δοκιμάζω (to try/taste) | Greek Grammar

δοκιμάζω is regular from end to end, so this card is about meaning. It is Greek's sampling verb: you put something to the test and see what comes back — a mouthful, a garment, a treatment, an idea. English splits that across taste, try on, test and have a go at, and Greek does not split it at all.

Principal parts

Slot	Forms	Note
Present	δοκιμάζω, δοκιμάζεις, δοκιμάζει, δοκιμάζουμε, δοκιμάζετε, δοκιμάζουν(ε)
Imperfect	δοκίμαζα, δοκίμαζες, δοκίμαζε, δοκιμάζαμε, δοκιμάζατε, δοκίμαζαν
Aorist	δοκίμασα, δοκίμασες, δοκίμασε, δοκιμάσαμε, δοκιμάσατε, δοκίμασαν	ζ → σ; there is no ×δοκίμαξα
Dependent	δοκιμάσω — θα δοκιμάσω, να δοκιμάσω
Imperative	δοκίμασε / δοκιμάστε	the form you meet most, in shops and at tables
Perfect	έχω / είχα δοκιμάσει
Gerund	δοκιμάζοντας	by trying, through trial
Mediopassive	δοκιμάζομαι, aorist δοκιμάστηκα, dependent δοκιμαστώ	be tested — and see below
-μένος participle	δοκιμασμένος, -η, -ο	tried and tested, proven

Four English verbs, one object

Δοκίμασε τη σαλάτα, θέλει κι άλλο λεμόνι;

dhokímase ti saláta, théli ki álo lemóni;

Taste the salad — does it need more lemon?

Μπορώ να δοκιμάσω το μπλε σε μεγαλύτερο νούμερο;

boró na dhokimáso to ble se meghalítero número;

Could I try the blue one in a bigger size?

Δοκίμασαν το φάρμακο σε μια ομάδα εθελοντών.

dhokímasan to fármako se mia omádha ethelondón

They tested the drug on a group of volunteers.

Note the last frame: δοκιμάζω κάτι σε κάποιον puts the test subject after σε, where English says on. And the thing you sample is a plain accusative: Δοκίμασε το κρασί, no preposition. A για phrase does turn up, but it never names the thing sampled — it names what the trial was for. That is how auditioning is said, and it goes in the mediopassive: δοκιμάστηκε για τον ρόλο, "he was tried out for the part".

With να + dependent the verb means have a go at doing something, and this is the frame that collides with English try to:

Δοκίμασα να το φτιάξω μόνος μου, αλλά τελικά φώναξα τεχνικό.

dhokímasa na to ftiákso mónos mu, alá teliká fónaksa technikó

I had a go at fixing it myself, but in the end I called a technician.

δοκιμάζω is not προσπαθώ

This is the distinction to hold on to. δοκιμάζω samples a thing — there is always something you put to the test, even when it is hidden inside a να-clause. προσπαθώ is effort toward a goal: it normally takes a να-clause, or για for what you are working towards, and says nothing about sampling. A bare object is marginal — the clitic το προσπάθησα is common in speech — but you cannot ×προσπαθώ το φαγητό. Δοκίμασε να φας invites you to give the food a go; Προσπάθησε να φας says eating will be hard work and you should push through.

Προσπάθησε να τελειώσεις μέχρι τη Δευτέρα.

prospáthise na teliósis méchri ti Dheftéra

Try to finish by Monday. (an effort, not an experiment)

Δοκίμασέ το ξανά, μερικές φορές θέλει δύο προσπάθειες.

dhokímasé to ksaná, merikés forés théli dhío prospáthies

Give it another go, sometimes it takes two attempts.

💡

A quick test when you are unsure: can you name the thing being sampled? Δοκίμασα το φαγητό, δοκίμασα τη μέθοδο, δοκίμασα να τον πάρω τηλέφωνο — the phone call is the experiment. If there is no such thing, only effort, the verb is προσπαθώ.

Being put through it

The mediopassive keeps the test sense but turns it on a person, and it is the one use of this verb that surprises learners: δοκιμάζομαι is to be sorely tried, to go through a bad stretch. The related noun δοκιμασία runs both ways and you have to take it from context: it is a test or examination (γραπτή δοκιμασία at school, ηπατικές δοκιμασίες at the hospital), and equally an ordeal, a hard stretch someone has come through.

Δοκιμάστηκε πολύ φέτος, έχασε και τους δύο γονείς του.

dhokimástike polí fétos, échase ke tus dhío ghonís tu

He's been through a lot this year — he lost both his parents.

The active side of the same idea is milder and completely everyday — what gets tested is someone's patience:

Δοκιμάζει την υπομονή μου εδώ και μήνες με αυτή την ιστορία.

dhokimázi tin ipomoní mu edhó ke mínes me aftí tin istoría

He's been trying my patience for months with this business.

The same hardship reading reaches the active in one narrow slot: with an emotion as object, δοκιμάζω means undergo, feel — Δοκίμασε μεγάλη απογοήτευση, "he suffered a great disappointment". That one is (formal), at home in reportage and older prose rather than in conversation, where you would simply say απογοητεύτηκε.

Government

Frame	Example	Reading
accusative object	Δοκίμασε το κρασί.	taste, try on, test
accusative — a person's limits	Δοκιμάζει την υπομονή μου.	try, wear down
σε accusative	Το δοκίμασαν σε ποντίκια.	the test subject — English on
να dependent	Δοκίμασα να τον πάρω τηλέφωνο.	have a go at doing it
accusative — an emotion (formal)	Δοκίμασε μεγάλη χαρά.	undergo, feel
mediopassive	Δοκιμάστηκε σκληρά.	be sorely tried

Set phrases

Phrase	Meaning
Δοκίμασέ το!	give it a go
Για δοκίμασε! (informal)	just you try it — a dare, or a threat
δοκιμάζω την τύχη μου	try my luck
δοκιμάζω τα όριά μου	test my limits
δοκιμάζω την υπομονή κάποιου	try someone's patience
δοκιμασμένη συνταγή	a tried-and-tested recipe
Τα δοκίμασα όλα.	I've tried everything
δοκιμάζω τις αντοχές κάποιου	see how much someone can take

Είναι δοκιμασμένη συνταγή, δεν μου έχει χαλάσει ποτέ.

íne dhokimazméni sindayí, dhen mu échi chalási poté

It's a tried-and-tested recipe, it has never let me down.

Δοκιμάζω την τύχη μου κάθε Σάββατο στο λαχείο.

dhokimázo tin tíchi mu káthe Sávato sto lachío

I try my luck on the lottery every Saturday.

Key Takeaways

δοκιμάζω · δοκίμαζα · δοκίμασα · δοκιμάσω · έχω δοκιμάσει · δοκιμάζοντας, mediopassive δοκιμάστηκα, participle δοκιμασμένος. No ×δοκίμαξα.
One verb for taste, try on, test, have a go — there is always a thing being sampled.
προσπαθώ is effort; δοκιμάζω is an experiment with a thing in it. Δοκίμασε να φας ≠ Προσπάθησε να φας.
The test subject goes after σε (Το δοκίμασαν σε ζώα); the sampled thing takes no preposition.
δοκιμάζομαι = be sorely tried; the noun δοκιμασία is both a test and an ordeal — but never a rehearsal, which is πρόβα.

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