Ο δικαστής μπήκε στο δικαστήριο.

ο is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So:

• ο δικαστής = the judge

Greek uses the definite article very often, and it must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• ο = masculine, singular, nominative
• δικαστής = masculine, singular, nominative

Together, they form the subject of the sentence.

δικαστής is a masculine noun of a very common Greek pattern ending in -τής.

This ending often appears in nouns for people who perform a role or action, for example:

• μαθητής = student
• ποιητής = poet
• δικαστής = judge

In this sentence, δικαστής is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject: the person doing the action.

In traditional grammar, ο δικαστής is grammatically masculine.

A specifically feminine form is often:

• η δικαστής

In modern Greek, some profession nouns can keep the same main noun form while changing only the article, especially in formal or modern usage.

So:

• ο δικαστής = the male judge
• η δικαστής = the female judge

A learner should pay close attention to the article, because it often tells you the gender more clearly than the noun itself.

μπήκε is the aorist form of the verb μπαίνω.

• μπαίνω = I go in / I enter
• μπήκε = he/she/it went in / entered

The aorist in Greek usually presents the action as a single completed event. So μπήκε means that the entering happened as one whole action.

In this sentence:

• Ο δικαστής μπήκε... = The judge entered...

Because the subject is ο δικαστής, which is he in grammatical terms: one person, third person singular.

Greek verbs change form depending on the subject.

Here:

• I enter → different form
• you enter → different form
• he/she enters / entered → μπήκε in the aorist

So the verb matches the subject ο δικαστής.

This is a very common issue for learners: Greek verbs often change quite a bit between the present and the aorist.

Here:

• μπαίνω = I enter / I am entering
• μπήκα = I entered
• μπήκε = he/she entered

So μπήκε is the aorist stem of μπαίνω.

This is normal in Greek: the past form is not always built in a perfectly predictable way from the present form.

στο is a contraction of:

• σε = to / in / into / at
• το = the

So:

• σε το → στο

This contraction is standard modern Greek.

In the sentence:

• στο δικαστήριο = to the court / into the courtroom / in the courthouse, depending on context

So στο is not a separate vocabulary word you memorize by itself first; it is the very common combined form of σε + το.

Greek often uses σε for several ideas that English separates more strictly:

• in
• to
• into
• sometimes at

The exact meaning comes from the verb and the context.

With a verb of motion like μπαίνω (enter / go in), σε + article/noun naturally gives the sense of into.

So:

• μπήκε στο δικαστήριο literally looks like entered to/in the court
• but in natural English it means entered the courtroom/courthouse or went into the court

Greek does not always need a separate word matching English into.

Because δικαστήριο is a neuter noun.

The article used with neuter singular nouns is το, so:

• σε + το = στο

If the noun were masculine and took τον, then you would get:

• σε + τον = στον

Compare:

• στο δικαστήριο = into the court/courthouse
• στον δικαστή = to the judge

So the form of στο / στον / στη / στην depends on the gender and article of the noun that follows.

In modern Greek, after σε and its contracted forms such as στο, the noun is normally in the accusative.

So in:

• στο δικαστήριο

the noun δικαστήριο is accusative singular.

For many neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative forms look the same, so you do not see a visible change here:

• nominative: το δικαστήριο
• accusative: το δικαστήριο

But grammatically, after σε / στο, it is accusative.

It can depend on context.

δικαστήριο can refer to:

• the court as an institution
• the courtroom
• the courthouse or place where court proceedings happen

In this sentence, because the verb is μπήκε (entered / went in), the meaning is probably physical:

• entered the courtroom
• entered the courthouse
• went into the court

Without more context, more than one English translation may be reasonable.

Because they are related words from the same word family.

• δικαστής = judge
• δικαστήριο = court / courtroom / courthouse

This shared root helps learners recognize vocabulary connections. Greek often builds related words from the same base, just like English has related pairs such as judge and judicial, though the connection in Greek is often more visible.

At the beginning of a word, μπ is usually pronounced like b.

So:

• μπήκε sounds roughly like BEE-keh

This surprises many English speakers because Greek uses two letters, μ + π, to represent that b sound in modern spelling.

Inside a word, μπ can sometimes sound more like mb, depending on the word and speaker.

The given order is the most neutral and natural:

• Ο δικαστής μπήκε στο δικαστήριο.

But Greek word order is more flexible than English because the endings and articles help show each word’s role.

For example, you might also see:

• Στο δικαστήριο μπήκε ο δικαστής.

This could shift the emphasis toward into the court.

So the basic meaning stays similar, but changing the order can change focus or style.

Greek usually does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the subject is already clear.

The verb form μπήκε already tells you it is third person singular, and the noun ο δικαστής is present anyway, so adding a pronoun would be unnecessary.

Greek often leaves out pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

So Greek prefers:

• Ο δικαστής μπήκε...

rather than something equivalent to:

• Ο δικαστής αυτός μπήκε... or adding a separate he

Yes, the accent matters in Greek pronunciation.

Here the stressed syllables are:

• Ο — no written accent because it is a one-syllable article
• δικαστής → stress on the last syllable: di-ka-STIS
• μπήκε → stress on the first syllable: BEE-ke
• στο — no accent
• δικαστήριο → stress on τή: di-ka-sti-RI-o? Actually in Greek pronunciation the written accent is on τή, so the stress is on that syllable: di-ka-sti-TI-rio

A useful rough guide is:

• ο δικαστής μπήκε στο δικαστήριο
• oh di-ka-STIS BEE-keh sto di-ka-sti-TI-rio

Paying attention to the written accent marks will help you pronounce words correctly.