Verbs that end in -ομαι or -άμαι — the mediopassive verbs — form their imperative with a set of endings all their own. This class is where a huge number of everyday commands live: get dressed, get ready, sit down, wake up, think about it, don't be afraid. Many of these verbs are reflexive or describe a change of state in the speaker's own body or mind, which is exactly why English so often renders them with "get" + adjective (get up, get dressed, get ready). The forms are limited and some are irregular, so the practical goal is to lock down the handful you will actually use.
The core pattern: -ου (singular), -είτε (plural)
The regular mediopassive imperative uses -ου for the singular and -είτε for the plural. The singular is built on the same stem the aorist active uses (ντύσ-, σκέψ-, ετοιμάσ-) plus unstressed -ου; the plural is built on the passive aorist stem plus stressed -είτε.
| Verb | 2sg (-ου) | 2pl / polite (-είτε) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ντύνομαι | ντύσου | ντυθείτε | get dressed |
| ετοιμάζομαι | ετοιμάσου | ετοιμαστείτε | get ready |
| σκέφτομαι | σκέψου | σκεφτείτε | think |
| θυμάμαι | θυμήσου | θυμηθείτε | remember |
| κοιμάμαι | κοιμήσου | κοιμηθείτε | go to sleep |
Notice that the -ου ending is unstressed: the accent stays on the stem (ντύσου, σκέψου, θυμήσου), while in the plural the accent moves onto the ending (ντυθείτε, σκεφτείτε).
Ντύσου ζεστά, κάνει τσουχτερό κρύο έξω.
dísu zestá, káni tsuchteró krío ékso
Dress warmly, it's bitterly cold outside.
Σκέψου το καλά πριν του απαντήσεις.
sképsu to kalá prin tu apandísis
Think it over carefully before you answer him.
Θυμήσου να πάρεις τα κλειδιά φεύγοντας.
thimísu na páris ta klidhiá févghondas
Remember to grab the keys on your way out.
Κοιμήσου τώρα, αύριο έχεις σχολείο.
kimísu tóra, ávrio échis scholío
Go to sleep now, you've got school tomorrow.
The high-frequency irregulars
The commonest mediopassive commands are exactly the ones that break the pattern. You will hear these constantly, so learn them as fixed vocabulary rather than trying to derive them:
| Verb | 2sg | 2pl / polite | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| κάθομαι | κάτσε / κάθισε | καθίστε | sit down |
| σηκώνομαι | σήκω | σηκωθείτε | get up |
| στέκομαι | στάσου | σταθείτε | stop / hold on |
| έρχομαι | έλα | ελάτε | come |
Κάτσε κάτω, θα σου εξηγήσω τι έγινε.
kátse káto, tha su eksiyíso ti éyine
Sit down, I'll explain to you what happened.
Σήκω, χτύπησε ήδη το ξυπνητήρι δύο φορές.
síko, chtípise ídhi to ksipnitíri dhío forés
Get up, the alarm's already gone off twice.
Στάσου, πού πας τέτοια ώρα;
stásu, pu pas tétia óra;
Hold on, where are you off to at this hour?
"Get ready, we're leaving": the reflexive commands
Because so many of these verbs describe getting yourself into a state, they are the natural language of rushing a household out the door:
Ετοιμάσου, μας περιμένουν κάτω σε πέντε λεπτά.
etimásu, mas periménun káto se pénde leptá
Get ready, they're waiting for us downstairs in five minutes.
Παιδιά, ετοιμαστείτε, φεύγουμε!
pedhiá, etimastíte, févghume
Kids, get ready, we're leaving!
Ελάτε να καθίσουμε εκεί, στη σκιά.
eláte na kathísume ekí, sti skiá
Come, let's sit over there, in the shade.
The negative uses μη + subjunctive — and so does "keep..."
There is a gap in this paradigm: the imperfective (continuous) mediopassive imperative barely exists as a positive form, and — as with every Greek verb — there is no negative imperative at all. Both jobs fall to μη(ν) + subjunctive, where the mediopassive present appears in its -εσαι / -εστε shape:
Μη φοβάσαι, είμαι ακριβώς δίπλα σου.
mi fováse, íme akrivós dhípla su
Don't be afraid, I'm right next to you.
Μη βιάζεσαι, έχουμε άφθονο χρόνο.
mi viázese, échume áfthono chróno
Don't rush, we've got plenty of time.
Verbs of feeling like φοβάμαι (be afraid) and λυπάμαι (be sorry) have essentially no positive command — you would not order someone to be afraid — so in practice you meet them almost only in this negative μη-frame. The whole prohibition system, including where the pronoun goes, is on Negative Commands: μη(ν) + Subjunctive; the voice itself is introduced on The Mediopassive Voice: Overview.
Why English needs extra words here
English has no mediopassive voice, so it patches the gap with helper words: a reflexive pronoun (brace yourself, help yourself), the verb get (get dressed, get up, get ready), or a plain intransitive verb (sit, wake, hurry). Greek folds all of that meaning into a single ending. Where English says three words — get + dressed — Greek says one, ντύσου; where English needs sit down, Greek needs only κάτσε. This is why these commands feel so compressed to a learner: the "get yourself into a state" idea that English spreads across a phrase is already baked into the mediopassive form. Once you stop looking for a Greek word matching get or yourself and simply learn the -ου / -είτε form as the whole command, the class becomes far easier.
Σήκω και ετοιμάσου, φτάσαμε σχεδόν.
síko ke etimásu, ftásame schedhón
Get up and get ready, we're almost there.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving a mediopassive verb the active -ε ending. English "get dressed / get ready" hides the mediopassive form; the ending is -ου, not -ε.
❌ Ετοιμάσε γρήγορα, μας περιμένουν.
Incorrect — ετοιμάζομαι is mediopassive, so the command is ετοιμάσου, not ετοιμάσε.
✅ Ετοιμάσου γρήγορα, μας περιμένουν.
etimásu ghríghora, mas periménun
Get ready quickly, they're waiting for us.
2. Building a negative command from the imperative. There is no negative imperative; use μη + subjunctive, with the pronoun before the verb.
❌ Μη σκέψου το άλλο, πάρε την απόφαση.
Incorrect — you cannot negate the imperative; use μη(ν) + subjunctive: Μην το σκέφτεσαι.
✅ Μην το σκέφτεσαι άλλο, πάρε την απόφαση.
min to skéftese álo, páre tin apófasi
Stop thinking about it, make the decision.
3. Using the -ου singular to address a group or formally. Switch to the plural -είτε form.
❌ Κύριοι, ετοιμάσου, ξεκινάμε τη συνεδρίαση.
Incorrect for a group — use the plural: ετοιμαστείτε.
✅ Κύριοι, ετοιμαστείτε, ξεκινάμε τη συνεδρίαση.
kírii, etimastíte, ksekináme ti sinedhríasi
Gentlemen, get ready, we're starting the meeting.
4. Over-applying -ου to the irregulars. κάθομαι does not take -ου; its command is κάτσε / κάθισε.
❌ Κάθισου λίγο, θα φέρω καφέ.
Incorrect — κάθομαι has no -ου form; the command is κάτσε or κάθισε.
✅ Κάτσε λίγο, θα φέρω καφέ.
kátse lígho, tha féro kafé
Sit for a bit, I'll bring some coffee.
Key Takeaways
- Mediopassive (-ομαι / -άμαι) verbs take -ου in the singular and -είτε in the plural: ντύσου / ντυθείτε, σκέψου / σκεφτείτε.
- The -ου ending is unstressed (accent on the stem); the plural -είτε is stressed.
- Learn the irregulars as vocabulary: κάτσε / κάθισε / καθίστε (sit), σήκω (get up), στάσου (hold on), έλα / ελάτε (come).
- κάτσε is informal, κάθισε neutral, καθίστε the polite/plural form.
- The continuous and negative senses have no positive imperative — they use μη(ν) + subjunctive (Μη φοβάσαι, Μη βιάζεσαι).
Now practice Greek
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Negative Commands: μη(ν) + SubjunctiveA2 — Why Greek has no negative imperative and builds every prohibition with μη(ν) + the subjunctive — Μην το κάνεις, Μη φεύγεις — keeping the aspect contrast (Μη γράφεις vs Μη γράψεις) and moving object pronouns back in front of the verb.
- The Mediopassive Voice: OverviewA2 — A map of the -ομαι voice as one system marching through every tense with the same shifting endings — present -ομαι, imperfect -όμουν, aorist -θηκα, perfect έχω + -θεί / είμαι + -μένος — with routes to the detailed form pages.
- Irregular ImperativesB1 — The dozen suppletive commands you cannot derive and simply have to know — έλα, πες, δες, φάε, πιες, βρες, μπες, βγες, ανέβα, κατέβα, κάτσε — with both the singular and the plural for each.