Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά.

Το is the definite article, meaning the.

It appears here because ρυάκι is a neuter singular noun, and Greek articles must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

So:

• το = the for a neuter singular noun
• ρυάκι = a neuter singular noun

Together, το ρυάκι means the stream or the little stream/brook.

Ρυάκι is a neuter noun in Greek. Greek nouns belong to grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. This gender is a grammar category, so it does not always match any natural gender.

Ρυάκι means small stream, brook, or creek. The ending -άκι is often a diminutive ending in Greek, which can give the sense of something small.

So compared with a larger river-like word, ρυάκι suggests a little stream or brook.

A rough pronunciation is:

ree-AH-kee

A few details:

• ρ = a rolled or tapped r
• υ here sounds like ee
• ά is the stressed syllable
• κι sounds like kee

So the stress is on the middle syllable: ρυ-Α-κι.

Είναι means is (or are, depending on context).

It is the 3rd person singular/plural form of the verb to be in Modern Greek.

In this sentence:

• Το ρυάκι = the stream
• είναι = is
• κοντά = near / close

So είναι is the word that links the subject to its description, just like is in English.

In a sentence like this, είναι is normally used.

So:

• Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά. = The stream is near.

Leaving out είναι would usually sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Modern Greek for this kind of statement.

Greek often omits subject pronouns like he, she, or it, but not usually the verb to be in a sentence like this.

Κοντά means near or close.

In this sentence, it works like a predicate word describing location or proximity:

• Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά. = The stream is near / close by.

It can also appear in other patterns, such as:

• κοντά σε... = near ...
• κοντά μου = near me
• κοντά στο σπίτι = near the house

By itself, as in this sentence, it means something like nearby or close.

Because κοντά is not an adjective that agrees like a typical adjective would here; it functions as an adverbial/predicative word meaning near or close by.

So it stays κοντά regardless of whether the subject is masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, or plural:

• Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά.
• Η πόλη είναι κοντά.
• Τα σπίτια είναι κοντά.

The form κοντά stays the same.

Greek often does not use subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or clarity.

English says:

• It is near.

But Greek can simply say:

• Είναι κοντά.

When the subject is stated explicitly, as here, there is even less need for a pronoun:

• Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά.

So Greek does not need to add a separate word equivalent to it.

The standard, neutral order is:

• Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά.

This is the most natural way to present the sentence.

Greek word order is somewhat flexible, but changing it usually changes the focus or emphasis. For example:

• Κοντά είναι το ρυάκι.

This is possible in certain contexts, but it sounds more marked, as if emphasizing near or contrasting with something else.

For a basic learner sentence, Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά is the best pattern to remember.

The accent marks show which syllable is stressed.

• ρυάκι → stress on ά: ree-AH-kee
• είναι → stress on the first part: EE-ne

Stress matters in Greek pronunciation, so the written accent is important.

Even if a word is familiar, placing the stress incorrectly can make your Greek sound unnatural or sometimes harder to understand.

It is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

Breakdown:

• το = neuter singular nominative article
• ρυάκι = neuter singular nominative noun

In dictionary form, many Greek nouns are listed in the nominative singular, so ρυάκι is already appearing in its basic subject form here.

Yes, this same Greek sentence can cover several natural English translations:

• The stream is near.
• The stream is close.
• The stream is nearby.

Which English version fits best depends on context, but the Greek sentence Το ρυάκι είναι κοντά. works well for all of them.