δουλεύω is one of the first hundred words you need and one of the widest: a person works, a lift works, a plan works out, and Greek uses this single verb for all three. It also comes with a formal twin, εργάζομαι, that learners reach for far too early — the register gap between them is the second half of this card.
Principal parts
| Slot | Form |
|---|---|
| Present | δουλεύω, δουλεύεις, δουλεύει, δουλεύουμε, δουλεύετε, δουλεύουν(ε) |
| Imperfect | δούλευα, δούλευες, δούλευε, δουλεύαμε, δουλεύατε, δούλευαν |
| Aorist | δούλεψα, δούλεψες, δούλεψε, δουλέψαμε, δουλέψατε, δούλεψαν |
| After θα / να | δουλέψω, δουλέψεις, δουλέψει, δουλέψουμε, δουλέψετε, δουλέψουν |
| Command | δούλευε (imperfective) · δούλεψε / δουλέψτε (perfective) |
| Perfect / pluperfect | έχω / είχα δουλέψει |
| Gerund | δουλεύοντας |
| Participle | δουλεμένος — worked, honed, polished |
The one thing to get right is the aorist. In δουλεύω the υ of -ευ- is a consonant, pronounced [v]; put the perfective -σ- after it and it devoices to [f], and Greek writes [fs] as ψ. Hence δούλεψα, and there is no ×δούλευσα. Every -εύω verb does this — μαγειρεύω → μαγείρεψα, ταξιδεύω → ταξίδεψα — and the rule is set out on perfective consonant changes. The augment is the ordinary stress-carrier and drops in the longer forms: δούλεψα but δουλέψαμε.
Both imperatives are in daily use and they are not interchangeable: δούλευε keeps someone at an ongoing job, δούλεψε demands one finished piece of work. Aspect in the imperative draws the line in general.
What δουλεύω covers
| Subject | Reading | English |
|---|---|---|
| a person | hold a job, put in work | work |
| a machine, a shop | be in working order, be open | run, work, be on |
| a plan, a trick | come off | work out |
| a person, transitively | wind someone up (informal) | have someone on |
Δουλεύω σε ένα βιβλιοπωλείο στο κέντρο, πέντε μέρες την εβδομάδα.
dhulévo se éna vivliopolío sto kéndro, pénde méres tin evdhomádha
I work at a bookshop in the centre, five days a week.
Δεν δουλεύει το ασανσέρ, θα ανέβουμε με τα πόδια.
dhen dhulévi to asansér, tha anévume me ta pódhia
The lift isn't working — we'll walk up.
Δούλεψε τελικά το σχέδιο και βγήκαμε κερδισμένοι.
dhúlepse teliká to schédhio ke vyíkame kerdhizméni
The plan came off in the end and we came out ahead.
Σοβαρά τώρα ή με δουλεύεις;
sovará tóra i me dhulévis;
Are you serious or are you having me on?
Government
| Frame | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| bare intransitive | Δουλεύει πολύ. | the default |
σε
| Δουλεύω σε τράπεζα. | the workplace |
ως / σαν
| Δουλεύω ως μεταφραστής. | the role — ως neutral, σαν (informal) |
| bare accusative | Δούλεψα δώδεκα ώρες. | duration, no preposition |
| accusative object | Το δουλεύω ακόμα. | work on something |
| accusative person | Με δουλεύεις; (informal) | pull someone's leg |
Δουλεύει ως νοσηλεύτρια σε ιδιωτική κλινική.
dhulévi os nosiléftria se idhiotikí klinikí
She works as a nurse at a private clinic.
Το τραγούδι δεν είναι έτοιμο, το δουλεύω ακόμα.
to traghúdhi dhen íne étimo, to dhulévo akóma
The song isn't finished, I'm still working on it.
Δούλεψα δώδεκα ώρες χθες και σήμερα δεν σηκώνομαι.
dhúlepsa dhódheka óres chthes ke símera dhen sikónome
I worked twelve hours yesterday and today I can't get out of bed.
δουλεύω or εργάζομαι;
Both mean work and both are correct. δουλεύω is what people say; εργάζομαι (formal) is what contracts, CVs, news bulletins and job adverts say. Using it over coffee sounds like reading aloud from a form — and using δουλεύω in a covering letter reads as too casual. The same split runs through the nouns: η δουλειά in speech, η εργασία (formal) on paper.
Εργάζομαι στην ίδια εταιρεία εδώ και δεκαπέντε χρόνια.
ergházome stin ídhia etería edhó ke dhekapénde chrónia
I have been employed at the same company for fifteen years. (formal — a CV or an interview)
Πιάνει δουλειά τη Δευτέρα σε ένα λογιστικό γραφείο.
piáni dhuliá ti Dheftéra se éna loyistikó ghrafío
She starts work on Monday at an accountancy firm.
The full paradigm of the formal one lives on εργάζομαι.
What δουλεύω does not have
- An aorist in -σα — does not exist. No ×δούλευσα, and no ×να δουλεύσω after να or θα.
- A mediopassive with a person subject — does not exist. δουλεύομαι and the aorist δουλεύτηκα are real, but their subject is a thing that has been worked over: Το κείμενο δουλεύτηκε πολύ. "I am employed at…" stays in the active — δουλεύω σε… — or goes to εργάζομαι.
- A "be in force, hold good" reading — does not exist. For a rule, a ticket or an offer still standing, the verb is ισχύει: Ισχύει ακόμα η προσφορά; Δουλεύει ακόμα η προσφορά; is a different question — it asks whether the offer is working, i.e. bringing customers in, the same reading as Δούλεψε το σχέδιο.
Είναι δουλεμένο κείμενο, φαίνεται με την πρώτη ματιά.
íne dhuleméno kímeno, fénete me tin próti matiá
It's a worked-over text — you can tell at a glance.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| δουλεύω σαν σκυλί (informal) | work like a dog |
| πιάνω δουλειά | start a job; get down to work |
| δουλεύω υπερωρίες | work overtime |
| δουλεύει το μυαλό του | he's sharp, his mind is working |
| Με δουλεύεις; (informal) | are you having me on? |
| Δουλειά να γίνεται (informal) | whatever gets it done |
| καλοδουλεμένος | well crafted, carefully made |
Key Takeaways
- δουλεύω · δούλευα · δούλεψα · να δουλέψω · δούλεψε / δουλέψτε · έχω δουλέψει · δουλεμένος.
- The aorist is -ψα, never ×δούλευσα: the [v] of -ευ- devoices before the -σ- and the two write as ψ.
- One verb for a person working, a machine running and a plan coming off — plus (informal) winding somebody up.
- Frames: σε for the place, ως / σαν for the role, a bare accusative for duration, an object for what you are working on.
- εργάζομαι (formal) is the paperwork twin; the mediopassive δουλεύτηκα takes things, not people.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Aorist: Class ΒA2 — The aorist of second-conjugation (Class Β) verbs — the contract verbs in -άω/-ώ. They are the most regular aorist in Greek: slot a linking vowel before the -σ- and add the past endings — αγάπησα, μίλησα, ρώτησα, περπάτησα. Covers the three linking-vowel families (-ησ-, -ασ-, -εσ-), the stress that rides the antepenult, and the -εύω lookalikes that are really Class Α.
- Aspect in the ImperativeB1 — Greek commands carry aspect too: the perfective imperative (γράψε, κλείσε, φάε) tells someone to do one thing now, while the imperfective imperative (γράφε, πρόσεχε, να τρως) tells them to do it habitually, continuously, or as a standing rule. This distinction is almost never taught to English speakers — here it is, with the Πες μου / Λέγε contrast at its centre.
- Perfective Consonant ChangesB1 — When the perfective -σ- lands on a consonant, the two fuse: labials (π, β, φ) give ψ, velars (κ, γ, χ) give ξ, and dentals plus most sibilants give plain σ. Learn the three merges by stem-final sound and you can read and build the aorist, the simple future and the perfective subjunctive of almost any verb — plus the honest -ζω split (παίζω → παίξω but διαβάζω → διάβασα).