This verb has two presents in two different conjugation classes — κοιτάζω and κοιτάω/κοιτώ — with one meaning, one aorist and no division of labour between them. Dictionaries file them under a single headword for that reason. Once you have accepted the double present, the rest of the card is about the fact that only half of κοιτάω's work is done with the eyes.
Principal parts
| Slot | Forms | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Present, Class Β | κοιτάω/κοιτώ, κοιτάς, κοιτάει/κοιτά, κοιτάμε, κοιτάτε, κοιτάνε/κοιτούν | -άω (informal) beside -ώ (formal) |
| Present, Class Α | κοιτάζω, κοιτάζεις, κοιτάζει, κοιτάζουμε… | same meaning, stem-stressed |
| Imperfect | κοιτούσα · κοίταζα | one from each present |
| Aorist | κοίταξα | shared by both — never ×κοίτησα |
| Dependent (θα, να) | κοιτάξω | |
| Imperative | κοίτα / κοιτάτε · κοίταξε / κοιτάξτε | also κοιτάχτε (informal) |
| Perfect | έχω κοιτάξει | |
| Gerund | κοιτάζοντας · κοιτώντας | both current |
| Mediopassive | κοιτάζομαι · κοιτιέμαι, aorist κοιτάχτηκα | reflexive, reciprocal, medical — see below |
| Participle | κοιταγμένος | dictionaries list it; speech has little use for it |
The ξ of κοίταξα is the one thing about this verb that looks broken, and it is not: the aorist is built on the κοιτάζ- stem, exactly as γυρνάω takes γύρισα from γυρίζω. That pairing is worked out on irregular Class Β verbs. The spelling κυττάζω (archaic) turns up in older books and is not current orthography.
Look, see, watch
| Verb | Does | Everyday collocation |
|---|---|---|
| κοιτάω | point the eyes on purpose | Κοίτα εδώ! · κοιτάω τον χάρτη |
| βλέπω | perceive, whether you meant to or not | βλέπω τηλεόραση, βλέπω ταινία |
| παρακολουθώ | follow something that unfolds | παρακολουθώ σειρά, μάθημα, αγώνα |
The trap is entertainment. A film and the television take βλέπω in Greek, however hard you are staring — βλέπω owns the whole activity sense. κοιτάω a screen and you are looking at the object, not consuming what is on it, which is precisely what the following sentence exploits.
Κοιτούσε την τηλεόραση χωρίς να βλέπει τίποτα.
kitúse tin tileórasi chorís na vlépi típota
He was staring at the television without taking in a thing.
Είδαμε μια ταινία που μας πρότειναν και τελικά αποκοιμηθήκαμε.
ídhame mia tenía pu mas prótinan ke teliká apokimithíkame
We watched a film somebody had recommended and ended up falling asleep.
Κοίταξέ με όταν σου μιλάω, δεν είναι ώρα για κινητά.
kítaksé me ótan su miláo, dhen íne óra ya kinitá
Look at me when I'm talking to you — this is no time for phones.
The half that has nothing to do with eyes
κοιτάω is also the ordinary verb for seeing to something and looking after somebody. Nothing is being viewed in any of these — the sense is attending to a matter, and it is as frequent as the visual one.
Θα το κοιτάξω το θέμα και θα σου απαντήσω μέχρι το τέλος της βδομάδας.
tha to kitákso to théma ke tha su apandíso méchri to télos tis vdhomádhas
I'll look into it and get back to you by the end of the week.
Ποιος θα κοιτάξει τη γιαγιά τώρα που δεν μπορεί να μείνει μόνη;
pios tha kitáksi ti yayá tóra pu dhen borí na míni móni;
Who's going to look after Grandma now that she can't stay on her own?
Θέλω να μου κοιτάξει ο γιατρός αυτό το σημάδι στον ώμο.
thélo na mu kitáksi o yatrós aftó to simádhi ston ómo
I want the doctor to have a look at this mark on my shoulder.
Government
| Frame | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| bare accusative | Με κοίταξε παράξενα. | look at somebody or something |
| from / towards | Κοιτούσε από το παράθυρο. | the line of sight |
για
| Θα κοιτάξω εγώ για εισιτήρια. | see about, sort out |
να
| Κοίτα να μην αργήσεις. | mind that…, see to it that… |
| no complement, sentence-initial | Κοίτα, δεν είναι έτσι. | discourse opener: look, listen |
Κοίτα να είσαι στην ώρα σου αύριο, δεν θα σε περιμένουν.
kíta na íse stin óra su ávrio, dhen tha se periménun
Mind you're on time tomorrow — they won't wait for you.
Κοίτα να δεις που τελικά είχε δίκιο ο πατέρας μου.
kíta na dhis pu teliká íche dhíkio o patéras mu
Well, what do you know — my father was right after all.
One mediopassive, three uses
κοιτιέμαι / κοιτάζομαι is reflexive in the mirror, reciprocal in the plural — the pattern on reciprocal mediopassives — and, in the aorist, the ordinary way to say you got yourself examined by a doctor.
Κοιτιέται συνέχεια στα τζάμια των μαγαζιών, το έχει μανία.
kitiéte sinéchia sta dzámia ton maghazión, to échi manía
He keeps looking at himself in shop windows — he's obsessed with it.
Κοιταχτήκαμε για μια στιγμή και ξέραμε κι οι δύο τι σκεφτόταν ο άλλος.
kitachtíkame ya mia stighmí ke ksérame ki i dhío ti skeftótan o álos
We looked at each other for a second and each of us knew what the other was thinking.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| κοιτάω τη δουλειά μου | mind my own business |
| κοιτάω κπ. στα μάτια / κατάματα | look somebody straight in the eye |
| με κοιτάει αφ' υψηλού | he looks down on me (formal phrase, everyday use) |
| δεν κοιτάς τα χάλια σου! | look who's talking (informal) |
| κοιτάει μόνο την τσέπη του | he's only out for himself |
| Πήγαινε να κοιταχτείς! | go and get yourself seen to — often sarcastic |
| Κοίτα πού πατάς! | Watch your step! |
Κοίτα τη δουλειά σου εσύ και άσε τα δικά μου.
kíta ti dhuliá su esí ke áse ta dhiká mu
You mind your own business and leave mine alone.
Key Takeaways
- κοιτάω/κοιτώ και κοιτάζω · κοιτούσα, κοίταζα · κοίταξα · κοιτάξω · κοίτα / κοιτάξτε · κοιτάζοντας.
- The two presents are one verb in two classes, with the shared aorist κοίταξα taken from the κοιτάζ- stem. ×κοίτησα is not a form.
- Films and television take βλέπω; something you follow episode by episode takes παρακολουθώ.
- Half this verb's work is seeing to and looking after: Θα το κοιτάξω, Ποιος θα σε κοιτάξει.
- κοίτα να
- dependent means mind that…, and κοιτιέμαι / κοιτάχτηκα covers the mirror, each other, and the doctor.
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- βλέπω (to see)A2 — One verb for see, watch and look at — and three different complements that mean three different things: Τον βλέπω να τρέχει (an event in progress), Τον είδα που έφευγε (a sighting), Βλέπω ότι δεν κατάλαβες (a conclusion, not a sight at all). Plus the full inventory of βλεπ- and δ- forms, and why Greek sees a dream rather than having one.
- περπατάω/περπατώ (to walk)A2 — English walk delivers you somewhere; περπατάω only names the activity, so 'I walked to school' is Πήγα με τα πόδια. Full forms, the two jobs its bare accusative does, the third-person senses (a car still runs, a business ticks over) and περπατημένος = 'been around'.
- Irregular Class Β VerbsB2 — Class Β has the most regular aorist in Greek — and a short list of everyday verbs that refuse it. The -νάω group that drops its ν (περνάω → πέρασα, ξεχνάω → ξέχασα), the velar group that gives -ηξα / -αξα instead of -ησα (φυσάω → φύσηξα, πετάω → πέταξα, κοιτάω → κοίταξα) and pays off again in the passive (τραβήχτηκε), plus ζω, the one Class Β verb that is irregular in the present.
- Perfective ImperativeA2 — The default 'do it once, now' command — built on the perfective stem with the endings -ε / -τε (γράψε / γράψτε, διάβασε / διαβάστε, μίλησε / μιλήστε), including the crucial rule that the imperative takes no augment.
- Reciprocal Use of the Middle VoiceB1 — How the mediopassive says 'each other' — αγαπιούνται, φιλιούνται, συναντιούνται, αγκαλιάζονται, τσακώνονται, δεν μιλιούνται — and why the requirement is two parties, not a plural subject: Συναντιέμαι με τη Μαρία is just as reciprocal. Covers the singular + με construction, the two disambiguators μεταξύ τους and ο ένας τον άλλον (with the neuter το ένα το άλλο and the case forms), the actives that are reciprocal on their own, and the overlap with the plain passive.