"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Translation: Έχεις κοπέλα;

[Jon345104]

I wrote Έχεις μία κοπέλα DL said to watch accent underlining μια

[mythguidedlife]

Why does DL not accept "έχετε μια φίλη"...? It uses this at other times, doesn't it???

[G.Georgopoulos]

It's because it's highly unlikely that one will ever ask an older person if they have a girlfriend.

[AnnieJ3042]

What about εχεις ενα κοριτσι;

[Stergi3]

The indefinite artcle is not used so much as in English. Sometimes ένας/μία/ένα is a pure arithmetic. Do not compare the phrases with the similar ones in English. Native speakers have to learn to use it in English, English speakers, the opposite.

[MichaelTab411132]

I tried Έχετε κοπέλα, figuring that it sounded more like a question between people who are unfamiliar to each other, but it wasn't accepted.

[G.Georgopoulos]

It's highly unlikely, however, that anyone would use the term "κοπέλα" when talking to someone much older than themselves.

[EleniBinge]

I have always heard "φιλενάδα" for girlfriend?

[jaye16]

Yes, that's another word which you could have used here. Both are correct.

There is a difference....κοπέλα means you are in a relationship

"φιλενάδα" ... could be in a relationship, but it could be just a female friend. And girls can be "φiλενάδες" without a romantic meaning.

[Lensman400]

Έχετε μία κορίτσι should be accepted

[troll1995]

Κορίτσι is a neuter noun. Grammatical gender does not (always) match natural gender. So, it would be ένα κορίτσι. But in this sentence the indefinite article does not sound right. It would be like asking (do you have one girlfriend?)

[jeanprendiville]

I never cease to be confused about the use of the Greek indefinite article and don't even mention μία and μια.

[D_..]

It can be confusing from a native speaker's point of view as well, because it's not always easy to explain why this happens. Depending on the sentence, including it could change the meaning, but you need more than Duo's usually limited context to determine what's the appropriate syntax. You just know when to use it - what the rule is is an entirely different matter! :)

[jeanprendiville]

Thanks for the encouragement D... hopefully one day it will slip into my unconsciousness and I'll wonder why it was ever a problem. Roll on the day:-)

[Jon345104]

Έχεις ένα κορίτσι is marked wrong

[D_..]

I would translate Έχεις ένα κορίτσι as 'Do you have one girlfriend' and Έχεις κορίτσι as 'Do you have a girlfriend'. That article really does change things.