Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη.

A natural pronunciation is approximately:

ee of-ee-LEE EE-ne me-GHA-lee

A more careful breakdown:

• Η → ee
• οφειλή → o-fi-LEE
• είναι → EE-ne
• μεγάλη → me-GHA-lee

A few notes:

• η is pronounced like ee.
• φ sounds like f.
• γ before α here is the Greek voiced sound often approximated as a soft gh.
• The stressed syllables are marked by the accent marks:
  • οφειλή
  • είναι
  • μεγάλη

So the rhythm is roughly:

ee o-fi-LEE EE-ne me-GHA-lee

Η is the definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence:

• Η οφειλή = the debt

Greek articles change depending on gender, number, and case. Here η is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So it matches οφειλή, which is a feminine singular noun and the subject of the sentence.

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

οφειλή is a feminine noun, and you can see that from:

• the article η
• the adjective form μεγάλη, which is also feminine

Its gender is a property of the word itself, not necessarily of its meaning. Since debt is an abstract noun, “feminine” does not mean anything biological here; it is just a grammatical category.

Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe.

Since οφειλή is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So:

• μεγάλος = masculine
• μεγάλη = feminine
• μεγάλο = neuter

That is why the sentence uses μεγάλη.

The key words are in the nominative.

• Η οφειλή is the subject, so it is nominative.
• μεγάλη is a predicate adjective after είναι, and in Greek it also appears in the nominative to agree with the subject.

So the structure is:

• subject: Η οφειλή
• verb: είναι
• predicate adjective: μεγάλη

είναι is the 3rd person singular present tense of είμαι (to be).

So it means:

• is

Examples:

• Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη. = The debt is large.
• Το σπίτι είναι μεγάλο. = The house is big.

It is an irregular and very common verb, so it is worth memorizing early.

Normally, in standard modern Greek, είναι is not omitted in a sentence like this.

So you say:

• Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη.

not usually:

• Η οφειλή μεγάλη.

You may sometimes see omissions in headlines, notes, poetry, or very informal styles, but in ordinary complete sentences, Greek usually keeps the verb to be in the present tense.

Greek does not use an indefinite article the way English does.

English distinguishes:

• a debt
• the debt

Greek has a definite article (ο, η, το), but no separate everyday article exactly equivalent to a/an.

So:

• οφειλή can mean debt or a debt, depending on context
• η οφειλή means the debt

In this sentence, the noun is definite, so Greek uses η.

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

The neutral order here is:

• Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, such as:

• Μεγάλη είναι η οφειλή.
  = The debt is large / It is the debt that is large

The meaning stays basically the same, but the emphasis changes. For a learner, the given order is the most straightforward and standard one.

Greek uses accent marks to show word stress.

• οφειλή has an accent because the stress falls on the last syllable
• είναι has an accent because the stress falls on the first syllable
• μεγάλη has an accent because the stress falls on the second syllable

But the article η is a monosyllabic function word, and such words often do not take an accent mark in normal spelling.

So:

• η = article the
• ή = with an accent, a different word meaning or

That accent can matter a lot in Greek.

μεγάλη literally means big/large, but like English big, it can be used in broader ways depending on context.

With something like οφειλή (debt), it usually means:

• large
• big
• sometimes substantial

So Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη most naturally means:

• The debt is large
• The debt is big

In context, it could also imply that the debt is serious or significant, but the basic meaning is size/extent.

You add δεν before the verb:

• Η οφειλή δεν είναι μεγάλη.

That means:

• The debt is not large.

So the pattern is:

• subject + δεν + είναι + adjective

In Greek, a yes/no question often has the same word order as the statement. The difference is usually shown by intonation in speech or a question mark in writing.

So you can write:

• Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη;

That means:

• Is the debt large?

One thing to notice: the Greek question mark looks like a semicolon in English.

Often, yes. Greek uses the definite article very naturally and very frequently.

In this sentence, η is fully expected because you are talking about a specific debt:

• Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη.

English and Greek do not always match perfectly in article usage, so learners should not assume the English pattern will always transfer directly.

Still, in this exact sentence, the debt ↔ η οφειλή is a very straightforward match.

It follows a very common pattern:

article + noun + to be + adjective

So here:

• Η = the
• οφειλή = debt
• είναι = is
• μεγάλη = large

That gives:

• Η οφειλή είναι μεγάλη.
• The debt is large.

This is a useful model sentence, because you can swap in many other nouns and adjectives:

• Η πόλη είναι μεγάλη. = The city is big.
• Η τσάντα είναι μεγάλη. = The bag is big.