ήταν χάλια τελείως. = It was totally awful.

But even by itself, χάλια already sounds strongly negative.

The order Η ζαριά ήταν χάλια is the most neutral and straightforward way to say it.

Greek word order is often more flexible than English, so you could also say:

• Χάλια ήταν η ζαριά.

That would put extra emphasis on χάλια, something like:

• Awful, that roll was.
• The roll was awful.

So the original order is the normal, unmarked one.

A rough pronunciation is:

ee za-RYA EE-tan HA-lya

A slightly more accurate guide:

• Η = ee
• ζαριά = za-RYA
• ήταν = EE-tan
• χάλια = HA-lya

A few helpful notes:

• ζ sounds like the z in zoo
• ρ is a rolled or tapped r
• χ is not like English h exactly; it is a rougher sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• ια in χάλια sounds like ya

Because ζαριά is the subject noun and takes the article here: η ζαριά = the roll.

Χάλια is not being used as a noun with an article in this sentence. It is being used as a predicate expression after ήταν, describing the subject.

This is similar to English:

• The roll was awful.

We say the roll, but not the awful.

So in Greek:

• Η ζαριά = the roll
• ήταν χάλια = was awful

Yes, possibly, depending on context.

Literally, it means the dice roll was awful. But Greek often allows nouns like ζαριά to be used a bit more broadly or figuratively.

For example, it might refer to:

• a bad throw in a game
• a bad gambling result
• a bad risky move, metaphorically

Still, without extra context, the most direct reading is simply that the roll of the dice was bad.