ακούω (to hear/listen) | Greek Grammar

Two things about ακούω trip up learners of a very common verb, and neither is the aorist. One is a γ that is nowhere in the present and everywhere outside it. The other is what its mediopassive does for a living.

Principal parts

Slot	Forms	Note
Present	ακούω, ακούς, ακούει, ακούμε, ακούτε, ακούν(ε)	contracted 2sg — ×ακούεις does not exist
Imperfect	άκουγα, άκουγες, άκουγε, ακούγαμε, ακούγατε, άκουγαν	the γ arrives here; ×άκουα is not a form
Aorist	άκουσα, άκουσες, άκουσε, ακούσαμε, ακούσατε, άκουσαν	clean -σα, no γ
Dependent	ακούσω — θα ακούσω, να ακούσω
Imperative	Άκου / Ακούστε	Άκουσε also exists — careful, deliberate, rarer
Perfect	έχω / είχα ακούσει
Gerund	ακούγοντας	γ again
Mediopassive	ακούγομαι, aorist ακούστηκα	be audible and sound — see below
-μένος participle	ακουσμένος (rare)	the live words are ακουστός "well-known" and the frozen ακουστά

The γ has a flat rule with no exceptions: the imperfective non-present forms take it, the perfective forms never do. άκουγα, ακούγομαι, ακούγοντας against άκουσα, ακούσω, έχω ακούσει. ακούω shares this with the rest of the vowel-final stems, and its aorist is the model case on aorists of vowel-stem verbs — nothing merges, nothing changes.

Άκουγα ραδιόφωνο όλη μέρα στο συνεργείο.

ákugha radhiófono óli méra sto sineryío

I had the radio on all day at the garage.

Μ' ακούς ή να σε πάρω αργότερα;

m' akús i na se páro arghótera;

Can you hear me, or shall I call you later?

ακούγομαι: audible, and sounding

The mediopassive does three jobs, and only the first is the one you would predict. With a thing as subject it is the plain passive, be heard, be audible. With a person or a plan as subject, and an adjective after it, it means sound — this is how Greek says "that sounds good". And with no subject at all, ακούγεται ότι is how Greek says word has it, the story going round is.

Από το μπαλκόνι ακούγεται όλη η πλατεία.

apó to balkóni akúyete óli i platía

You can hear the whole square from the balcony.

Ακούγεσαι κουρασμένος — κοιμήθηκες καθόλου;

akúyese kurazménos — kimíthikes kathólu;

You sound tired — did you get any sleep at all?

💡

Δεν ακούγεσαι καλά is genuinely ambiguous and Greeks exploit it: on the phone it means the line is bad, and face to face it means you sound unwell. Context, not grammar, picks the reading — which is exactly why the mediopassive is worth learning as one word with two lives rather than two entries.

Government

Frame	Example	Reading
bare accusative	Ακούω μουσική.	both hear and listen to — no preposition
accusative + να + dependent	Άκουσα κάποιον να φωνάζει.	perceive an event happening
accusative = a person	Άκου τη γιαγιά σου.	do as you are told
σε the medium	Το άκουσα στο ραδιόφωνο.	the channel, not the thing heard
για accusative	Άκουσα για το ατύχημα.	hear about
ότι / πως + clause	Άκουσα ότι φεύγει.	hear that
ακούγομαι + adjective	Ακούγεται λογικό.	sound
ακούγεται ότι + clause	Ακούγεται ότι θα γίνουν εκλογές.	word has it, rumour is

Row one is the important one for an English speaker. Where English needs listen to and hear with nothing, Greek uses one verb and a bare accusative for both — ακούω τη μουσική covers passive hearing and deliberate listening alike. The σε of row four is not a contradiction: it marks the device or broadcast, not the sound.

Row three is worth its own line. Put a person in the accusative and ακούω slides from perceiving to obeying: Δεν με ακούει καθόλου is not about deafness, it is a complaint. Greek has υπακούω for obey, but it is markedly formal and reserved for rules and authority; in a kitchen or a classroom the everyday word is plain ακούω, and parents use it hourly.

The two imperatives are not an aspect pair you have to think about. Άκου is what you say a hundred times a day, to open a sentence as much as to demand attention; Άκουσε is heavier and asks for real listening, and it is the form that shows up with a pronoun attached (Άκουσέ με).

Άκουσα κάποιον να φωνάζει στον δρόμο.

ákusa kápion na fonázi ston dhrómo

I heard someone shouting in the street.

Άκου τη γιαγιά σου και βάλε ζακέτα.

áku ti yayá su ke vále zakéta

Do as your grandmother says and put a cardigan on.

Ακούστε λίγο, έχω μια ιδέα.

akúste lígho, écho mia idhéa

Listen a moment, I've got an idea.

Set phrases

Phrase	Meaning
Άκου! / Ακούστε!	listen, hang on a second
Άκου να δεις… (informal)	you won't believe this
Ακούγεται ωραίο.	that sounds good
Δεν ακούγεσαι καλά.	you're breaking up / you sound rough
έχω ακουστά (για)	have heard of
ακούει στο όνομα…	answers to the name of…
Άκουσον, άκουσον! (learned, jocular)	get a load of this
τα άκουσα (informal)	I got an earful

Δεν είχα ακουστά ποτέ αυτό το χωριό.

dhen ícha akustá poté aftó to chorió

I'd never heard of that village.

Ακούει στο όνομα Λούλα και δεν έρχεται με τίποτα άλλο.

akúi sto ónoma Lúla ke dhen érchete me típota álo

She answers to the name Loula and nothing else will bring her.

Άκου, δεν είναι όπως τα λένε — άσε με να σου εξηγήσω.

áku, dhen íne ópos ta léne — áse me na su eksiyíso

Listen, it isn't how they're telling it — let me explain.

Key Takeaways

ακούω · άκουγα · άκουσα · ακούσω · Άκου · έχω ακούσει, mediopassive ακούγομαι / ακούστηκα.
The 2sg is ακούς, with no ending vowel; the plural takes the short -με / -τε / -ν(ε).
The γ belongs to the imperfective non-present forms only: άκουγα, ακούγομαι, ακούγοντας — never to άκουσα or ακούσω.
One verb covers hear and listen to, both with a bare accusative and no preposition.
ακούγομαι does three jobs: be audible of a thing, sound of a person or a plan, and word has it in the impersonal ακούγεται ότι.
There is no useful -μένος participle: ακουστός "well-known" and έχω ακουστά carry that weight instead.

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