αφήνω is two verbs wearing one set of endings: the one that puts a thing down and walks away from it, and the one that lets somebody do something. Both are everyday, both are this word, and the second is how Greek says let — there is no separate verb for it.
Four stems
| Stem | Where it turns up | Forms |
|---|---|---|
| αφήν- — imperfective | present, imperfect, gerund, mediopassive present | αφήνω, άφηνα, αφήνοντας, αφήνομαι |
| άφησ- — perfective | aorist, dependent, full imperative, perfect, participle | άφησα / αφήσαμε, (θα/να) αφήσω, άφησε / αφήστε, έχω αφήσει, αφημένος |
| αφεθ- — passive perfective | passive aorist only | αφέθηκα, αφέθηκε |
| άσ- — short imperative | commands, and the discourse uses below | άσε / άστε |
| a front augment ×εάφησα | does not exist — άφησα is already three syllables, so the stress simply retracts onto ά-φη-σα and no ε- is added | |
| an intransitive αφήνω meaning "depart" | does not exist — leaving in the sense of going away is φεύγω, which takes no thing as its object, and staying put is μένω | |
Two of those four rows are worth pausing on. αφεθ- is the only stem with an ε in it — αφέθηκε ελεύθερος "he was released" is the phrase you meet it in, and it is not built on άφησ- the way most -θηκα passives are built on their aorist stem. And άσ- does not follow from anything else in the paradigm: it has to be learned as its own item, alongside the other unpredictable commands on irregular imperatives.
Άφησα το αυτοκίνητο στο συνεργείο και έφυγα με τα πόδια.
áfisa to aftokínito sto sineryío ke éfigha me ta pódhia
I left the car at the garage and set off on foot.
Αφήσαμε τις βαλίτσες στο ξενοδοχείο και βγήκαμε αμέσως.
afísame tis valítses sto ksenodhochío ke vyíkame amésos
We left the cases at the hotel and went straight out.
Αφέθηκε ελεύθερος μετά την κατάθεσή του.
aféthike eléftheros metá tin katáthesí tu
He was released after giving his statement. (formal)
Άσε, and where it stopped being a command
Άσε / άστε is the ordinary short imperative — Άσε τα πιάτα "leave the dishes". But it has also gone where no form table can follow it, and these two uses are among the most frequent things you will hear in a Greek conversation:
- Άσε! on its own — "tell me about it", "don't even start", agreeing with a complaint (informal).
- Άσε που… — "not to mention that…", stacking one more reason onto an argument (informal).
Άστε τα πιάτα, θα τα πλύνω εγώ το βράδυ.
áste ta piáta, tha ta plíno eghó to vrádhi
Leave the dishes — I'll wash them tonight.
Πάλι απεργία αύριο; Άσε, μη ρωτάς.
páli aperyía ávrio; áse, mi rotás
Another strike tomorrow? Ugh, don't even ask.
Δεν προλαβαίνω, άσε που δεν έχω και όρεξη.
dhen prolavéno, áse pu dhen écho ke óreksi
I haven't got time — and quite apart from that, I don't feel like it.
Government
| Frame | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| accusative | Άφησα τα κλειδιά. | the thing left |
σε
| Τα άφησα στο γραφείο. | where you left it |
| accusative + να | Με άφησε να φύγω. | permission — "he let me go" |
για
| Το άφησα για αύριο. | put off until |
| genitive clitic | Του άφησα σημείωμα. | the person left something |
| αφήνομαι σε + accusative | Αφέθηκα στα χέρια τους. | put yourself in someone's hands |
The permission frame is the one to drill, because English let me go has no να in it and Greek's has nothing else to offer: the second verb comes as a να-clause, there being no bare verb form in the language to put there.
Με άφησαν να φύγω μια ώρα νωρίτερα για τον γιατρό.
me áfisan na fígho mia óra norítera ya ton yatró
They let me leave an hour early for the doctor.
Του άφησα σημείωμα στην πόρτα, δεν ξέρω αν το είδε.
tu áfisa simíoma stin pórta, dhen kséro an to ídhe
I left him a note on the door — I don't know whether he saw it.
Το άφησα για αύριο, σήμερα δεν βγάζω άκρη.
to áfisa ya ávrio, símera dhen vgházo ákri
I've left it for tomorrow; I'm getting nowhere today.
Αφέθηκα στα χέρια της κομμώτριας και δεν μετάνιωσα.
aféthika sta chéria tis komótrias ke dhen metániosa
I put myself entirely in the hairdresser's hands and didn't regret it.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Άσε με ήσυχο (informal) | leave me alone |
| Άσε! (informal) | tell me about it; don't even start |
| Άσε που… (informal) | not to mention that… |
| άφησέ το πάνω μου | leave it to me, I'll handle it |
| δεν με αφήνει | he won't let me; it won't let up |
| αφήνω πίσω | leave behind |
| αφήνω κάποιον στην ησυχία του | leave someone in peace |
| άσ' τα να πάνε (informal) | forget it, it's a mess |
Άσε με ήσυχο δέκα λεπτά, μόλις γύρισα από τη δουλειά.
áse me ísicho dhéka leptá, mólis yírisa apó ti dhuliá
Leave me alone for ten minutes — I've only just got in from work.
Άφησέ το πάνω μου, θα μιλήσω εγώ στον ιδιοκτήτη.
áfisé to páno mu, tha milíso eghó ston idhioktíti
Leave it to me — I'll speak to the landlord myself.
Common Mistakes
Making φεύγω transitive. English leave covers both departing and leaving a thing; Greek splits them, and φεύγω has no room for an object.
❌ Έφυγα τα κλειδιά στο γραφείο και δεν μπορώ να μπω.
Incorrect — φεύγω cannot take a thing as its object. Leaving an object somewhere is άφησα.
✅ Άφησα τα κλειδιά στο γραφείο και δεν μπορώ να μπω.
áfisa ta klidhiá sto ghrafío ke dhen boró na bo
I left my keys at the office and I can't get in.
Key Takeaways
- Four stems: αφήν- (αφήνω, άφηνα, αφήνοντας) · άφησ- (άφησα, αφήσω, άφησε, έχω αφήσει, αφημένος) · αφεθ- (αφέθηκα) · άσ- (άσε, άστε).
- The aorist takes no augment — the stress just retracts: άφησα, but αφήσαμε when the word grows.
- The passive aorist is αφέθηκε, on αφεθ-, not on the άφησ- of the active.
- άσε / άστε cannot be derived from anything else in the verb; learn it as a separate word — and then as a discourse move: Άσε!, Άσε που… (informal).
- Permission is accusative + να: Με άφησε να φύγω. There is no second frame for it.
- αφήνω needs an object, even where it goes unspoken (Άσε!). What it does not mean is depart — that is φεύγω, and staying put is μένω.
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- φεύγω (to leave)A2 — English 'leave' splits three ways in Greek and φεύγω owns only one of them: depart, go away, never with an object. Card gives the φεύγ-/φυγ- stem pair, the φεύγω/αφήνω/ξεχνάω triple, the hortative Φύγαμε!, the gerund φεύγοντας and the euphemistic έφυγε.
- μένω (to stay/live)A2 — μένω is how Greeks say where they live, how they say they stayed put, and — in a whole family of idioms — how they say something was left in a state: έμεινα από βενζίνη, έμεινε το αυτοκίνητο, έμεινα άφωνος. Paradigm, the ε→ει shift, frames and set phrases.
- να After Modal VerbsA2 — The everyday frame [modal + να + verb] — θέλω να, μπορώ να, πρέπει να, ξέρω να, πάω να, αρχίζω να — where both verbs are fully conjugated, unlike the single infinitive of English 'want to leave'.
- 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.