κοιμάμαι covers three expressions that English keeps separate: “sleep,” “be asleep,” and—especially with a habitual time—“go to bed.” Its aorist κοιμήθηκα reports a bounded stretch of sleep or getting to sleep; it does not automatically mean “dozed off unintentionally.”
Το μωρό κοιμάται επιτέλους, ας κάνουμε λίγη ησυχία.
to moró kimáte epitélus, as kánume líghi isichía
The baby's finally asleep; let's keep the noise down.
Τις καθημερινές κοιμάμαι γύρω στις έντεκα.
tis kathimerinés kimáme yíro stis éndeka
On weekdays I go to bed around eleven.
Principal parts
κοιμάμαι belongs to the contracted -άμαι deponents. Its present endings are on the -άμαι paradigm, and the wider voice pattern on deponent verbs.
| Slot | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Present | κοιμάμαι, κοιμάσαι, κοιμάται, κοιμόμαστε, κοιμάστε, κοιμούνται | κοιμούμαι(formal) |
| Imperfect | κοιμόμουν | |
| Aorist | κοιμήθηκα | slept; got to sleep |
| Dependent | κοιμηθώ | να / θα κοιμηθώ |
| Imperative | κοιμήσου / κοιμηθείτε | |
| Perfect | έχω κοιμηθεί | |
| Participle | κοιμισμένος, -η, -ο | asleep; sleeping |
| Active present meaning “sleep” | does not exist; transitive κοιμίζω is a different verb | |
Κοιμήθηκα μόνο τέσσερις ώρες και σήμερα δεν λειτουργώ.
kimíthika móno téseris óres ke símera dhen liturghó
I slept only four hours, and today I'm not functioning.
Κοιμήσου λίγο ακόμα· έχουμε χρόνο πριν φύγουμε.
kimísu lígho akóma; échume chóno prin fíghume
Sleep a little longer; we have time before we leave.
Sleep, drift off, put to sleep
Use αποκοιμιέμαι / αποκοιμήθηκα when sleep overtakes someone, often unintentionally. Ordinary κοιμήθηκα remains correct for successfully getting to sleep or for sleeping over a bounded period.
This is a lexical distinction, not a neat English tense contrast. Πήγα να κοιμηθώ means “I went to bed,” κατάφερα να κοιμηθώ means “I managed to get to sleep,” and αποκοιμήθηκα foregrounds the onset as something that happened to you. There is no reason to replace every perfective κοιμηθώ with αποκοιμηθώ.
Αποκοιμήθηκα στον καναπέ ενώ έβλεπα την ταινία.
apokimíthika ston kanapé enó évlepa tin tenía
I dozed off on the sofa while I was watching the film.
Δεν κατάφερα να κοιμηθώ πριν από τις τρεις.
dhen katáfera na kimithó prin apó tis tris
I couldn't get to sleep before three.
The transitive κοιμίζω means “put someone to sleep.” This is part of a useful lexical pattern among contracted deponents: κοιμάμαι → κοιμίζω, θυμάμαι → θυμίζω, φοβάμαι → φοβίζω. The -ίζω verb supplies the missing causative meaning, but it is a separate lexeme, not an active form of the deponent.
Κάθε βράδυ κοιμίζει το παιδί με το ίδιο παραμύθι.
káthe vrádhi kimízi to pedhí me to ídhio paramíthi
Every evening she puts the child to sleep with the same story.
The participle κοιμισμένος describes somebody actually asleep. It can also call somebody slow or unalert—an insult (informal). Neither meaning equals “sleepy”: for the bodily sensation before sleep, use νυσταγμένος or the verb νυστάζω.
Government
κοιμάμαι is intransitive. Place normally uses σε (κοιμάμαι στον καναπέ), while time and duration are adverbials. κοιμάμαι με + person can mean simply “share a bed with,” but it is also the standard sexual euphemism; context decides.
Στο ταξίδι κοιμήθηκα στο ίδιο δωμάτιο με τον αδελφό μου.
sto taksídhi kimíthika sto ídhio dhomátio me ton adhelfó mu
On the trip I slept in the same room as my brother.
Set phrases
- κοιμάμαι σαν πουλάκι — sleep like a baby
- κοιμάμαι βαριά / ελαφριά — sleep heavily / lightly
- δεν έκλεισα μάτι — I did not sleep a wink
- κοιμάται όρθιος — he is asleep on his feet; he is very slow
- κοιμάται του καλού καιρού — he is sleeping soundly and obliviously
Common Mistakes
The 1sg ends in -μαι, not ×-με. For “I am sleepy,” use νυστάζω; κοιμάμαι itself remains a perfectly good statement about sleeping.
❌ Κοιμάμε βαριά όταν είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος.
Incorrect — the 1sg is spelled κοιμάμαι, with -μαι.
✅ Κοιμάμαι βαριά όταν είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος.
kimáme variá ótan íme polí kurazménos
I sleep heavily when I'm very tired. (male speaker)
✅ Νυστάζω πολύ, πάω για ύπνο.
nistázo polí, páo ya ípno
I'm very sleepy; I'm going to bed.
Key Takeaways
- κοιμάμαι can mean sleep, be asleep, or habitually go to bed.
- κοιμήθηκα is ordinary “slept”; αποκοιμήθηκα highlights drifting off.
- κοιμίζω is the separate causative “put someone to sleep.”
- “I'm sleepy” is νυστάζω, not κοιμάμαι.
Related Topics
- ξυπνάω/ξυπνώ (to wake up)A2 — The labile morning verb ξυπνάω—both wake up and wake someone—with the short command ξύπνα, the irregular aorist ξύπνησα, and no finite mediopassive.
- Present Mediopassive: -ούμαι and -άμαιB1 — The last two mediopassive present patterns — the formal-leaning -ούμαι of Β2 verbs (θεωρούμαι), and the small but ultra-frequent set of -άμαι deponents θυμάμαι, κοιμάμαι, φοβάμαι and λυπάμαι, with their irregular three-vowel paradigm laid out in full.
- σηκώνομαι (to get up)A2 — The active–middle pair σηκώνω/σηκώνομαι, the short everyday command σήκω, and the frames used for getting up, lifting, and standing.
- Mediopassive ImperativeB1 — Commands for -ομαι / -άμαι verbs — the reflexives, feelings and motion verbs — with singular -ου and plural -είτε (ντύσου / ντυθείτε, σκέψου / σκεφτείτε), plus the high-frequency irregulars κάτσε, σήκω, στάσου and έλα.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.