Χωρίς means “without” and presents a person, thing, or event as absent from a situation. Before a noun phrase it takes the accusative; before an action it combines with να + finite verb. Δίχως has the same grammar and basic meaning but is mainly (literary) in Standard Modern Greek.
χωρίς + noun phrase
With a noun, χωρίς marks something missing, omitted, or not involved. The complement belongs to the accusative frame even when a bare noun such as ζάχαρη does not visibly change form.
Έναν καφέ χωρίς ζάχαρη, παρακαλώ.
énan kafé chorís záchari, parakaló
A coffee without sugar, please.
Βγήκα από το σπίτι χωρίς το κινητό μου και έπρεπε να γυρίσω.
vyíka apó to spíti chorís to kinitó mu ke éprepe na yiríso
I left the house without my phone and had to go back.
Μπορείς να αλλάξεις την κράτηση χωρίς κανένα πρόβλημα.
borís na aláksis tin krátisi chorís kanéna próvlima
You can change the booking without any problem.
With a strong pronoun, the case is visible: χωρίς εμένα, χωρίς εσένα, χωρίς αυτούς.
Χωρίς εσένα δεν θα είχαμε τελειώσει στην ώρα μας.
chorís eséna dhen tha íchame teliósi stin óra mas
Without you, we wouldn't have finished on time.
English also uses without before an -ing form, but Greek does not treat its verbal adverb in -οντας/-ώντας as a noun after a preposition. It uses a clause instead; the loss of the infinitive explains the wider history of this finite-clause strategy.
χωρίς να + verb: “without doing”
Modern Greek has no productive infinitive or English-style gerund after prepositions. To say “without doing,” it uses χωρίς να followed by a personally marked verb.
Έφυγε από τη συνάντηση χωρίς να αποχαιρετήσει κανέναν.
éfiye apó ti sinándisi chorís na apocheretísi kanénan
She left the meeting without saying goodbye to anyone.
Μπήκαν στο δωμάτιο χωρίς να χτυπήσουν την πόρτα.
bíkan sto dhomátio chorís na chtipísun tin pórta
They entered the room without knocking on the door.
Διάβασε το μήνυμα χωρίς να απαντήσει.
dhiávase to mínyma chorís na apandísi
He read the message without replying.
The verb after να carries person and aspect. In the first sentence, αποχαιρετήσει refers back to the person who left; in the second, χτυπήσουν refers to the people who entered. English leaves person unmarked in saying goodbye and knocking, so learners must recover the subject from context when producing Greek. See subordinators with να for the clause pattern.
The subordinate clause can also contain its own overt or understood subject:
Έκλεισα την πόρτα χωρίς να με ακούσει κανείς.
éklisa tin pórta chorís na me akúsi kanís
I closed the door without anyone hearing me.
Here the subject of έκλεισα is “I,” but the subject of ακούσει is κανείς. The construction therefore means more than English without + my doing; it can package a complete event with its own participants.
Why no extra negative is needed
Χωρίς already places its complement outside the situation: έφυγε χωρίς να μιλήσει says that speaking did not happen during the leaving. For the ordinary “without doing X” meaning, the verb after να therefore stays affirmative in form.
Πέρασε δίπλα μου χωρίς να με χαιρετήσει.
pérase dhípla mu chorís na me cheretísi
He walked past me without greeting me.
This does not mean that the rest of the sentence cannot be negative. In χωρίς εσένα δεν θα τα κατάφερνα, δεν negates the main clause, not the complement of χωρίς. If a speaker deliberately negates the embedded event with μη(ν), the scope and meaning change; that is not the basic “without doing” pattern.
δίχως: same structure, different voice
Δίχως takes the same accusative noun phrase and the same να clause. In Standard Greek it often gives prose a traditional, emotional, or lyrical color (literary). It is also heard conversationally from some speakers, so it is not archaic or ungrammatical.
Γύρισε στο παλιό σπίτι δίχως καμία ειδοποίηση.
yírise sto palió spíti dhíchos kamía idhopíisi
She returned to the old house without any warning. (literary)
Έφυγες δίχως να κοιτάξεις πίσω.
éfiyes dhíchos na kitáksis píso
You left without looking back. (literary)
In an ordinary café order or practical instruction, χωρίς is the neutral choice. Replacing it with δίχως does not change the case or clause structure; it changes the voice of the sentence.
Useful fixed phrases
Several combinations are frequent enough to learn as units:
| Phrase | Usual meaning |
|---|---|
| χωρίς πρόβλημα | without a problem; sure |
| χωρίς αμφιβολία | without doubt |
| χωρίς λόγο | for no reason |
| χωρίς άλλο | certainly, without fail |
Θα σε βοηθήσω χωρίς αμφιβολία, αλλά χρειάζομαι λίγο χρόνο.
tha se voithíso chorís amfivolía, alá chriázome lígho chróno
I'll help you without a doubt, but I need a little time.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a nominative strong pronoun after χωρίς.
❌ Χωρίς εσύ δεν μπορούμε να ξεκινήσουμε.
Incorrect — χωρίς takes the strong accusative form εσένα.
✅ Χωρίς εσένα δεν μπορούμε να ξεκινήσουμε.
chorís eséna dhen borúme na ksekinísume
Without you, we can't start.
2. Copying the English -ing construction. The Greek verbal adverb cannot serve as the complement of χωρίς.
❌ Έφυγε χωρίς αποχαιρετώντας τους φίλους του.
Incorrect — use a finite να-clause after χωρίς.
✅ Έφυγε χωρίς να αποχαιρετήσει τους φίλους του.
éfiye chorís na apocheretísi tus fílus tu
He left without saying goodbye to his friends.
3. Putting δεν inside the να sequence. For the ordinary absence meaning, χωρίς is followed directly by να + verb.
❌ Μπήκε χωρίς να δεν χτυπήσει.
Incorrect — δεν cannot occupy the negative slot of a να-clause, and no extra negative is needed here.
✅ Μπήκε χωρίς να χτυπήσει.
bíke chorís na chtipísi
He came in without knocking.
4. Treating δίχως as a different construction. Both options are grammatical; the contrast is register.
✅ Έφυγε χωρίς να μας αποχαιρετήσει.
éfiye chorís na mas apocheretísi
He left without saying goodbye to us. (neutral)
✅ Έφυγε δίχως να μας αποχαιρετήσει.
éfiye dhíchos na mas apocheretísi
He left without saying goodbye to us. (literary)
Key Takeaways
- Χωρίς + accusative removes a person or thing from the situation.
- English “without + -ing” becomes χωρίς να + finite verb; the verb still marks person and aspect.
- Χωρίς already contributes the ordinary absence meaning, so do not add a word-for-word negative.
- Δίχως has the same syntax and meaning but is chiefly literary in Standard Greek.
Related Topics
- να After πριν, μέχρι, χωρίς, αντίB2 — A family of subordinators — πριν (before), μέχρι / ώσπου (until), χωρίς (without), αντί (instead of), εκτός από (except) — that switch to a full να-clause the moment a verb follows, turning what English does with 'before doing / without doing' into a conjugated Greek clause.
- The Accusative PrepositionsA1 — The core Modern Greek prepositions that take an accusative complement, from σε and από to μέχρι, χωρίς, παρά, and κατά.
- Double Negation (Negative Concord)A2 — Why Greek requires δεν together with negative words—even when κανείς, τίποτα, ποτέ, or πουθενά comes before the verb.
- No Infinitive: The να-ClauseA2 — Modern Greek has no productive infinitive corresponding to English 'to go'. In that slot it uses να plus a fully conjugated verb, while a restricted invariant form survives only inside perfect constructions.