κόβω (to cut) | Greek Grammar

Two things make κόβω worth a card. Its stems spread three ways and none of them predicts the others, and its meaning reaches a long way past English cut — into quitting, issuing, turning and failing.

Principal parts

Slot	Forms	Note
Present	κόβω, κόβεις, κόβει, κόβουμε, κόβετε, κόβουν(ε)
Imperfect	έκοβα, έκοβες, έκοβε, κόβαμε, κόβατε, έκοβαν
Aorist	έκοψα, έκοψες, έκοψε, κόψαμε, κόψατε, έκοψαν	β + σ → ψ, as in every labial stem
Dependent	κόψω — θα κόψω, να κόψω
Imperative	κόψε / κόψτε	the imperfective κόβε / κόβετε exists but is rare affirmatively; the imperfective command you hear is the negative μην κόβεις
Perfect	έχω / είχα κόψει
Gerund	κόβοντας
Mediopassive	κόβομαι, imperfect κοβόμουν, aorist κόπηκα, dependent κοπώ	get cut; fail an exam
-μένος participle	κομμένος, -η, -ο	cut, chopped, disconnected

Why the stems disagree

The ancient verb was κόπτω, and modern κόβω is a rebuild of it around the aorist: the ψ of έκοψα could come from π + σ or from β + σ, Greek read it as β, and the present was reshaped to match. The other two stems never got the memo. The passive aorist kept the original π — κόπηκα — and the participle kept the μ of the ancient perfect — κομμένος.

The practical consequence is that the labial rule you learn elsewhere gives the wrong answer here. The default for -βω verbs is -φτηκα (κρύβω → κρύφτηκα, ράβω → ράφτηκα), and κόβω never takes it: there is no ×κόφτηκα, only κόπηκα. It is not alone in keeping the ancient π — θάβω has τάφηκε beside θάφτηκε, κλέβω has κλάπηκε beside κλέφτηκε — but it is the only one of the three that lost the -φτηκα form outright. The φτ- shape does survive elsewhere in the family: κόφτει, an (informal) form that exists only in the third person, meaning concern — Τι με κόφτει; "what's it to me?", δε με κόφτει. And ×κοψμένος is impossible: κομμένος carries the μμ that every verb in this class carries (κρυμμένος, ραμμένος, θαμμένος), so it is regular for the group even though you cannot reach it from κόβω or έκοψα.

Κόπηκα στο δάχτυλο καθαρίζοντας τα ψάρια.

kópika sto dháchtilo katharízondas ta psária

I cut my finger cleaning the fish.

Έχω κομμένα λαχανικά στο ψυγείο, θα φτιάξω σαλάτα.

écho koména lachaniká sto psiyío, tha ftiákso saláta

I've got chopped vegetables in the fridge, I'll make a salad.

Quitting, issuing, turning, failing

The thread through these is severing — something is separated off and stops flowing. A habit is cut out of a life, a ticket or receipt is torn off a pad, a car cuts across a line of traffic, and a candidate is cut from the list of passes. Each one is an ordinary everyday sense, not a metaphor a learner can afford to skip.

Έκοψα το τσιγάρο πριν από τρία χρόνια και δεν το κοιτάζω.

ékopsa to tsigháro prin apó tría chrónia ke dhen to kitázo

I gave up smoking three years ago and I haven't looked back.

💡

Quitting a habit is κόβω, not σταματάω. σταματάω stops an activity in progress — Σταμάτησα να γράφω, I stopped writing — while κόβω removes something from your life for good. Έκοψα τον καφέ, έκοψε το αλάτι, τα έκοψε όλα.

Θα μου κόψετε απόδειξη, παρακαλώ;

tha mu kópsete apódhiksi, parakaló;

Could you give me a receipt, please?

Κόψε δεξιά στο επόμενο φανάρι.

kópse dheksiá sto epómeno fanári

Turn right at the next set of lights.

Κόπηκα στα μαθηματικά και θα ξαναδώσω τον Σεπτέμβρη.

kópika sta mathimatiká ke tha ksanadhóso ton Septémvri

I failed maths and I'm resitting in September.

The exam sense works both ways round: the student κόπηκε, and the examiner τον έκοψε. So does the kitchen one — milk and egg sauces κόβουν all by themselves, with no object in sight.

Το γάλα έκοψε, μην το βάλεις στον καφέ.

to ghála ékopse, min to vális ston kafé

The milk's gone off, don't put it in the coffee.

Government

Frame	Example	Reading
accusative object	Έκοψα το ψωμί.	cut a thing
με accusative	Κόψ' το με το ψαλίδι.	instrument
accusative — a habit	Έκοψε τον καφέ.	quit
accusative — a document	Κόψε δύο εισιτήρια.	issue, buy
no object at all	Κόψε αριστερά. / Έκοψε το γάλα.	turn; curdle
mediopassive + σε	Κόπηκα στο χέρι.	the body part cut
mediopassive + σε (a subject)	Κόπηκε στη φυσική.	failed that exam
genitive clitic + mediopassive	Μου κόπηκε το ρεύμα.	cut off from me

That last row is the one English cannot copy. The thing cut is the subject, the person is a bare genitive clitic, and nobody is named as having done the cutting.

Μου κόπηκε η όρεξη μόλις άκουσα την τιμή.

mu kópike i óreksi mólis ákusa tin timí

I lost my appetite the moment I heard the price.

Μου κόπηκαν τα πόδια όταν είδα το αυτοκίνητο.

mu kópikan ta pódhia ótan ídha to aftokínito

My legs went from under me when I saw the car.

Set phrases

Phrase	Meaning
Κόφ' το! (informal)	knock it off — κόφ' is simply κόψε before a /t/, as in ρίχ' το, κλάφ' τα
κόβω δρόμο	take a shortcut
κόβω ταχύτητα	slow down
κόβω βόλτες	cruise about, hang around
Κόβει το μυαλό του	he's sharp (informal)
σε κόβω για… (informal)	I've got you down as… — Σε κόβω για δικηγόρο.
Μου κόπηκε η ανάσα	I was left breathless — from effort or fright, never from wonder
κομμένο και ραμμένο στα μέτρα σου	tailor-made for you

Πάμε από δω, κόβουμε δρόμο.

páme apó dho, kóvume dhrómo

Let's go this way, we'll cut the journey short.

Κόφ' το, δεν έχει πλάκα πια.

kóf' to, dhen échi pláka pia

Knock it off, it stopped being funny. (informal)

Key Takeaways

κόβω · έκοβα · έκοψα · κόψω · κόψε · έχω κόψει, mediopassive κόβομαι · κόπηκα, participle κομμένος.
Three stems, no shortcut: κόβ- imperfective, κόψ- perfective active, κοπ-/κομμ- on the mediopassive side. No ×κόφτηκα, no ×κοψμένος.
κόβω is the verb for giving something up — σταματάω is for stopping an activity.
It is also issue (απόδειξη, εισιτήριο), turn (κόψε δεξιά) and, intransitively, curdle.
Κόπηκα στα μαθηματικά = I failed; Μου κόπηκε το ρεύμα = my power was cut, with nobody blamed.

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